"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.
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 Russian Navy ship (Back) passes by UK's Royal Navy HMS Defender (D1145) on June 6, 2022, as the ship participates in the BALTOPS 22 Exercise in the Baltic Sea. - BALTOPS 22 is the premier maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Region. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP via Getty Images)
Russian sensors, believed to be part of an effort to spy on the U.K.'s nuclear submarines, have been discovered concealed in the waters surrounding Britain, the Sunday Times reported on April 5.
The U.K. military has discovered several of these sensors after they washed ashore, with more identified by the Royal Navy. These devices are believed to have been planted by Moscow in an effort to gather intelligence on the U.K.’s four Vanguard submarines, which carry nuclear missiles as part of Britain’s continuous at-sea deterrent.
"There should be no doubt, there is a war raging in the Atlantic. This is a game of cat and mouse that has continued since the ending of the Cold War, and is now heating up again. We are seeing phenomenal amounts of Russian activity," senior serving British military official told the Sunday Times.
The country's Defense Ministry (MoD) has kept details about the discovery secret, and the Sunday Times decided not to publish information on the sensors' locations.
Russia’s underwater surveillance efforts have extended beyond sensors. The Sunday Times investigation reveals that unmanned Russian vehicles have been found near deep-sea communications cables, and there is credible intelligence suggesting that superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs may have been used for underwater reconnaissance.
The MoD has also discovered other sensors on the sea bed, raising concerns about Russia’s ability to monitor the movements of the U.K.’s nuclear submarines. While the U.K. has ramped up its surveillance efforts, senior military figures stress the need for further investment in underwater defense capabilities.
The investigation suggests that Russia’s military program, particularly its deep-sea research vessel Yantar, poses a significant threat to Britain’s critical underwater infrastructure. The Yantar, equipped with unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and mini-submarines, has been spotted near vital internet cables and data centers.
According to Royal Navy sources, the Yantar’s presence in U.K. waters signals Russia’s escalating efforts to infiltrate vital communication lines and military cables.
The U.K.’s response includes the deployment of the RFA Proteus, a deep-sea surveillance vessel, tasked with countering Russian threats in domestic waters. The Proteus, operational since 2023, is the only surface ship capable of patrolling the deep-sea areas where Russia’s most advanced threats, such as nuclear-powered mini-submarines, could be lurking.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Mika Aaltola
