"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.
A view of the Black Sea from Odesa. (Yulii Zozulia / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Turkey will host a Black Sea security meeting with Russian and Ukrainian representatives on April 15-16, Turkish media outlets reported on April 13.
The meeting in Ankara will take place less than a month after the U.S. on March 25 announced an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to "eliminate the use of force" in the Black Sea.
Russian and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to meet at the Turkish Navy Command headquarters in Ankara on April 15-16, Turkish news outlets CNN Turk and TGRT reported, citing sources from Turkey's defense ministry.
The meeting will focus on upholding peace in the Black Sea after a potential ceasefire.
Military representatives from other countries are also expected to attend, although details regarding specific participants have not been disclosed yet.
Turkey has positioned itself as a potential mediator in Russia's all-out war against Ukraine by maintaining diplomatic and economic ties with both nations. Leveraging its strategic position and influence in the Black Sea region, Turkey has facilitated negotiations and grain exports, while expressing willingness to participate in ceasefire monitoring.
Along with the United Nations, Turkey brokered the Black Sea grain deal, which enabled Ukraine to continue exporting agricultural products until Russia withdrew from the initiative in 2023.
While Kyiv on March 11 immediately agreed to accept a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire without conditions, Russia refused the terms. Following additional talks with the U.S., Russia nominally agreed to a partial truce on the Black Sea and on energy infrastructure attacks.
Kyiv has accused Russia of violating the energy infrastructure ceasefire on multiple occasions.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 6 that the Kremlin will not accept an unconditional ceasefire because Russia wants to keep launching missile strikes from the Black Sea.
Amid the so-called ceasefire, Russia has continued to attack Ukrainian cities and kill civilians.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
