Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"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.
A protester holds a poster "Stop Raping Our Women And Children" during the human chain against the killing of children by Russian forces during a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Edmonton, Canada May 8, 2022. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A total of 376 cases of sexual violence have been documented during Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) reported on Nov. 25.
The figure includes 262 men, most of whom were tortured in captivity on occupied territories or in Russia, 104 women, as well as children — 10 girls and two boys, according to the report.
"War-related sexual violence is a violation of international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law," the mission said.
"Preventing this kind of violence and bringing perpetrators to justice is a shared responsibility based on states' human rights obligations."
In April, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya told the U.N. Security Council that Russia uses sexual violence as a weapon against civilians and prisoners of war.
Citing testimonies from people released from Russian captivity, Kyslytsya said that over 50 percent of detainees suffered torture, rape, or other forms of sexual violence.
The Kyiv Independent in June identified two Russian soldiers who were involved in the rape of two women during the occupation of Kyiv and Kherson oblasts in March 2022. Subsequently, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office charged one of them, Mykola Senenko, with raping a woman in Kherson Oblast.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
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