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."
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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Tirana, Albania, on Feb. 28, 2024. (Presidential Office)
Albania is planning to open its embassy in Kyiv "soon," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social platform X on Feb. 28 after meeting his Albanian counterpart Igli Hasani in Tirana.
Ukraine opened its embassy in Albania in 2020, 27 years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Albania maintains an honorary consulate in Kharkiv, and its diplomatic representation in Ukraine is carried out through its embassy in Warsaw.
Kuleba said he "greatly appreciates" Albania's decision to open an embassy in Kyiv, which, according to him, "will significantly boost" the nations' ties.
"We identified ways to strengthen defense cooperation, with a particular emphasis on artillery ammunition," the Ukrainian minister noted, as Kyiv faces critical shell shortages.
Kuleba also thanked Albania for its willingness to join the Core Group on the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
Zelensky arrived in Tirana late on Feb. 27 to attend the second Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit, marking his first visit to Albania since the start of the full-scale invasion.
During the visit, Zelensky signed a Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and met other European leaders.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Elsa Court
