"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.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks to the press as he meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the US State Department in Washington, DC, USA on July 9, 2024. (Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images) #reshuffle
Ukraine's parliament on Sept. 5 approved Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's resignation amid a broad government reshuffle.
Some 240 lawmakers voted in support of Kuleba's resignation, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.
The parliament also approved the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk with 255 votes. The legislature failed to gather enough votes for her dismissal on Sept. 4 after she did not come to the parliament in person.
Vereshchuk was present during the second vote, while Kuleba was not, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.
The dismissal of State Property Fund head Vitalii Koval was also approved on the second attempt.
Officials confirmed on Sept. 4 that the foreign minister had submitted his resignation letter, without naming a reason. A source close to the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent that Kuleba "wanted out."
Kuleba has been in office since 2020. He has been at the forefront of Ukraine's efforts to engage its international allies and secure new partnerships since the beginning of the full-scale war.
Andrii Sybiha, Kuleba's top deputy, is expected to replace him as Ukraine's top diplomat.
Sybiha is a career diplomat who served as Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey in 2016-2019. He joined President Volodymyr Zelensky's administration as deputy chief of staff in 2021 and was moved to the Foreign Ministry in April this year.
Other top government officials who submitted their resignations this week include Justice Minister Denys Maliuska, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna, Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin, Ecology Minister Ruslan Strilets, Vereshchuk, and Koval.
Many have been offered new positions in the government, including other ministerial posts.
"We need new energy today. And these steps (reshuffle) are only related to strengthening our state in various sectors. International politics and diplomacy are no exception," Zelensky said.
"I cannot predict today what exactly some ministers will do. The answers will come when they are offered certain positions."
Chris York
