"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 general view of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. (Andrey Borodulin / AFP via Getty Images)
On Dec. 10, a Russian drone struck and severely damaged an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) service vehicle on its way to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), President Volodymyr Zelensky reported.
The service vehicle was going to the ZNPP for a personnel rotation.
"This attack clearly demonstrated how Russia views everything related to international law, international institutions, and security,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
He also called for a firm response from the IAEA and international partners.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi condemned the attack as "unacceptable," stressing the agency's critical role in preventing nuclear accidents during the conflict.
The incident follows recent Russian shelling attacks that have disrupted the ZNPP's power lines multiple times since November, placing the plant at risk of a blackout.
At the moment, the plant is connected to the Ukrainian power grid by only one transmission line.
Russia has occupied the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear station in Europe, since March 2022.
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.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
