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."
The World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, on Sept. 27, 2022. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Kyiv will received $432 million in funding to assist with the restoration of transport infrastructure damaged during the war, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on April 2.
The funding agreement, signed between Ukraine's Development Ministry and the World Bank will be supplied through the newly-minder Developing Resilient Infrastructure in Vulnerable Environments in Ukraine (DRIVE) project, according to a news release from the Development Ministry.
The DRIVE project will provide funding for the "extensive repairs of roads and bridges in 19 regions, reform of national roads, installation of modular bridges and technical assistance," Shmyhal said on X.
"We are grateful to the World Bank and international partners for supporting important initiatives," Shymhal added.
A total of $270 million will be directed towards road and bridge repairs, with an additional $90 million being directed towards road and transport sector rebuilding.
Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction costs stemming from Russia's full-scale invasion are estimated to be $486 billion, according to the World Bank's assessment published on Feb. 15.
The DRIVE project, funded in part by the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as well as by the government of Japan, expects for work to be completed between 2025 and 2028.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Olena Goncharova
