"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.
The car of Vasyl Nechet, the Russian-installed head of occupied Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, was burned to ashes in an explosion on Dec. 24, 2024. (Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the exiled mayor of Mariupol / Telegram)
Vasyl Nechet, the Russian-installed head of occupied Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, has been injured after his car exploded, Suspilne reported on Dec. 24, citing Mykola Matvienko, acting head of the Berdiansk city military administration.
The cause of the explosion has not been reported, but Russian officials, their proxies, and collaborators have been routinely targeted in both occupied parts of Ukraine and inside Russia. Kyiv does not typically comment on the attacks or claim responsibility.
Nechet's car exploded in a yard outside a house. As a result of the explosion, Nechet was hospitalized, according to the Telegram channel of the women's resistance movement Zla Mavka (Angry Mavka). His current condition is not known.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claims.
Before the occupation of Berdiansk, Nechet ran a house of culture. Later, he contributed to establishing the pro-Russian regime in the city, joined Russian President Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party, and was appointed head of the occupation council.
Russia has occupied Berdiansk since early 2022. The city lies at the Azov Sea and serves as a key transport hub for occupying authorities, namely to ship out looted grain and other resources from occupied Ukraine.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Oleg Sukhov
