"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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech during the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow on May 9, 2023 (Dmitry Astakhov / SPUTNIK / AFP)
Ukrainian volunteers are developing a larger, and more powerful version of the Trembita missile that can reach Moscow, The Economist reported on Dec. 23.
The first designs of the Trembita, named after a Ukrainian alpine horn, were unveiled in 2023.
The basic Trembita, developed by Ukrainian engineers, is significantly cheaper than Western or Russian missiles, and operates like the V1 flying bombs used by Germany during World War II.
The precise timeline for completing the production of the updated missile version is not yet clear. Meanwhile, the developers have spent a year and a half creating the basic design of the weapon, which usually takes several years, The Economist reported, adding serial production is set to follow the final field tests.
The Trembita cruise missile flies at 400 kmh (248 mph) with a range of 200 km (124 miles). One unit costs $3,000, and a 20-30-kilogram warhead is priced at $15,000.
One barrier to the rapid development of modern Ukrainian weapons is funding. When the government finances production at the stage where the missile has proven it can fly, manufacturers often must risk their own financial contributions.
Ukraine offers private missile manufacturers the same maximum 25% profit margin it gives to drone manufacturers, according to The Economist.
A senior security official also told the media outlet that Ukraine is "at least a year away" from producing missiles in the numbers, range, and capabilities that would "seriously threaten Russia."
Long-range domestic weapons are critical to Ukraine's defense strategy. They provide the country's military with an alternative to Western arms, whose use is often restricted. They also compensate for the lack of artillery ammunition on the battlefield.
Almost 100 of Ukraine's new Peklo missile-drone hybrids have been produced as the weapon entered serial production, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Dec. 16.
President Volodymyr Zelenksy previously announced that another Ukrainian missile, dubbed Ruta (Rue), passed tests successfully.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
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