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.
"He Came Back" is an investigative documentary about sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. (The Kyiv Independent)
The Kyiv Independent's investigative documentary "He Came Back," which uncovers sexual crimes committed during the Russian occupation of Kyiv and Kherson oblasts in early 2022, won the Best Film award at the Press Play Prague film festival on Oct. 12.
The festival, organized by three Czech Republic-based organizations—Project Syndicate, Referendum Daily (Denik Referendum), and Atlas Cinema—was held in Prague from Oct. 8 to 12 and emphasized the crucial role of journalism in contemporary society.
The festival screened over 20 films and presented six feature-length and six short documentaries across two competition categories.
Deputy Chief Editor Toma Istomina presented the film and shared insights on investigating sexual war crimes in Ukraine.
The documentary, authored by Olesia Bida, highlights that Ukrainian law enforcement has documented 292 cases of sexual violence by Russian soldiers, a figure that is likely just a fraction of the total.
Two survivors shared their stories with the journalists, who managed to identify the soldiers responsible for the rapes, along with their commanding officers. In one case, the team reconstructed the crime by working undercover, contacting civilians and military personnel in occupied Donetsk Oblast to uncover key details.
Other Kyiv Independent team members behind the project include Vitalii Havura, Max Yakobchuk, Kostiantyn Nechyporenko, and Yevheniia Motorevska.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Olesia Bida
