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.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
The SpaceX Starlink logo and app are seen in this illustration photo taken in Warsaw, Poland on 09 March, 2025. (Jaap Arriens / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukraine has received 5,000 additional Starlink terminals from Poland to support critical infrastructure and maintain communications in front-line cities, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on April 3.
"Starlinks will help residents of the front-line territories to stay in touch: call relatives, call emergency services, read the news. Due to attacks and destruction of base stations in the de-occupied territories, regular communication is unavailable," Fedorov wrote on Facebook.
Starlink, developed by SpaceX, is a satellite-based internet system that provides high-speed connectivity, particularly in remote and underserved areas.
According to Fedorov, Ukraine has received over 50,000 Starlink terminals since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 through cooperation between the Digital Transformation Ministry, international partners, and donors.
Poland has been the largest single supplier, providing around 29,500 terminals.
"We are grateful to the Deputy Prime Minister and Digitalization Minister of Poland Krzysztof Gawkowski and the Polish government for their contribution to Ukrainian sustainability," Fedorov said.
Concerns over Ukraine's continued access to Starlink have grown after Reuters reported in February that the U.S. threatened to cut the service unless Kyiv agreed to a critical minerals deal.
Tech billionaire and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk denied these claims, and on March 9, claimed that cutting Ukraine off from Starlink would cause the country's entire front line to collapse.
The dispute escalated after a tense meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 28, which led to a temporary halt in U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing as Washington sought to push Kyiv toward peace talks with Moscow.
Amid growing uncertainty, Ukrainian officials have been exploring alternatives to Starlink. French satellite operator Eutelsat Communications is in talks with the EU to potentially replace the U.S.-based system in Ukraine.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
