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.
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."
Tecnove signed an agreement with the Ukrainian company Praktika to manufacture Ukrainian-made Djura (pictured above) and Kozak armored vehicles. (Ukraine's Defense Ministry)
Spanish defense company Tecnove will begin producing Ukrainian-made Djura and Kozak armored vehicles at its facility in the town of Herencia, located in the La Mancha region, defense outlet Infodefensa reported on April 14.
Herencia is located in the Castilla-La Mancha region of central Spain, approximately 150 kilometers south of Madrid.
Tecnove reportedly signed an agreement with the Ukrainian company Praktika to manufacture both armored vehicles. Djura vehicles are designed for extreme conditions and can be configured for various missions. Kozak vehicles are known for their high protection and mobility, making them suitable for tactical operations such as troop transport and medical evacuation, according to Tecnove's description.
The company will manufacture three variants of the vehicles: a medical evacuation vehicle, a troop carrier, and a vehicle for special operations. In a social media post, the company said these armored vehicles—built with advanced protection and mobility technologies—will be available globally.
Tecnove specializes in producing customized transport vehicles, mobile solutions, and logistics services. The company is active in the defense sector, producing mobile military bases, field kitchens, medical modules, and other specialized vehicles for military and civilian use. It also offers maintenance and modernization services for transport equipment.
The Djura armored vehicle is a lightweight tactical vehicle built on the Toyota Land Cruiser chassis. It weighs approximately 5.7 tons and is powered by a 200-horsepower diesel engine. It protects against assault rifle fire and grenade blasts, is equipped with a machine gun turret, and is designed to transport personnel, ammunition, or robotic systems.
The Kozak series, developed by Ukraine’s R&D and production firm Praktika, is a family of infantry mobility vehicles featuring a V-shaped hull and designed to transport personnel and various types of cargo.
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.
Yulia Svyrydenko
