"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.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with the Tax Service chief at the Kremlin in Moscow on November 21, 2024 (Vyacheslav Prokofyev / Pool / AFP).
Russia's use of a purported new ballistic missile "will not change the course of the conflict, or deter NATO allies from supporting Ukraine," NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said on Nov. 21.
Dakhlallah's comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country had launched its "newest missile," an IRBM called "Oreshnik," in an attack on Dnipro in eastern Ukraine earlier that day.
"The Russian attack on Dnipro on Thursday is yet another example of Russia's attacks on Ukrainian cities," Dakhlallah said in comments reported by the Guardian and AFP.
Putin said the attack was in response to Ukraine targeting facilities in Russian oblasts using Western-supplied long-range missiles.
On Nov. 17 U.S. President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles to strike deep into the territory of the Russian Federation.
On Nov. 19, Ukraine launched ATACMS missiles for the first time in Russia's Bryansk Oblast, and on Nov. 20, it made its first use of UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
After depicting such a move as crossing another "red line" the Kremlin had drawn, Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said his country would respond.
"They probably considered testing a nuclear warhead, which was also rumored to happen soon, but decided that's too intense, and that could invite too much backlash, especially from partners, such as China and India," Fabian Hoffmann, a defense expert and doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo, told the Kyiv Independent.
"They probably thought that (the IRBM strike) is the next best option because it sends a clear signal to the West, while potentially not antagonizing critical international partners," he added.
"So this strike is not for military value, this is purely, purely for political purposes."
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Alisa Yurchenko
