"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.
Law enforcement officers detained a man suspected of murdering Ukrainian activist Demyan Hanul in Odesa, Ukraine, on March 14, 2025. (Ihor Klymenko/Telegram)
Hours after prominent Ukrainian activist Demyan Hanul was gunned down in Odesa, law enforcement detained a potential suspect.
Hanul, 31, was a well-known public figure, blogger, and founder of the Street Front NGO. He participated in the EuroMaidan Revolution and the May 2 clashes against pro-Russian forces in Odesa.
The activist had been active in rallies supporting Ukraine, charity fundraisers for the military, and campaigns to dismantle the city's Soviet and imperial monuments.
He was shot dead in central Odesa on March 14.
Following the murder, the shooter fled the scene. According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, a weapon that was allegedly used was found in the apartment where the detainee was hiding.
The suspect is allegedly a 46-year-old deserter, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed.
In reaction to the murder, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that dozens of law enforcement officials are involved in the investigation.
"I have instructed the interior minister, the head of the Security Service, the acting prosecutor general to throw all the necessary forces and means to establish all the facts," Zelensky said.
The SBU did not rule out Russia's involvement in the murder.
Hanul had previously reported threats against his life. In July 2024, he claimed Russian sources had leaked personal information about his relatives and that a $10,000 bounty was offered for an attack on him.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
