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 mother and her children outside an evacuation centre after being evacuated from Krasnopilya in Sumy Oblast on April 2nd 2025 (Ed Ram/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Russia claimed on March 6 that its forces had seized the village of Basivka in Sumy Oblast, but Ukraine's State Border Guard Service denied the report, describing it as part of a "disinformation campaign."
The Russian Defense Ministry said units from its "Sever" (North) military grouping captured the settlement, located roughly 29 kilometers northeast of Sumy city and near the Russian border.
Russia's state-run news agency TASS reported the seizure could disrupt supply lines to Ukrainian forces still operating in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Ukrainian officials rejected the claim. "Russia continues its disinformation campaign regarding the seizure of settlements in Sumy Oblast or the breakthrough of the border," border guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko told Ukrainian Pravda.
Demchenko confirmed ongoing Russian attempts to send small assault groups across the border in the Novenke-Basivka direction, but said these groups are being "destroyed to the maximum extent possible" by Ukraine's Defense Forces.
Basivka remains marked as a "gray zone" on the DeepState monitoring map, indicating contested or unclear control.
The estimated Russian advance in the Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, as of April 6, 2025, according to DeepState map. A white symbol marks the village of Basivka. (DeepState/OpenStreetMaps)
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in a March 26 interview with Le Figaro that Russia is preparing a new offensive in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts this spring. Both border regions have been critical to Ukraine's defense since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
While Russian advances have largely stalled in Donetsk Oblast, particularly around Pokrovsk, Ukraine has lost ground in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
According to DeepState, Ukraine's controlled area shrank from 407 square kilometers in early March to just 70 square kilometers by month's end.
Ukraine initially seized 1,300 square kilometers before Russian forces — reinforced by North Korean units — launched a counteroffensive.
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.
Oleg Sukhov
