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.
A part of destroyed Su-25 Russian military aircraft is displayed at the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine in Kyiv on May 8, 2022. (Photo: STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukrainian forces have shot down yet another Russian Su-25 fighter jet in the embattled Donetsk Oblast, the Khortytsia group of forces reported on July 7.
The Russian jet was downed in the Porkovsk sector by the anti-aircraft gunners of the separate mechanized brigade named after General Lieutenant Mark Bezruchko and is now “burning in the steppes of Ukrainian Donbas,” the military reported.
The Soviet-designed Su-25, nicknamed "Frogfoot" by NATO, is a heavily armored ground-attack aircraft that provides close air support for Russian ground troops.
Russia is carrying out intense attacks in multiple sections of the eastern front, including in Donetsk Oblast, after it captured the city of Avdiivka in February.
Last month, Ukraine downed at least two Su-25 jets on June 10 and June 28.
In May, Ukraine claimed that it destroyed Su-25s on May 25, May 23, May 4, May 11, May 13, and May 18.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on July 7 that Russia has lost 360 airplanes and 326 helicopters in its war against Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The General Staff's figure could not be independently verified.
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Chris York
