"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 MOAS medic at work in Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion that begain in 2022. (MOAS)
The international humanitarian organization MOAS's front-line medical evacuation operation is "on the verge of extinction" due to a lack of funding, the group said on Nov. 27, appealing to the international community to support their work.
MOAS's team of all-Ukrainian medics has been evacuating and keeping alive critically injured troops during the three years of the full-scale war, with the group saying their work has saved 62,000 lives.
"Now, with funding virtually exhausted, one of Ukraine's most remarkable lifesaving operations is on the verge of extinction," their press release read. The group said that without funding, it can sustain its operations only until the end of 2024.
"MOAS is keeping soldiers alive day in, day out. It's an expensive and challenging business, and we simply can't continue into 2025 without additional funding," Christopher Catrambone, MOAS's founder who has been based in Kyiv since the outbreak of the full-scale war, told the Kyiv Independent.
MOAS is now in talks with donors in North America and Europe, as well as the U.K. government, to be able to continue its work next year.
A MOAS medic at work in Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion that begain in 2022. (MOAS)
MOAS ambulances in Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion that begain in 2022. (MOAS)
MOAS medics in Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion that begain in 2022. (MOAS)
"The facts are simple. If we have to stop our operation, huge numbers of Ukrainian soldiers will die. In the words of a Ukrainian general, it will be a complete catastrophe," Catrambone said separately in the press release.
"They’re overstretched and cannot do what we do. Nor can any other NGO in Ukraine. That’s why today, we are launching this urgent appeal for support. It’s our last throw of the dice, it’s do or die."
According to MOAS, the monthly cost of a 150-strong medical team with 50 "state of the art ambulances" costs $1 million, comparable to the price tag of a Storm Shadow missile.
"We're incredibly grateful to all the donors who have made our lifesaving operation possible," Catrambone told the Kyiv Independent, explaining that MOAS's donors include wealthy philanthropists, tech billionaires, foundations, and smaller donors.
The founder said he was unsure why the funding was drying up, suggesting that some had found other causes to support or simply lost interest in the war in Ukraine.
"But what I'm focused on is getting donors now so we can continue saving lives at the medical frontline in Ukraine," he stressed.
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.
Serhii Korovayny
