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.
Dmytro Kuleba during a joint briefing with Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is unlikely to bring a peace deal to Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin still believes he can achieve all his goals, ex-Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Politico in an interview published on Nov. 27.
According to Ukraine's former diplomacy chief, Ukraine is a "personal obsession for Putin" but also a way to "show to the world how the West is incapable of defending itself or what it stands for."
Trump has criticized military support provided to Ukraine by the Biden administration and pledged to get the U.S. "out" of the war. While the details of his plans remain elusive, some reports indicate this would entail forcing Ukraine to cede territory and at least temporarily give up on its NATO accession plans.
Trump's approach is more likely to starve Ukraine of weapons and cause the front to collapse, allowing Russian forces to move up to the cities of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Poltava, Kuleba said.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky also cannot sign a peace deal that would recognize occupied territories as Russian and forego Kyiv's NATO aspirations, as such a step would be against the Constitution and Zelensky's political end, Kuleba believes.
Zelensky recently told Fox News that Ukraine would never recognize Russian occupation but admitted that Crimea would have to be liberated through diplomatic means. He also appealed to the international community to help bring about a diplomatic and just end of the war next year.
While voicing hopes that Putin will make a mistake in handling Trump that will antagonize the soon-to-be U.S. president, Kuleba said that Europe's stance will be decisive.
Leading European countries like the U.K., France, and Poland pledged to ramp up their support for Kyiv. The situation in Germany, Ukraine's largest European donor, remains uncertain as the country is heading toward snap elections in February.
The ex-minister also complained that while Russia found allies willing to send their own troops, like North Korea, Kyiv's partners are unwilling to even commit sufficient weapons. Kuleba concluded that, unlike Russia and Ukraine, the West does not have a clear goal and does not know what it is fighting for.
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
