"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.
NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg on July 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Editor's note: The article incorrectly said that a Russian strike on July 8 killed over 200 civilians. The attack killed around 40 and injured around 200 civilians.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed U.S. restrictions on the use of long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory during a press conference on July 10 by affirming Ukraine's "right to self-defense."
The U.S. gave Ukraine permission on June 1 to use American-supplied weapons, including HIMARS rockets, to strike targets in Russia located near the border with Kharkiv Oblast after Russia launched a renewed offensive in the region on May 10. However, Ukraine is still prohibited from using ATACMS and other long-range U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes deeper inside Russia.
"Under international law, Ukraine has the right to self-defense," Stoltenberg said. "We are helping Ukraine to realize its right to self-defense by supplying weapons and equipment, including long-range missiles, in particular, ATACMS. The right of self-defense includes the right to strike legitimate military targets on the territory of the aggressor, Russia."
Stoltenberg said he welcomed the U.S. decision to ease restrictions on the use of certain weapons to target the border with Kharkiv Oblast amidst the renewed offensive.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the U.S. should allow Ukrainian forces to use American weapons to carry out strikes against military targets in Russia and occupied Crimea.
The president said such a decision would produce "an instant result."
"And we can significantly limit Russian actions in southern Ukraine and push the occupier out of there if American leadership assists us with the necessary deep-strike capabilities against the Russian military and logistics in our Ukrainian Crimea," he said.
The address came a day after Russia launched a deadly mass missile attack on July 8 that killed around 40 civilians, injured around 200 civilians, and targeted a children's hospital.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. would not change its policy on Ukrainian strikes within Russia in light of the attack.
Rachel Amran is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked on the Europe and Central Asia team of Human Rights Watch investigating war crimes in Ukraine. Rachel holds a master's degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Regional Studies from Columbia University.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
