"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.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London, on Dec. 12, 2024. (Benjamin Cremel / WPA Pool / Getty Images)
The British government has obliged everyone working for the Russian state in the U.K. to openly declare their activities starting on July 1, according to the government's statement on April 1.
A number of suspected spy networks run by Minsk and Moscow have been uncovered in Europe over the past years as European countries threw their support behind Ukraine, resisting Russia's all-out war since 2022.
In response to espionage concerns, the U.K. is adding Russia to the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), a tool introduced in 2023 to protect the country against harmful covert activities. Criminal prosecution is possible in case of violations.
Russia became the second country to be included in this category after Iran was added in March.
"For too long, the Kremlin has been responsible for unacceptable threats to our national security — from damaging cyberattacks, malign attempts to interfere in our democratic processes, and attempted assassinations in this country," U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said.
"Our new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme gives us the power to take much stronger action against any Russian threat."
The British Parliament has also announced that the regulations necessary for the scheme's full launch on July 1 have been introduced.
The scheme requires registration of any political influence activity in the U.K. conducted on behalf of a foreign state. This will also allow MPs to examine whether the interlocutor is acting on behalf of a foreign state to make informed decisions about interaction.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
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