"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.
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.
Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine's prime minister, speaks during a news conference at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, UK, on Thursday, June 22, 2023. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ukraine has received 752 million pounds ($970 million) as the first installment of the U.K.'s contribution to the G7 loan covered by frozen Russian assets, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on March 7.
The U.K. has pledged to lend Ukraine 2.26 billion pounds ($2.9 billion) in three equal installments as part of the G7's Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration scheme, worth $50 billion in total.
"The funds will go towards strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities," Shmyhal said on X.
"I am grateful to (British Prime Minister) Keir Starmer, the U.K. government and our G7 partners for the mechanism to make Russian money work for Ukraine."
At the onset of the full-scale war in 2022, the G7 countries immobilized some $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets. The $50 billion loan, shouldered mainly by the U.S. and the EU, will be funneled to Ukraine's defense needs and recovery and repaid by proceeds from the frozen assets.
"We expect all sovereign assets of the Russian Federation to be confiscated and transferred to benefit our country in the future," Shmyhal noted.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
