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.
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."
Russia launched a missile on Sept. 12, 2024, at a cargo ship in the Black Sea carrying wheat for Egypt. (Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram)
Editor's note: The article has been updated to indicate that the ship was sailing through Romania's exclusive economic zone at the time of the attack.
A Russian missile struck a cargo ship carrying Ukrainian wheat to Egypt through the Black Sea on Sept. 12, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported.
Romania's Coast Guard later confirmed that the vessel was sailing through Romania's exclusive economic zone, about 55 km from the Romanian port of Sfantu Gheorghe, at the time of the attack.
Kyiv was forced to set up a new export route in the Black Sea last year after Russia unilaterally terminated the Black Sea grain deal. Initially envisioned as a humanitarian corridor to allow the departure of ships stranded there since the start of the full-scale war, it has since grown into a full-blown trade route.
Traveling along the route, Ukrainian ships are regularly at risk of being attacked by Russia. Since the beginning of the all-out war, mines have also been drifting along the trade route, which also poses a risk to maritime transport.
The attack on the ship marked the first missile strike on a civilian vessel transporting grain through the Black Sea since the start of the full-scale invasion. Although some ships were previously damaged by Russia while moored in Ukrainian ports, Reuters reported.
"The internal stability and life of dozens of countries in different parts of the world depend on the normal and uninterrupted operation of our export food corridor," Zelensky said, adding that Ukrainian food supplies are "critical" to the countries of Africa and the Middle East.
According to preliminary data, no one was killed in the attack.
Zelensky said that Ukraine is one of the key global contributors to food security and that the Ukrainian government will continue to do "everything possible" to protect Ukrainian ports and supply food to the global market.
"We are waiting for the world's reaction. Wheat and food security should never be a target for missiles," the president added.
Ukraine has exported over 64 million metric tons of goods to 46 countries since the temporary Black Sea corridor began operating, according to the Infrastructure Ministry.
This volume included 43.5 million metric tons of agricultural products exported through the Black Sea shipping route over the past year.
Kateryna Denisova
