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.
The Ukrainian delegation meets U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg in London on April 23, 2025. (Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha / X)
A Ukrainian delegation met with European officials and U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg in London on April 23 to continue discussions on a possible path to peace, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement on X.
"During our meeting with U.S. Special Envoy General Keith Kellogg, we had a constructive exchange of views on the path to peace," Sybiha wrote. "Ukraine wants the war to end more than anyone else in the world. We are committed to working together to achieve this goal."
The London meeting, originally intended as a ministerial-level summit involving the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, and Ukraine, was notably downgraded after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff declined to participate.
According to Reuters, Rubio pulled out after Ukraine submitted a document to European partners on April 22 declaring it would not enter talks on territorial issues until Russia agrees to a "full and unconditional ceasefire."
Following the meetings in London, Ukrainian Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak reiterated Kyiv's position, saying, "An immediate, complete and unconditional ceasefire should be the first step towards the start of negotiations on achieving a just and lasting peace."
Yermak also emphasized that Ukraine would defend its "principled positions," which form the basis of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Despite the absence of Rubio and Witkoff, the U.K. Foreign Ministry said "significant progress was made on reaching a common position," and that all parties reaffirmed support for U.S. President Donald Trump's stated commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace.
The meeting followed a summit in Paris on April 17, where senior Trump administration officials outlined a controversial peace proposal to Ukrainian and European delegates.
The plan reportedly includes recognition of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and a ban on Ukraine's NATO membership — two central demands by the Kremlin.
Ukraine's leadership has firmly rejected any deal that concedes sovereign territory.
"This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 22.
The U.S. president denied that Ukraine is being pressured to accept the Crimea clause, writing on Truth Social: "Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory."
Trump also argued that "even before the annexation of Crimea, major Russian submarine bases" were present there, and accused Zelensky of inflaming tensions with rhetoric that complicates peace efforts.
Despite Trump's repeated claims of progress, Russia has rejected a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and continues offensive operations. Putin declared a symbolic one-day Easter truce on April 19, which Ukraine reported was violated around 3,000 times.
Kyiv has separately proposed a 30-day ceasefire focused on halting long-range drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure, which the Kremlin has said it will "look into."
While Trump has repeatedly pledged to end the war swiftly and expressed frustration with Russia's refusal to de-escalate, the U.S. president has yet to impose new sanctions or take punitive measures in response to Moscow's ongoing invasion.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Kateryna Hodunova
