Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
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.
European Council President Charles Michel speaks with the Kyiv Independent in Kyiv, on Nov. 21, 2023. (Anna Yakutenko/Kyiv Independent)
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, mocked Vladimir Putin on the first day of the Russian pseudo-democratic presidential elections that are expected to grant him six more years in power.
Michel “congratulated” Putin on his “landslide victory” ahead of the results in the elections that will run for the next three days.
“Would like to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his landslide victory in the elections starting today,” Michel wrote on X on March 15. “No opposition. No freedom. No choice.”
Putin is up against three other contenders who all stand no realistic chance of winning.
Russia held a rigged vote in 2020 to approve constitutional amendments allowing Putin to run for two more presidential terms after his current one expires in 2024.
The vote effectively made Putin, who has been in power since 1999, a dictator for life.
Freedom House, a nonprofit advocating for international democracy, gave Russia a 0 out of 4 score in its 2023 report card on political freedoms in the country.
“Russia has never experienced a democratic transfer of power between rival groups,” said Freedom House.
Although unlikely enough to derail his chances of election, the ongoing raids by multiple pro-Ukrainian military units from Ukrainian territory into Russian border regions, have caused a headache for the Kremlin as voting gets underway.
In response to the raids, Putin and his defense chiefs may have to choose between paying a cost in resources or in reputation, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed in its daily report on March 14.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Oleg Sukhov
