"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.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will arrive in Kyiv early on May 10.
The United States embassy in Kyiv on May 9 issued a warning that Russia could launch "a potentially significant" attack in the coming days, despite Putin's self-declared Victory Day "truce."
The sanctioned oil tankers have transported over $24 billion in cargo since 2024, according to Downing Street. The U.K. has now sanctioned more shadow fleet vessels than any other country.
Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris arrives at the European Council Meeting on June 27, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium. (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris arrived in Kyiv on Sept. 4 for a bilateral meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The two leaders are expected to sign a support and cooperation agreement between Ireland and Ukraine, the Irish government said in a press release.
The visit comes the same day when Russia launched a deadly attack against the western city of Lviv, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens more, including children. Moscow has intensified aerial strikes against Ukrainian cities over the past week.
Taoiseach Simon Harris arrived in Kyiv Oblast this morning. He will hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later today and officials from humanitarian aid organisations — @rtenewspic.twitter.com/j10hiCc0gA
Harris and Zelensky "will discuss Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, EU support for Ukraine and its path towards EU membership, as well as bilateral links and Ireland's bilateral assistance in support of Ukraine."
Harris arrived in Ukraine on an overnight train. Upon his arrival, he paid a visit to areas damaged during the early phase of Russia's full-scale invasion of Kyiv Oblast, accompanied by Governor Ruslan Kravchenko.
Harris visited Hostomel, a site of heavy battles in 2022, to see the results of the Irish support for reconstruction efforts, the RTE public broadcaster reported.
During the visit, Ireland announced a new package of support worth 36 million euros ($40 million) for "Ukraine and its neighbors" to provide "essential humanitarian assistance, support rehabilitation and eventual reconstruction, and contribute to Ukraine's longer-term goals, including peace, stability, and political aspirations."
Since the outbreak of the full-scale war, Dublin's funding to Ukraine has amounted to over 380 million euros ($420 million), the Irish government said.
This included humanitarian, economic, and non-lethal defense support but no lethal aid due to Ireland's long-standing military neutrality policy.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Chris York
