"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.
A mobilization poster for the Ukraine Armed Forces 3rd Assault Brigade, which reads 'Fight' in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 30, 2024. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Julia Kochetova/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Taras Kuchma, the mayor of Drohobych in Lviv Oblast, has been fined for interfering with mobilization efforts, Ukrainian media outlet Zaxid.net reported on Jan. 28.
Ukraine updated its legislation in the spring of 2024, assigning several mobilization responsibilities to local governments.
According to the new legislation, the local authorities had to ensure the organization of conscription, summoning of people liable for military service and reservists to the enlistment offices, and mobilization training, among other functions.
Kuchma declared that he would appeal the decision and did not plan to pay the fine, the media outlet said.
According to Kuchma, city mayors do not have the authority to bring people to the enlistment offices. "There is a decree that obliges us to carry out mobilization tasks without giving us the authority. How can a city mayor deliver people to the enlistment office for conscription?" he claimed.
The 59-year-old official was first invited to the local enlistment office to be fined. As he did not show up, the enlistment office management sent a letter to the police to bring him forcibly. Afterward, the mayor came to the enlistment office on his own.
The mayor was supposed to arrive at the enlistment office on Jan. 22 but did not due to official events scheduled for that day in the city, as he later told reporters.
"We sent a letter (to the enlistment office), wrote that we would not come, and if you have any questions, write to us, and we will answer. The response of the head of the enlistment office was that a letter was sent to the police to bring the mayor in forcibly," Kuchma said.
The mayors of Truskavets, Skhidnytsia, Boryslav, and Medenychi in Lviv Oblast were also fined for failing to fulfill the mobilization task and disrupting mobilization activities, according to Zaxid.net.
The fine for this violation is nearly Hr 36,000 ($856).
The Ukrainian Cities' Association, which unites local governments and protects their interests, issued an open appeal to President Volodymyr Zelensky in late January about pressure on local authorities in small communities.
Ukraine has struggled with manpower issues throughout Russia's full-scale invasion. An updated mobilization law passed in April 2024 aimed to address these difficulties, simplifying the process for identifying eligible conscripts and introducing penalties for draft dodgers.
Mobilization slowed last autumn despite the legislative reforms, leaving depleted front-line units to face Russia's eastern advance.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Illia Krotenko
