"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.
Photo for illustrative purposes: An exterior view of the railroad station building with the 'Bilopillia' sign on March 28, 2024 in Bilopillia, Sumy Oblast. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russia attacked the Sumy Oblast border villages of Bilopillia and Vorozhba on May 5, killing three residents and injuring seven others, the regional military administration reported.
Russia launched guided aerial bombs, mortars, and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) against the border area on May 5, the administration said. The strikes killed three people and injured at least seven others, including a 16-year-old boy.
As of 9 p.m. local time, one of the adult victims was reported to be in critical condition. Another was said to be in serious condition.
The attacks damaged civilian infrastructure facilities in both Bilopillia and Vorozhba, the administration said. Local authorities initiated an emergency evacuation due to the intensity of the attacks.
The evacuation operation remains ongoing and authorities hope to evacuate more than 500 civilians over the next day, the administration said.
Shelling is a daily occurrence for the communities near Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia, with Sumy Oblast residents often experiencing multiple attacks per day.
More recently, Russia has been deploying small assault groups to infiltrate the region in a bid to expand the front line. Sumy Oblast borders Russia's Kursk Oblast as well as Bryansk and Belgorod oblasts, making it a critical front in the full-scale war.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Andrew Chakhoyan
