"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 man walks past the logo of Raiffeisen Bank seen atop a building in Moscow on April 3, 2023. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
Raiffeisen Bank International reported its first quarterly net loss in nine years after allocating $867 million for an adverse court ruling in Russia, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 4.
Raiffeisen is the largest Western bank still operating in Russia. While it initially hesitated to withdraw from the Russian market, the bank announced in July 2024 that it would "drastically" scale down its business in the country.
The Austrian lender reported a net loss of 926 million euros ($955 million) in the fourth quarter of 2024, primarily due to provisions in its Russian subsidiary. "The business reduction in Russia is making good progress," CEO Johann Strobl reportedly said.
Russian court rulings have complicated the bank's withdrawal. In September 2024, a court issued a preliminary decision blocking the transfer of Raiffeisen's shares, which the company said would "inevitably lead to further delays" in its exit.
Russian government restrictions also prevent Raiffeisen from transferring its Russian earnings to its parent company in Austria. As a result, the bank has accumulated 4.4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in excess capital within Russia, Bloomberg reported.
Raiffeisen's Russian branch earned over $1 billion in the first three quarters of 2023 — about 50% of the group's total profits — and paid 277 million euros ($284 million) in taxes to Russia over the same period.
Bloomberg previously reported on Feb. 3 that Raiffeisen Bank's Russian subsidiary cooperates with companies supplying the Russian military.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
David Kirichenko
