"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.
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.
President-elect Donald Trump (L) attends a campaign event on food security in a barn on the Smith Family Farm on September 23, 2024 in Smithton, Pennsylvania. The event, hosted by the Protecting America Initiative, led by former Trump acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell (R), highlighted China ownership of nearly 250,000 acres of U.S. land, slightly less than 1% of foreign-held acreage. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Richard Grenell, former U.S. ambassador to Germany, will serve as President-elect Donald Trump's "special missions envoy," Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Dec. 14.
In his post, Trump stated that “Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea [and] ... will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put America first.”
The New York Times describes Grenell as “a loyalist known for unbridled social media attacks on Mr. Trump’s perceived critics."
He previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term, as acting National Intelligence Director in 2020, and as Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations from 2019 to 2021.
Grenell’s name emerged during Trump’s selection process for the U.S. Ukraine peace envoy, where he was a prominent contender, though the role ultimately went to Keith Kellogg.
Michael O’Hanlon, director of research in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, told the Kyiv Independent that he was “more hopeful” about Kellogg’s selection, contrasting him with Grenell, whom he described as more radical.
Ukrainian analyst Volodymyr Fesenko agreed, noting that “Grenell is more radical and more inclined to apply strong pressure [to Ukraine].”
Grenell's perspective on Ukraine is consistent with the "peace through strength" approach, which involves leveraging military power, economic pressure, and assertive diplomacy to deter aggression and secure peace, as Trump's advisor Robert C. O’Brien elaborated in Foreign Affairs in June 2024.
In 2022, he “applauded” Elon Musk’s controversial peace proposal but called for an even “stronger [peace] deal.” Musk’s plan, which proposed Ukraine’s neutrality, recognition of Crimea as Russian, and a UN-supervised vote on other occupied territories, ignited widespread criticism.
By July 2024, Grenell suggested that peace in Ukraine could involve creating “autonomous zones,” though he did not provide details. “Autonomous regions can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but you got to work through those details,” he said.
Grenell also expressed the belief that Ukraine should delay its NATO membership ambitions.
It remains unclear what priorities and actions this newly created role will entail, as it currently has no established precedent.
Oleg Sukhov
