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.
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."
Photo for illustrative purposes: A Russian Mi-8 military helicopter flies over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy (not pictured) as it patrols oil fields near the town of al-Qahtaniyah, Syria, on Feb. 4, 2021. (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
A Mi-8 transport helicopter was destroyed at the Kryazh air base in Russia's city of Samara on April 17, according to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR).
While Kyiv did not claim responsibility for the incident, HUR shared a video on Telegram showing a fire at night.
Mi-8 is a Soviet-era aircraft used most commonly as a transport aircraft by both the Russian military and civilian government departments. The helicopter has an estimated price tag of around $10-15 million.
"The aggressor used this helicopter in the war against Ukraine to transport weapons and personnel," the agency reported.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify these claims.
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Russia's total losses during the all-out war amount to about 672 aircraft — 347 planes and 325 helicopters, according to Ukraine's General Staff.
The General Staff's figure could not be independently verified.
There have been multiple reports since the start of the full-scale invasion about fires and other acts of sabotage within Russia and the Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow.
Earlier, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) attacked a Russian modernized Nebo-U long-range radar system in Bryansk Oblast, a source at SBU told the Kyiv Independent on April 16.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Andrii Kharuk
