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."
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.
WhatsApp logo displayed on a phone screen is seen in this illustration photo taken in Poland on Dec. 15, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
The Russian hacker group Star Blizzard launched a spear phishing campaign in November via the messaging platform WhatsApp, marking a change in longstanding tactics, Microsoft reported in a blog post on Jan. 16.
Phishing messages use social engineering tactics to manipulate recipients, exploiting emotions to trick targets into revealing sensitive information or clicking malicious links.
Star Blizzard sent invitations to join a WhatsApp group to current and former officials in government and diplomacy, international relations and defense researchers, and people and organizations offering assistance to Ukraine amid Russia's full-scale war, according to Microsoft.
This is the first time the hacker group has been observed using this tactic.
The shift to WhatsApp may be related to successful cybersecurity efforts exposing Star Blizzard's techniques, Microsoft said.
In the most recent campaign, Star Blizzard hackers impersonated U.S. government officials in emails directing recipients to join a WhatsApp group via QR code. The WhatsApp group claimed to focus on "the latest non-governmental initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine NGOs."
The purpose of the campaign was to gain access to targets' WhatsApp accounts and extract their data.
While the campaign seemed to subside in late November 2024, Microsoft warned that the shift in tactics signals Star Blizzard's versatility and "tenacity in continuing spear phishing campaigns to gain access to sensitive information."
Russian hacker groups have engaged in various forms of cyber warfare throughout the full-scale war, including cyberattacks against Ukraine, hacks of civilian infrastructure in Europe, and interference in foreign elections.
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.
Daria Shulzhenko
