"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.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer outside 10 Downing Street in London, UK, on July 5, 2024. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The U.K. aims to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Feb. 25 during a speech in the British Parliament.
Starmer's statement comes amid growing uncertainty about the security situation in Europe, as the U.S. sends clear signals that the continent won’t be able to rely on Washington for its security in the future.
Starting in 2027, the UK will spend £13.4 billion ($17 billion) yearly on security needs. After the end of the parliament's term in 2029, it is expected to reach 3% of GDP, according to Starmer.
It is the largest sustained increase in British defense spending since the end of the Cold War.
"(Vladimir) Putin thought he would weaken NATO. He has achieved the exact opposite," Starmer said.
Due to the changes, the budget for foreign aid will have to be cut from this year's 0.5% of national income to 0.3% in 2027, Starmer added.
"It remains a cut, and I will not pretend otherwise. We will do everything we can to return to a world where that is not the case and rebuild a capability on development," Starmer said.
"But at times like this, the defense and security of the British people must always come first," he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously urged NATO allies to increase their defense contributions beyond the current 2% benchmark, citing the need for Europe to take greater responsibility for its security amid Russia's ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine.
Trump also blamed Ukraine for starting the war, saying Kyiv "should have never started it" and instead should have "made a deal."
Later, Trump added that President Volodymyr Zelensky is not essential to negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine and called him a "dictator."
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.
Andrea Januta
