"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.
Poland's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk and the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky sign a cooperation agreement on the security field prior to a press conference at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in Warsaw, Poland on July 8, 2024. (Omar Marques/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that a key priority of Poland's EU presidency in early 2025 will be the European integration of Ukraine and maintaining an "open door to Europe" policy for new members.
During the Arraiolos Group summit in Krakow, an annual informal gathering of presidents from parliamentary and semi-presidential EU member states, leaders discussed these issues.
"The question of how to act so that Ukraine not only survives the terrible aggression of Russia, which it is currently facing, but also how to act so that Ukraine is accepted into the EU as soon as possible, was raised repeatedly," Duda said.
The discussions also focused on strengthening EU-U.S. ties, rebuilding Ukraine after the war, and ensuring energy security in the EU.
Other leaders, including Estonia's president, echoed the call for supporting Ukraine and pushing for EU expansion to include Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkans.
The European bloc granted candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova in June 2022, and EU leaders agreed last December to open accession talks with the two aspiring members.
Poland will chair the EU Council between January and June 2025, taking over the six-month presidency of Hungary.
The Hungarian prime minister and his top diplomat, Peter Szijjarto, have repeatedly frustrated their European colleagues by obstructing assistance for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, claiming that arming Kyiv will lead to "escalation" and prolongation of the war.
Orban has become something of a black sheep in the EU, regularly lashing out against "Brussels bureaucrats" while drawing criticism about the domestic rule of law issues and democratic backsliding.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Abbey Fenbert
