Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
A notice about the airspace closure was published on the U.S. Defense Department's NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) website on May 10, as cited by Ukrainian defense news outlet Militarnyi.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
"We have a plan B and a plan C. But our focus is plan A, the essence of which is to get everyone's support" for Ukraine's accession, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
"(T)he presence at the Victory Parade of a country that bombs cities, hospitals, and daycares, and which has caused the deaths and injuries of over a million people over three years, is a shame," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
"According to the participants of the performances, their goal is to remind the civilized world of the barbaric actions of Moscow, which for many years and decades has systematically violated international law," a source in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent.
"I have great hope that an agreement for a ceasefire in Ukraine will be reached this weekend," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on May 9, shortly before traveling to Kyiv alongside the leaders of France, Poland, and the U.K.
Marcus Faber, Member of the Bundestag, speaks before a special session of the Bundestag's Defense Committee in Berlin on March 7, 2022. (Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)
German-supplied equipment may be used in Ukraine's "completely legitimate" incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, the Bundestag's Defense Committee Chair Marcus Faber said on Aug. 8 after Russia claimed that German armored personnel vehicles were involved in the operation.
"With the handover to Ukraine, these are Ukrainian weapons," Faber told German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost, specifying that this applies to all material, including Leopard 2 tanks.
"With the Russian attack on Ukraine, the territory of both states is a war zone. The use of the weapons is subject to the provisions of international law."
Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, resulting in clashes on Russian soil that were described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as "a large-scale provocation."
Kyiv has largely refused to comment on the operation in Kursk Oblast, which takes place just as Russia is ramping up attacks in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast.
Faber also posted on X that Ukraine's incursion "forces Russia to withdraw forces from the east" and is "completely legitimate and makes military sense."
"Ukraine is proving its ability to act" and is showing the Russian population that Russia's "war of aggression concerns them too, not just the Ukrainians," he said.
"Anyone who starts a war of aggression against their neighboring country is also turning their own territory into a war zone."
"We can only wish the Ukrainian defenders every success, including in Kursk," Faber said.
"The more successful they are, the sooner the Kremlin will understand that there is nothing to be gained in Ukraine."
Initially a hesitant partner, Berlin has become Ukraine's second-largest military donor after the U.S., although German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is still reluctant to supply some key capabilities, namely Taurus long-range missiles.
Francis Farrell
