Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"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.
Russian service members, involved in the country's military action in Ukraine, march on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow, Russia on May 9, 2024. (Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP via Getty Images)
Russia's Defense Ministry announced on April 21 that Russian troops resumed hostilities after the supposed Easter ceasefire, even as Ukraine accused Moscow of repeated violations while the truce was allegedly in effect.
The Russian ministry claimed its forces had struck Ukrainian forces near the village of Khmelivka in Sumy Oblast, the town of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast, the villages of Novodanylivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Poniativka in Kherson Oblast, and near several settlements in Donetsk Oblast.
Russia's temporary ceasefire was said to start at 6 p.m. Moscow time on April 19 and end at midnight on April 21. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of nearly 3,000 ceasefire breaches during that period.
Russia's violations included 96 Russian assaults on Ukrainian positions, 1,882 instances of shelling, and 950 uses of Russian first-person-view (FPV) drones during the truce, Zelensky claimed, citing a briefing from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
According to Kyiv, the Russian military was most active in the Pokrovsk and Siversk directions in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Oblast.
The Ukrainian military warned in early April that Russia was preparing a new offensive in Kharkiv Oblast.
The press service of Ukraine's 13th National Guard Khartiia Brigade said on April 20 that Russia also used the Easter truce to reinforce positions and prepare for renewed assaults in Kharkiv Oblast.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Anna Fratsyvir
