"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 view in the city after Ukrainian forces entered the town of Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast on Aug. 16, 2024. (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)
Ukraine's Air Force struck a concentration of Russian military personnel in Kondratovka, Kursk Oblast, killing up to 30 Russian soldiers, the General Staff reported on March 25.
"As a result of the strike, it (the target) was completely destroyed," the statement said, adding that Ukraine's pilots and Defense Forces will continue targeting Russian positions to reduce Moscow's military potential.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
Kondratovka is a rural community in western Kursk Oblast, near the border with Ukraine. It is part of the historical region of Slobozhanshchyna.
The attack comes amid ongoing fighting in Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion in August 2024.
Russian forces, reinforced by North Korean troops, launched a counteroffensive earlier this month, regaining significant ground, including the town of Sudzha.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that Ukrainian soldiers have been "surrounded" in Kursk Oblast, though Kyiv has denied this while acknowledging a retreat from Sudzha.
U.S. and European intelligence contradict claims of an encirclement made by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported on March 20, citing undisclosed sources.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Martin Fornusek
