"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 light candles in honor of the victims of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, Russia, on March 23, 2024. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Russian officials have accused "the special services of an unfriendly state" of planning and organizing last year's deadly attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, where 145 people were killed.
Svetlana Petrenko, a representative of the Russian Investigative Committee, claimed the attack aimed to "destabilize the situation in Russia." She did not specify which country Russia blames but added that authorities have charged "six Central Asians" in absentia for allegedly recruiting and training the attackers.
Authorities have placed those six individuals on Russia’s wanted list while holding 19 suspects in custody in connection with the attack.
The four main suspects, identified by the media as Tajik citizens, appeared in a Moscow court last March on terrorism charges, showing signs of severe beatings. One suspect appeared barely conscious during the hearing.
The March 22, 2024, attack at Crocus City Hall was the deadliest in Russia in years, leaving hundreds wounded.
A faction of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility, saying that gunmen opened fire on concertgoers before setting the building on fire. Despite this, Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly alleged—without providing evidence—that Ukraine played a role. Kyiv has strongly denied any involvement.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Yuliia Taradiuk
