"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.
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.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, speaks at a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 12, 2025. (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 6 that Russia is refusing to accept an unconditional ceasefire in order to keep launching missile strikes from the Black Sea.
“This is one of the reasons why Russia is distorting diplomacy, why it is refusing to agree to an unconditional ceasefire—they want to preserve their ability to strike our cities and ports from the sea,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
Zelensky emphasized that a ceasefire at sea isn’t just about navigation or food exports, but also about preventing further escalation.
“(Russian President) Putin does not want to end the war. He wants to preserve the means to escalate it at any moment with even greater force,” he warned.
The Ukrainian president called for continued pressure on Moscow. “If there is a ceasefire, it must be unconditional—one that does not allow for the destruction of life,” Zelensky said.
“Putin is refusing. We are awaiting a response from the United States—and we also expect a response from all in Europe and around the world who truly want peace.”
Three weeks ago, Ukraine and the U.S. agreed to implement a full 30-day ceasefire. Russia declined to do so, issuing a list of demands instead.
As part of the March 25 partial ceasefire deal, Washington vowed to help restore Russia's access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.
The Kremlin stated that the ceasefire would take effect only after the West lifted some of the sanctions imposed on Russia.
On April 4, Russia hit a residential neighborhood in the city of Kryvyi Rih with ballistic missiles and drones, killing 20 people, including nine children, according to local authorities. 75 people were reportedly injured.
Each day afterward, at least one major Ukrainian city far from the front lines was struck by Russian missiles, resulting in civilian deaths.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Dominic Culverwell
