"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 Ukrainian flag fluttering over the Verkhovna Rada building, on the Day of the National Flag, in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Aug. 23, 2024. (Roman Pilipey /AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine's parliamentary committee on foreign policy has backed the ratification of the minerals deal with the U.S., lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on May 6.
The agreement, signed on April 30, establishes a joint investment fund between Kyiv and Washington and grants the U.S. special access to projects developing Ukraine's natural resources.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, will vote on the agreement's ratification on May 8.
Eleven members of the foreign policy committee supported the decision; one abstained from voting, and two others did not participate, according to Zhelezniak.
Following the signing of the agreement between Kyiv and Washington, the parties did not disclose details on how the Reconstruction Investment Fund will work, except that it will be managed in an equal partnership, with both sides contributing.
Earlier, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that future military aid from the U.S. could count as contributions to the fund, but previous assistance is not included.
Before parliament votes to ratify the minerals deal, Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko will hold separate meetings with members of the Verkhovna Rada from each faction, the news outlet Suspilne reported.
The meetings with Svyrydenko will take place on May 6 and 7, and will allow lawmakers to ask questions and learn more about the details of the agreement.
The signing of the minerals deal followed months of negotiations that at times became contentious and strained the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine.
The countries first planned to ink the deal in late February, but the agreement fell apart in the wake of the infamous White House argument between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The final deal avoids many elements in the earlier drafts that experts viewed as exploiting Ukraine, but still provides no concrete security guarantees from the U.S. The finalized agreement does prevent counting previously delivered U.S. military aid as a contribution to the joint fund.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Andrew Chakhoyan
