"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.
Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
A bomb's fragments lie collected at the site of a Russian aerial bombing of the city's Saltivskyi district in Kharkiv, Ukraine on April 23, 2024. (Ivan Samoilov/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russian forces continue to attack Ukraine with guided aerial bombs despite a 3-day ceasefire on Victory Day, Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainska Pravda on May 9.
Despite the Kremlin's announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the front line.
Russian troops launched 130 guided aerial bombs on May 8 against Sumy Oblast, which shares a border with Russia, including Bryansk Oblast to the northeast, Kursk and Belgorod Oblasts to the east.
Russia kept striking the Ukrainian territory on the following day, on May 9, which coincides with Victory Day, one of the biggest national events, commemorating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Russian forces launched 56 guided bombs by midday using Su-34 aircraft operating under the cover of Su-35 fighters, Ihnat said.
The spokesperson added that at noon, nearly 10 Russian aircraft were near the front line's Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Sumy sectors.
Before the ceasefire, Russia launched three waves of drones against Ukraine, totaling more than 200, according to an Air Force report. Ukrainian forces shot down 101 drones, while another 70 disappeared from radars without causing any damage.
On the following morning, when the ceasefire had started, Russian attacks killed and injured Ukrainian civilians in at least two oblasts, according to local authorities.
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.
Chris York
