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.
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."
President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with Belgium's Prime Minister Bart de Wever in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 8, 2025. (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ukraine is ready to pay up to $50 billion for a future military aid package from the U.S., President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on April 9.
Zelensky's statement came as future U.S. aid to Kyiv remains uncertain amid President Donald Trump's major shift in the country's policy on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump has permitted the continued flow of assistance approved by former U.S. President Joe Biden – except for a brief halt on all military aid in March – but has yet to sign off on any new packages.
According to Zelensky, the funds allocated to help Ukraine under the Biden administration have not yet been exhausted, but Kyiv wants an additional package from the Trump administration.
"We handed over to the American side a large package that we want to buy. To buy in one form or another," the president said.
"Many different formats and tools that we are ready for. We were ready to find both $30 billion and $50 billion for a suitable package."
Ukraine sees the purchase of the aid package that would include air defense systems and other much needed arms as a potential security guarantee from Washington.
"There is an agreement, we are giving money. Accordingly, (if) you want (we can pay) either to this (Reconstruction Investment) Fund, or to you (the U.S.) directly. It makes no difference to us," Zelensky said.
U.S. military assistance to Kyiv has decreased, with European countries now providing the main portion of aid, according to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Washington has been Kyiv's leading military donor throughout the full-scale war. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the U.S. has provided $119.8 billion in aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, including $67.1 billion in military aid, $49 billion in financial aid, and $3.6 billion in humanitarian support.
Following Zelensky's heated meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, Washington briefly suspended all intelligence sharing as well existing military aid deliveries worth billions of dollars.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Dominic Culverwell
