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."
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.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha hold a joint press conference on the first day of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting on Dec. 3, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)
A Ukrainian delegation is attending the NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on Dec. 3-4, hoping for an invitation to join the alliance, but recent statements and reports suggest that a consensus is unlikely.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who is present at the meeting, urged members to send the invitation this week as a step toward a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Kyiv has previously rejected other security guarantees as substitutes for full membership, comparing them to the Budapest Memorandum from 1994 that failed to prevent aggression against the country.
An undisclosed NATO source told the Ukrainian Suspilne outlet that the U.S. and Germany continue to oppose inviting Ukraine at the moment, even though German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Dec. 3 that Kyiv's membership as a way to secure long-term peace is a conceivable possibility.
Hungary and Slovakia, whose leaders have consistently opposed military aid to Ukraine and called for a normalization of relations with Moscow, have publicly opposed inviting Kyiv to join the alliance.
Another NATO member joining the opposition is Luxembourg, whose Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said that Ukraine's accession would lead to the resumption of tensions, Der Spiegel reports. At the same time, Bettel spoke in favor of Ukraine joining the EU.
According to Politico's report from October, other countries, such as Belgium, Slovenia, and Spain, oppose Ukraine joining the alliance, even though they are less vocal about their stance.
Ukraine's accession would require a unanimous agreement among all the 32 members, and the recent entry process of Finland and Sweden showed that obstructions by even a small number of countries could prolong the process for months and even years.
Last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested ending the "hot phase" of war along Ukraine's eastern front in exchange for NATO membership, not immediately including occupied territories.
In separate comments on a potential invite on Dec. 1, Zelensky said that the alliance's Article 5 collective defense principle may not apply to Ukrainian territories facing active combat if Ukraine were to join NATO.
Boldizsar Gyori
