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.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Illustrative purposes: A Patriot air defense launcher in Sochaczew, Poland, on March 21, 2015. (NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Poland has signed a $2 billion contract with the United States for a "multi-layered air defense" program, the Polish Defense Ministry announced on March 31.
Warsaw has taken several measures to boost its national defenses since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The country regularly scrambles fighter jets and activates air defense units amid Russian attacks near its border.
The deal with the U.S. was finalized on March 31 and includes the delivery of air defense equipment and logistical support for Patriot systems, the Polish Defense Ministry said.
"The signing of the agreement is a confirmation of the long-standing and intensive cooperation between Poland and the USA in the area of security," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the deal represented "the security of the Polish state and our lasting, unchanging transatlantic alliance," adding that building up European forces was complementary to strong partnerships with the U.S.
Russian drones and missiles have violated Polish airspace over the course of the all-out war against Ukraine. Polish military officials have said that Russia is likely not only targeting Ukraine, but also testing Poland's air defense capabilities.
Sharing borders with both Belarus and Russia's heavily militarized Kaliningrad exclave, Poland would likely be among the first targets in a potential confrontation between NATO and Russia.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Martin Fornusek
