"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.
The flag of the Republic of Mali seen in the gallery of flags of the participating countries at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 9, 2024. (Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on Oct. 14 rejected "accusations spread by some international media" about Kyiv's involvement in drone supplies for Malian rebels.
The statement comes after an article by the French outlet Le Monde claimed that Tuareg fighters from the anti-government CSP movement are using Ukrainian drones against the government forces and their Wagner allies.
According to Le Monde's report, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) has been cooperating with Malian rebels since early 2024. Citing a source close to HUR, the outlet also wrote that Ukrainian specialists arrived in the Sahel region to train the rebels, and some CSP members received training in Ukraine.
In July, Russian Wagner mercenaries and Malian soldiers reportedly suffered heavy losses in an engagement with Tuareg rebels. The Russian mercenary group, known for its deployment in Ukraine and short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin last year, has a strong presence across the African continent, backing Russian business interests and Moscow-friendly regimes.
After the rebel victory became public, Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson, Andrii Yusov, said that the rebels were receiving "useful information, and not just that, which allowed them to carry out a successful military operation against Russian war criminals."
This was understood by the Malian government as an admission of Ukraine's support for the rebels, after which it broke off diplomatic relations with Kyiv. Neighboring Niger soon followed suit.
"We also categorically deny all the regular accusations made by the high-ranking officials of the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Niger that Ukraine is allegedly involved in 'cooperation with terrorists,' 'arms supplies and providing them with information,' 'support to the terrorist coalition,' etc.," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in its Oct. 14 statement.
Kyiv denied claims by Niger and Mali already in August, saying that the steps of the two African countries were made under Russian influence.
The ministry also denied accusations about supplying weapons and equipment provided by Kyiv's partners as assistance against Russian aggression.
"From the first months of the Russian full-scale invasion, it was Ukraine that first initiated the introduction of an extensive system of monitoring and control over the weapons supplied to our state by Western partners," the ministry said.
"Once again, we emphasize that Ukraine remains committed to the further development of mutually beneficial relations with all African states," the statement read.
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.
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