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.
Laurent Vinatier, a French researcher accused of gathering Russian military information without registering as a "foreign agent", stands inside a defendants' cage during a hearing in Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky district court on Oct. 14, 2024. Vinatier was subsequently convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
A Moscow court sentenced on Oct. 14 French national Laurent Vinatier to three years and three months in prison over allegedly violating Russia's "foreign agents" legislation.
Vinatier, who holds a PhD and works for the Swiss Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), was arrested while visiting Russia in June for reportedly failing to register as a foreign agent.
The "foreign agents" designation requires people and entities who allegedly receive "support" from abroad to place a disclaimer in all of their publishing and mandates strict financial reporting. It is broadly seen as a means to repress domestic opposition.
Russian investigators claimed that beyond the violation of the foreign agents registration, Vinatier had plead guilty to illegally obtaining information about the military.
There is no way to independently verify the validity of Vinatier's alleged confession. Russia does not provide transparent access to its legal system, and international human rights organizations have long detailed rampant abuse in prisons, as well as the use of torture to coerce confessions.
Russia has routinely arrested foreign nationals, a number of whom were released in a high-profile prisoner exchange in August. Moscow has been accused of detaining foreigners on trumped-up charges and holding them as hostages to leverage the release of Russian nationals held in the West.
Chris York
