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.
A sign above the entrance to a branch of Raiffeisen Bank JSC in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 23, 2022. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Raiffeisen Bank International has suspended efforts to sell its unit in Russia amid warming ties between Moscow and Washington, the Financial Times (FT) reported on April 18, citing undisclosed sources.
Austria's Raiffeisen, the largest Western bank still operating in Russia, has long been scrutinized for failing to exit the country's market despite the EU and U.S. sanctions imposed at the outbreak of the full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022.
While initially announcing intent to sell its Russian branch, Raiffeisen decided in February to pause this effort amid U.S. President Donald Trump's diplomatic outreach to Russia, the FT wrote.
The outlet's sources nevertheless said that the situation might still change.
Trump's efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine have largely stalled as Moscow continues to reject a full 30-day truce, and the partial pause on strikes against energy facilities failed to hold.
Russian and U.S. officials have, nevertheless, floated the possibility of economic cooperation as part of the eventual settlement in Ukraine, and the rapprochement has already signaled positive developments for the Russian economy.
Raiffeisen told the FT that the process to sell its Russian unit is ongoing, but clarified that a Russian court ruling from September 2024, which froze the subsidiaries' assets, precluded the finalization of the process.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
