"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes. Ships anchored in the Black Sea await to enter the Sulina canal, one of the spilling points of the Danube River, to the Black Sea in Sulina, south-eastern Romania, on June 8, 2022. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia is building a new naval base in Ochamchire, Abkhazia, a move that raises fears Georgia could be drawn into the war in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.
The base is part of Moscow’s strategy to safeguard its naval forces after suffering heavy losses in the Black Sea. Since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has lost or sustained damage to roughly a third of its fleet in the region.
Satellite images obtained by the outlet show continued upgrades at the Ochamchira port, including expanded access points to fit larger vessels. Though relatively small, experts say the facility could host ships equipped with cruise missiles, bolstering Russia’s military presence in the Black Sea.
Ochamchire, more than 700 kilometers southeast of the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory, could provide Moscow with a naval base that remains largely beyond the range of Ukraine’s existing long-range strikes.
Russia has occupied Abkhazia after a war with Tbilisi in 2008, backing local breakaway leadership. The region is internationally recognized as Georgia's sovereign soil.
The Wall Street Journal reports that if Ukraine were to target Russian warships there, Georgia could find itself pulled into the war.
Beyond military risks, the base threatens a key trade route between Asia and Europe. Before Russia’s invasion, more than 85% of land-based trade between China and Europe moved through Russian territory. Sanctions have disrupted that route, shifting attention to the Middle Corridor, which runs through Georgia.
The World Bank estimates this corridor could handle 11 million tonnes of cargo annually by 2030, up from less than 3 million tonnes in 2023.
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.
Nate Ostiller
