"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.
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina on Nov. 4, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is the projected winner in the key state of North Carolina, worth 16 votes in the Electoral College.
With 90% of votes tallied, Trump led Democratic challenger Vice President Kamala Harris 50.8% to 48%.
The projection marks the first call of a major swing state in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
In U.S. presidential elections, a candidate does not have to win a majority of the popular vote, but a majority of electoral votes, which are allocated per state based on population. A candidate must secure 270 electoral votes in order to win an election.
North Carolina is one of a handful of pivotal states expected to determine the next U.S. president. The other key battlegrounds include Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arizona.
Donald Trump won North Carolina's electoral votes in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
The election result will have a profound impact on the Russia-Ukraine war. While Harris has pledged to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight for independence, many fear that Trump would cut a deal with Moscow, possibly at the cost of painful concessions for Ukraine.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Owen Racer
