Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
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.
Gas pipes and compressor machinery at the Dashava underground gas storage facility in Lviv Oblast. (Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The CEO of Ukraine's national energy company has urged EU nations to assist in safeguarding its natural gas storage facilities against recent Russian attacks so they can keep contributing to lower prices across the continent.
"It is of interest of the EU to protect storage, transportation and production [facilities], given that Ukraine’s gas infrastructure is 'well integrated' into Europe’s energy system," Naftogaz Group CEO Oleksii Chernyshov said, according to the Financial Times (FT).
Gas storage sites in western Ukraine have faced multiple attacks in recent months, with only above-ground facilities sustaining damage, Naftogaz said. However, the underground storage tanks, some as deep as three kilometers beneath the surface, have remained unaffected.
"Technologically, we’re all fit, and we have managed to repair the [damaged surface] equipment and we fulfill our obligations [to our customers]" after the attacks, Chernyshov said.
Three attacks on gas storage facilities have been disclosed since March, marking the initial documented cases of the Kremlin targeting these locations.
Ukrainian gas storage proved pivotal in bolstering the EU's energy security last year, offering European nations an alternative to depleting their reserves. Despite the risks posed by Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's storage facilities emerged as a viable option, thanks partly to incentives such as economical storage tariffs and customs duty exemptions facilitating easy gas reimportation to the EU.
According to Chernyshov, European stakeholders remain interested in utilizing the storage facilities this year. The company aims to increase the volume of European natural gas stored in Ukraine from 2.5 billion cubic meters last year to four billion this winter.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Dominic Culverwell
