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.
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.
Slovakia's national flag is seen on parliamentary election day in Trnava, Slovakia, on Feb. 29, 2020. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A group of pro-government Slovak lawmakers plan to visit Moscow later in January to develop "dialogue" with Russia, according to Andrej Danko, the chair of the co-ruling far-right Slovak National Party (SNS) who will take part in the delegation, the Slovak news agency TASR reported on Jan. 5.
Fico's Slovak government has been consistently critical of military support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
More recently, Bratislava threatened Kyiv with cutting energy and humanitarian support after Ukraine did not prolong the transit deal on Russian gas flowing to Slovakia and other EU countries via Ukrainian pipelines.
"We want to understand certain positions, legislature, and restore some relations with Russia," Danko noted, presenting the trip as a continuation of Fico's visit on Dec. 22.
The six-member delegation, which will include lawmakers from Danko's SNS and Fico's Smer (Direction) party, is expected to meet representatives of the Russian government and the parliament.
"We want to open the eyes of the people in Slovakia," Danko said, talking about the supposed importance of Russian gas and Russia's business ties with Western companies.
Despite the EU's attempts at weaning itself off Russian fossil fuels in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, countries like Slovakia and Hungary remain heavily reliant on Russian gas.
Fico was not the first Slovak official to visit Russia last year. Lubos Blaha, a pro-Kremlin member of the European Parliament for the Smer party, visited Moscow in October 2024, praising Russia as "beautiful, wise, and advanced" and calling for an end to hatred towards the country.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Abbey Fenbert
