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.
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.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) meets German chancellor candidate of the CDU/CSU alliance Friedrich Merz in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 9, 2024. (Presidential Office)
Friedrich Merz, Germany's likely next chancellor, said he wants a defense aid package for Ukraine worth roughly 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) approved by the current, outgoing parliament, Le Monde and AFP reported on March 4.
Speaking at a press conference, Merz said he plans to raise the issue with outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has opposed the package unless funded by additional government borrowing.
Germany's incoming chancellor has presented extensive plans to reform debt break rules to boost defense spending as Europe is expected to take more responsibility for its security and Ukraine during the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump.
Merz's conservative CDU/CSU alliance won the parliamentary elections on Feb. 23 with almost 29% of the vote. The Christian Democrats are in talks with Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) on forming a new government, though the outgoing chancellor said he would not be personally part of the coalition negotiations.
Germany has allocated 4 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in military support for Ukraine this year, and the additional package would raise this to 7 billion ($7.2 billion).
The defense articles contained in the new assistance include three IRIS-T air defense systems, three Skyranger air defense systems, 10 howitzers, surface-to-air missiles, 20 protective vehicles, artillery shells, and drones, the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported.
According to Merz, the additional aid "can be approved now as off-budget expenditure." The CDU chairman has also unveiled plans for a massive defense spending boost, establishing a 500-billion-euro ($535 billion) special development and defense fund and exempting defense spending above 1% of GDP from debt break rules.
As changes to debt break rules need support from two-thirds of the parliament to pass, Merz hopes to negotiate the bills' passage with pro-Ukraine moderate parties in the current Bundestag as quickly as possible.
In the next parliament, which must convene no later than March 25, Merz could expect stronger opposition. Roughly one-third of the seats will be held by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Left Party (Die Linke), both of which oppose military aid for Ukraine.
Germany has been Ukraine's second-largest military donor after the U.S. Berlin's role is especially important now that the Trump administration has frozen defense assistance for Ukraine, seeking to push Kyiv to the negotiating table.
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.
Martin Fornusek
