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.
The offices of Raiffeisen Bank International AG in Prague, Czech Republic, on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (Milan Jaros/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Austria-headquartered Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) agreed to sell its stake in its Belarusian subsidiary Priorbank, marking the first step toward fully withdrawing from the Belarusian market, RBI announced on Sept. 20.
RBI said it had signed an agreement to sell its 87.74% stake in Priorbank to Soven 1 Holding Limited, an investor from the United Arab Emirates, after more than six months of negotiations.
RBI has come under heavy criticism from Western institutions since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine for continuing its business in Russia and Belarus, thereby fuelling Russia's war through paying taxes.
Raiffeisen is the largest remaining Western bank in Russia. Hesitant to fully withdraw from the Russian market, the bank eventually announced in July 2024 that it would "drastically" reduce its operations in the country.
The decision came after the European Parliament sent Austrian officials a letter in April, urging them to compel Raiffeisen to cease its activities in Russia in compliance with EU sanctions.
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The European Central Bank has also asked Raiffeisen to scale back its business in Russia by 2026.
The sale of Priorbank is expected to create a loss of around 300 million euros ($335 million), "which essentially results from the difference between the purchase price and the book value of the equity of Priorbank," RBI said.
With the completion of this transaction, "RBI will successfully withdraw from the Belarusian market and thus reduce operational complexity in line with its risk mitigation strategy in Eastern Europe," the Sept. 20 press release said.
Earlier in September, a Russian court issued a preliminary ruling that banned the transfer of Raiffeisen shares. "This complicates the sales process" and will "inevitably lead to further delays" in Raiffeisen's exit from Russia, RBI said.
Elsa Court
