Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"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.
Head of the Georgian Legion Mamuka Mamulashvili talks with journalists in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 30, 2022. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
Slovakia has banned Georgian Legion commander Mamuka Mamulashvili from entering the country after the government linked his unit to an alleged coup plot, Denník N reported on Jan. 31.
The volunteers-based Georgian Legion, which has been fighting in Ukraine since 2014, was founded by Mamulashvili to combat Russian forces.
Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj-Eštok said a total of 10 people were on the list of individuals barred from entering Slovakia.
During a press conference, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico did not explain how Mamulashvili could have organized protests in Slovakia or been behind the alleged coup plot.
The demonstrations, held under the slogan "Slovakia is Europe," swept across 30 cities on Jan. 24, with around 100,000 people nationwide chanting slogans like "Enough of Fico" and "We are Europe" in opposition to his policies and pro-Russian stance.
The protests were also fueled by Fico's visit to Moscow in late December, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin — one of the few European Union leaders to do so since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Fico cited a photo of Mamulashvili with Lucy Štasselová from the Peace for Ukraine initiative and Denník N commentator Martin Šimečka, both of whom supported the Georgian Legion, as evidence for his claim.
The Georgian Legion dismissed the Slovak government's accusations as "absurd and groundless."
"These statements are nothing more than a deliberate attempt to discredit our unit, which has been fighting alongside Ukraine against Russian aggression since 2014," Mamulashvili said.
A similar accusation previously emerged in Georgia, where the State Security Service (SSG) alleged that the Georgian Legion, a former bodyguard of ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, and Giorgi Lortkipanidze—allegedly a deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence—were involved in a plot against the ruling pro-Russian Georgian Dream party.
"Now, the Slovak authorities have decided to follow the same Russian game, recycling the same lies to serve their own political agenda," Mamulashvili added.
The news came a day after reports that the police in Slovakia detained a Ukrainian citizen on Jan. 30 suspected of preparing a coup in the country.
Relations between Kyiv and Bratislava have become increasingly tense this month. Fico, who has long opposed military aid to Ukraine, has escalated threats against Kyiv following the termination of Russian gas transit via Ukrainian territory on Jan. 1.
Olena Goncharova
