"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.
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.
A graphic visualisation of a Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB). (SAAB)
The United States is preparing to resume shipping long-range Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) to Ukraine, Reuters reported on March 13, citing sources familiar with the weapon.
According to Reuters, the GLSDBs, which have been upgraded to more effectively counter Russian jamming, may be used by Ukrainian military forces in the coming days, as a stockpile is already present in Europe.
The weapons will arrive at a critical time, as U.S. and Ukrainian officials have confirmed that Kyiv's supply of Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, has been depleted. In total, the U.S. sent Ukraineless than 40 long-range ATACMS since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Earlier this week, President Trump's administration agreed to resume security assistance to Ukraine, including military aid and intelligence sharing, following high-level talks in Saudi Arabia. Kyiv also confirmed its commitment to the interim 30-day ceasefireproposed by Washington, on the condition that Russia agrees to the terms and implements them simultaneously.
U.S. security assistance to Ukraine had been previously frozen following the heated meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on February 28.
The delivery of the GLSDB was first announced by the Biden administration in February 2023, with initial estimates putting their arrival in Ukraine in late 2023. Ultimately, the weapons were first delivered in February 2024.
As talks on a 30-day ceasefire continue, the Trump administration toughened sanction on March 13 on Russia's oil and gas industry. The move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 7 that he is considering imposing sweeping banking sanctions and tariffs on Russia until there is a ceasefire and peace agreement.
Dmytro Basmat
