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.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (L) walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a welcoming ceremony upon Putin's arrival in Pyongyang, early on June 19, 2024 (Gavriil Grigorov/Pool/AFP)
North Korea has confirmed for the first time that it sent troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Kursk Oblast under the orders of leader Kim Jong-un.
In a statement reported by the state-run KCNA news agency, the ruling Workers’ Party described the deployment as demonstrating the "highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship" between North Korea and Russia.
The announcement came as the acting commander of Russia’s 810th Brigade told President Vladimir Putin that the remaining Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region would "soon be destroyed," RIA Novosti reported on April 27, contradicting earlier claims by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov that Russian forces had fully recaptured the area.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said fighting in Kursk Oblast is ongoing.
Ukraine launched its surprise cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024, marking the first large-scale invasion of Russian territory by foreign forces since World War II. The operation aimed to disrupt a planned Russian offensive on the neighboring Sumy Oblast and draw Russian forces away from the embattled Donetsk region.
Russia launched a push to recapture the region in early March, with Ukraine being forced to pull back from much of the initially taken territory, including the town of Sudzha.As of April 25, Ukrainian battlefield monitoring service DeepState showed Ukrainian forces holding onto limited positions in Kursk Oblast near the border, namely the villages of Oleshnya and Gornal.
The Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party said Kim authorized the deployment based on the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty he signed with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2024. "Under the order of the head of state, the sub-units of the armed forces of the Republic regarded the territory of Russia as the one of their country and proved the firm alliance between the two countries," the statement read.
Kim praised the North Korean soldiers who participated, calling them "heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland." KCNA also reported that North Korea "regards it as an honor to have an alliance with such a powerful state as the Russian Federation."
Ukrainian officials estimate that North Korea sent around 11,000 troops to Russia, including 3,000 reinforcements to replace battlefield losses. Although initially suffering heavy casualties due to their lack of armored vehicles and experience in drone warfare, North Korean troops reportedly adapted to the conditions on the ground.
Russia also confirmed on April 26 for the first time that North Korean forces fought alongside Russian troops in the Kursk region. Until now, neither Moscow nor Pyongyang had publicly acknowledged the deployment.
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.
Asami Terajima
