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.
Ukraine's corruption perception has been downgraded in 2021, according to a report by the watchdog Transparency International. (Transparency International Ukraine)
Ukraine has slipped in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released annually by the watchdog Transparency International.
In 2021, Ukraine earned 32 points out of 100, one point less than in the previous year. It placed 122nd out of 180 countries analyzed.
"This decline in error indicates a period of stagnation. The authorities are delaying the implementation of many important anti-corruption promises," said Andriy Borovik, executive director of Transparency International Ukraine.
Compared to its neighbors, Ukraine was only ahead of Russia, which placed 136th, with 29 points. Slovakia improved the most, gaining 3 points, while Belarus was the worst performer, dropping 6 points.
The report highlighted that Ukraine's improvements were not enough to outweigh the negatives in the corruption fight.
The report attributed several factors to Ukraine's poor performance last year. The main factors were the delayed judicial reform, anti-monopoly legislation, and the Constitutional Court's interference in anti-corruption work.
The failure to form an independent and professional judiciary had the largest impact on Ukraine's score. Implementing an independent judiciary was among Transparency International's five recommendations to improve Ukraine's score in 2022.
The watchdog also recommended adopting an anti-corruption strategy, implementing constitutional reform and increasing transparency.
Sergiy Slipchenko is a staff writer at the Kyiv Independent. He studied at York University in Toronto, Canada and worked as a reporter at the Kyiv Post.
