"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
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.
People hold the blue and yellow national flag during a joint prayer at Saint Peter and Paul Garrison Church as part of the celebration of the 34th anniversary of hoisting the Ukrainian flag over Lviv Town Hall, Lviv, on April 3, 2024. (Anastasiia Smolienko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
When asked which language they speak at home, 12% of Ukrainians said they speak only Russian, while 59% said they speak only Ukrainian, according to a poll by the Sociological Group Rating published on April 4.
A similar survey conducted by Rating in 2022 showed that 18% of respondents spoke exclusively Russian at home. At the end of 2021, shortly before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, 26% of respondents said they spoke only Russian at home.
The latest survey also showed that 28% of respondents said they speak a mix of both languages at home.
Among those who only speak Ukrainian, 9% of respondents said they had recently switched to Ukrainian.
In the west of Ukraine, 93% of respondents said they speak exclusively Ukrainian at home. The results were more mixed in the east of Ukraine, where 23% speak only Ukrainian, 25% speak only Russian, and 51% speak a mix of both at home.
The poll was conducted via telephone interviews with 2,000 respondents living across Ukraine, except in areas under Russian occupation.
Ukraine's Culture Ministry recently launched a program aimed at bolstering the Ukrainian language's role in everyday life, with the aim that by 2030, 80% of Ukrainians speak Ukrainian at home.
A poll in March showed that Ukrainians are widely opposed to the use of the Russian language in official settings, with 81% against Russian being used as an official language in their region or as a state language.
Alexander Khrebet
