"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.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko attends the Victory Day military parade at the Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2023. (GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. Deputy Assistant State Secretary Christopher W. Smith visited Belarus alongside two other U.S. officials in an unannounced meeting on Feb. 12, the New York Times reported, potentially ending Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's isolation from the West.
Belarus has been cut off from the West following Lukashenko's crackdown on the 2020 mass protests in response to what the West denounced as fraudulent election results. Since then, Belarusian authorities have increasingly suppressed political freedoms and have become complacent in Russia's war against Ukraine.
The meeting comes as the U.S. seeks to negotiate a deal with Belarusian authorities. In exchange for the release of an undefined number of political prisoners, the U.S. is willing to ease sanctions on Belarusian banks and potash, the New York Times (NYT) reportedon Feb. 15, citing unnamed officials in contact with Smith on Feb. 13.
Belarus is a major producer of potash, a key ingredient in fertilizer.
Revealing the meeting, Smith said during a briefing on Feb. 13 that it was the goal of U.S. officials to secure freedom for more political prisoners.
Alena Movshuk, a Belarusian activist, and Andrey Kuznechyk, a journalist for Radio Free Europe were released, Franak Viacorka, Senior Advisor to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tikhanovskaya said.
Smith drove to Belarus from Lithuania, following a phone call with Lukashenko. The small U.S. delegation visited a border town where three political prisoners were transferred, including one U.S. citizen, and two Belarusian citizens.
The Belarusian leader assured Smith he was ready to decrease repression in Belarus, Smith said, adding that the U.S. wants Belarus to be less reliant on Russia.
Lukashenko was handed a seventh consecutive term as President of Belarus on Jan. 26, in an election that has been internationally denounced as a sham.
Minsk refused to invite a mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the country's Jan. 26 presidential election.
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn is a news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He is pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, majoring in political science with a minor in anthropology and human geography. Volodymyr holds a Certificate in Business Fundamentals from Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto. He previously completed an internship with The Kyiv Independent.
Martin Fornusek
