"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.
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.
illustrative purposes. Boeing CH-47 Chinook military transport helicopters of the U.S. Army 12th Combat Aviation Brigade fly on March 12, 2025, near Hohenfels, Germany. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images)
Lithuanian border guards will begin using a helicopter to escort Russian trains transiting between Belarus and the Kaliningrad exclave, national broadcaster LRT reported on April 7.
Lithuanian Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said the move aims to tighten supervision over trains traveling to and from Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian military stronghold bordering Lithuania and Poland.
"We are now focusing on two priorities: improving the management of our national and EU external borders, and implementing the Migration and Asylum Pact," Kondratovic said.
The minister cited the region's shifting security landscape and new threats as driving factors behind the change. "Border guards remain vigilant and reliably protect the state border, so one of our priorities is to fully provide the service and employees with the necessary means," he added.
The European Commission allocated 25 million euros ($27,4 million) under the Special Transit Scheme to support the effort. Lithuania's State Border Guard Service used the funds to acquire a modern helicopter, special vehicles, and surveillance equipment.
The new helicopter is equipped with video systems, cargo suspension tools, search and rescue capabilities, firefighting features, and onboard medical facilities.
A map of the Baltic Sea Region. (Lisa Kukharska/The Kyiv Independent)
The Special Transit Scheme permits Russia to move people and goods overland between Kaliningrad and mainland Russia via Lithuania. The route has become more closely scrutinized as NATO allies bolster defense measures along the alliance's eastern flank.
Lithuania borders both Belarus and Russia, including a 227-kilometer stretch along Kaliningrad, a heavily militarized exclave wedged between Lithuania and Poland.
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.
Yuliia Taradiuk
