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.
Peter Pellegrini, Slovakia's former prime minister and leader of the social democratic Hlas party, a day after the Oct. 1 parliamentary elections, in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo credit: Zuzana Gogova/Getty Images)
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, speaking to Slovakia's public broadcaster STVR on Dec. 15, argued that achieving peace in Ukraine would likely require accepting partial territorial losses and called for the immediate start of peace negotiations.
"When it comes to peace, I believe that realism must be maintained. Today, probably no sensible person in Europe believes that peace can be achieved without some partial territorial losses for Ukraine," Pellegrini said.
Pellegrini's comments come ahead of the January inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump who has vowed to get Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table for peace talks.
Pellegrini has also previously indicated his objection to immediately providing Ukraine with an invite to the NATO military alliance, stating that immediate accession was "not realistic" during wartime.
On Dec. 2, the Russian-friendly, populist prime minister criticized the EU’s new leadership over their supporting words for Ukraine, saying that the made by EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallasand new president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, "did not correspond to the conclusions of the European Union."
Fico halted military aid to Ukraine from the Slovak Armed Forces' stocks after taking office in September 2023 in a stark foreign policy reversal. He recently announced he had accepted the Kremlin's invitation to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow next May.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Martin Fornusek
