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.
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."
A Russian Police officer guards the Red Square near the Kremlin on June 24, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. (Contributor / Getty Images)
The Kremlin plans to use the American-owned food company Glavproduct, which it seized in October 2024, to supply canned goods to Russia's military, Reuters reported on April 17, citing internal documents.
Glavproduct, a canned food producer originally founded by Los Angeles-based businessman Leonid Smirnov, is the only U.S. company to fall under Russian state control since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
The asset seizure was needed to ensure stable production for future supplies to Russia's Defense Ministry and the National Guard, according to a letter from Glavproduct's new management to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office.
The letter, seen by Reuters, also notes that Rosimushchestvo, Russia's federal property management agency, appointed a new CEO at the request of Druzhba Narodov, a food supplier with ties to Kremlin security forces.
Druzhba Narodov previously served as the sole supplier to the Russian National Guard in 2019-2020, according to investigative reporting by Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.
The company is linked to former Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachov, who was sanctioned by the EU in 2014 over his support for Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Russian prosecutors accuse Smirnov of illegally transferring $17 million out of Russia between 2022 and 2024. The Moscow Arbitration Court froze Glavproduct's assets on March 12. A hearing is scheduled for April 18.
Smirnov, based in Los Angeles, denies wrongdoing and called the takeover a "Russian-style corporate raid." According to Reuters, Glavproduct had not previously supplied the Russian army.
The dispute is unfolding as Washington and Moscow continue backchannel negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Glavproduct's status would be part of broader talks to "reset relations" with Russia.
Since 2023, more than a dozen foreign companies, including Carlsberg and Fortum, have had their Russian subsidiaries taken over by decree.
In May 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing the Kremlin to identify and seize U.S.-owned property and securities as "compensation" for Western sanctions.
As the war drags into its fourth year and Russia ramps up military spending, the Kremlin asserts greater control over strategic industries — including food production — to sustain its war effort.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
