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.
A view on the South Nuclear Power Plant in Yuzhnoukrainsk, Ukraine, on August 7, 2023. (Serhii Korovayny/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
An incident at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant damaged energy equipment earlier in July, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on July 25.
Zhelezniak cited a response to an official request for information he had sent to the authorities after Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko denied earlier reports.
Reports emerged on July 18 that two transformers had burned down days earlier, leading to one of the reactors being disconnected from the energy network.
Halushchenko denied on July 19 that such an incident had taken place and said that the reports of the damaged transformers at the plant were part of Russia's disinformation strategy.
The information request filed by Zhelezniak revealed that according to state grid operator Ukrenergo, an incident had taken place on July 15.
"Current transformers were damaged," and one power unit with a capacity of 1,000 mW and three power lines were disconnected, Zhelezniak said on Telegram.
As a result, emergency blackout schedules were introduced into Ukraine's south-eastern regions and central regions, including Kyiv, Zhelezniak added.
The Energy Ministry responded that "all nuclear power plants in the territory under (Ukraine's) control are operating normally."
"There was no disconnection of the power transformer," the Energy Ministry said, referring to earlier reports that a power transformer, rather than a current transformer, had been damaged in a fire.
"If such an event were to occur, it would make it impossible to deliver electricity and would indeed lead to the need to shut down the nuclear unit," the ministry added.
"Damage to other equipment does not affect the operation of the unit and may only have a short-term (i.e. within hours) impact on the ability to deliver (power)."
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukrenergo, said earlier in July that the state of Ukraine's electricity grid is expected to improve in August, when repairs at some of the country's nuclear power plants are completed.
Ukraine began implementing rolling blackouts on May 15, following Russia's spring campaign of strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Elsa Court is the audience development manager at the Kyiv Independence. She previously worked as a news editor at the Kyiv Independent and was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post. She has a Master’s in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University. Elsa is originally from the UK.
Andrea Januta
