Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
A notice about the airspace closure was published on the U.S. Defense Department's NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) website on May 10, as cited by Ukrainian defense news outlet Militarnyi.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
"We have a plan B and a plan C. But our focus is plan A, the essence of which is to get everyone's support" for Ukraine's accession, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
"(T)he presence at the Victory Parade of a country that bombs cities, hospitals, and daycares, and which has caused the deaths and injuries of over a million people over three years, is a shame," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
"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.
The Kherson Oblast sign is seen on Nov. 13, 2022, after Russia's retreat from Kherson, Ukraine. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Prosecutor General’s Office on Oct. 31 charged Russian soldier Mykola Senenko with raping a woman in Kherson Oblast in 2022.
The Kyiv Independent in June identified two Russian soldiers who were involved in the rape of two women during the occupation of Kyiv and Kherson oblasts in March 2022, one of whom was Senenko.
The findings served as the basis for the Kyiv Independent's documentary about Russian sexual violence in occupied parts of Ukraine — He Came Back — available in English and Ukrainian.
Synenko, who was drafted from the occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast, was deployed with the Russian 109th Motorized Rifle Regiment in the occupied parts of Kherson Oblast in early 2022.
After interviewing the local population and officials on the spot, the Kyiv Independent found that Senenko raped a woman in Krasnivka, Kherson Oblast. The findings were passed to the prosecutor’s office.
In April, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya told the U.N. Security Council that Russia uses sexual violence as a weapon against civilians and prisoners of war.
At the time, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office has recorded nearly 300 cases of sexual violence committed by Russian forces since the beginning of the full-scale war.
Citing testimony from people released from Russian captivity, Kyslytsya said that over 50 percent of detainees suffered torture, rape, or other forms of sexual violence.
He also mentioned the Prosecutor General's documented crimes, whose victimes include 188 women, 102 men, and 15 minors.
The recorded figures are likely an undercount, Kyslytsya said.
"Survivors cannot wait until the war is over," he said. "They need support and justice now."Ukraine has launched a pilot program to provide emergency financial reparations to victims of sexual violence, Kyslytsya said.
The program is supported by the Global Survivors Fund, which advocates for victims of conflict-related sexual assault.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Olesia Bida
