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.
Remain of Shahed 136 at an exhibition showing remains of missiles and drones that Russia used in the attack on Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 12, 2023. (Oleksii Samsonov /Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukrainian Air Force units and Defense Forces struck drone storage facilities in Russia's western Oryol Oblast on Jan. 26, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on Facebook on Jan. 26.
The strike targeted concrete structures housing thermobaric warheads for drones, causing a significant secondary detonation.
“The results and extent of the damage are being specified, but it is preliminary known that more than 200 ‘Shaheds’ will no longer be used against our country,” the statement said.
Preliminary reports indicate that over 200 Shahed strike drones were destroyed, rendering them unusable for future attacks on Ukraine.
The statement emphasized that operations against critical facilities supporting attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure will continue.
Russia has launched thousands of cheap but effective Iranian-designed Shahed drones against Ukraine since the fall of 2022.
Shaheds and its domestic-made variants like Geran are often used for strikes against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Shahed-136 drones' flying range, claimed by various sources, varies from 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles) to 2,500 kilometers (about 1,550 miles). They are said to weigh about 200 kilograms with a maximum flight speed of about 185 kilometers (115 miles) per hour.
Western media, such as the New York Times, has reported the cost of each Shahed-136 drone to be as low as $20,000.
The Oryol region was the target of numerous Ukrainian attacks over the last month, when a drone storage, maintenance, and repair facility was destroyed on Dec. 28 and when an oil depot was hit by drones, later catching on fire, on Dec. 22.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Abbey Fenbert
