"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.
Four alleged perpetrators of the Moscow shooting on March 22, 2024, in footage released by the Islamic State-affiliated Amaq News Agency. (The Khorasan Diary/X)
The Islamic State released on March 23 a photo of what it claims are four attackers involved in a shooting near Moscow, Reuters reported, citing the Amaq News Agency affiliated with the terrorist group.
Several gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, northwest of Moscow, on the evening of March 22, killing 133 people and injuring at least 140, according to the latest updates by the Russian authorities.
"The attack comes within the context of a raging war between the Islamic State and countries fighting Islam," Amaq said.
The Islamic State previously claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Telegram.
The terrorist group has in the past claimed to be responsible for attacks it did not carry out. U.S. intelligence officials, however, confirmed the claim shortly after the post.
According to the Kremlin, a total of 11 people involved in the shooting have been detained, four of whom were called "the perpetrators."
A photo published by Amaq shows four men with covered faces, making their reliable identification difficult.
Despite the Islamic State claiming responsibility for the attack, Russian officials are attempting to connect it to Kyiv without providing any evidence. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the detained suspects planned to flee to Ukraine.
Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, denied Russia's claims that seek to accuse Ukraine of involvement in the shooting.
"The version that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack were fleeing toward Ukraine does not withstand any criticism," he said on national television.
Ahead of the attack, the U.S. Embassy in Russia issued a warning on March 7 that "extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow" and urged American citizens to stay away from crowded areas and venues over the next 48 hours. The U.K., Canada, Germany, and several other countries published similar statements soon after.
Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) called the shooting a "deliberate provocation by Putin's special services." HUR claimed the attack was intended to justify "even tougher" strikes on Ukraine and total mobilization in Russia.
Kateryna Denisova
