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.
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.
Ukrainian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-27 jets fly over the Ozerne airbase on Dec. 6, 2018 (Sergei Supinsky/AFP)
Ukraine's Air Force struck the Pogar border checkpoint in Russia's Bryansk Oblast on March 27, destroying its military infrastructure and killing dozens of Russian troops, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on March 28.
Ukraine has repeatedly recorded drone launches from the area of the Pogar checkpoint, and its destruction reduces Russia's ability to threaten Ukrainian forces in the Sumy and Kursk oblasts, according to the statement.
"As a result of the attack, the military infrastructure of the checkpoint was destroyed, along with means of communication and electronic warfare, as well as video surveillance system and other technical means," the General Staff said.
Between 15 and 40 Russian soldiers were reportedly killed in the strike.
The Pogar checkpoint lies close to the village of Sluchovsk, just across the border with Ukraine's northeastern Chernihiv Oblast.
"This airstrike was a response to the cynical actions" of the Russian military, "which continues terror against Ukraine by daily launching dozens of strike drones into populated areas, destroying civilian infrastructure and residential buildings, and killing peaceful Ukrainian citizens," the statement read.
Russia targets Ukraine with mass drone strikes on a daily basis, inflicting civilian casualties despite the partial truce on attacks against energy infrastructure and naval operations agreed on March 25.
Kyiv had previously agreed with the U.S. on a full 30-day ceasefire, but Moscow rejected this proposal.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Kateryna Denisova
