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.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Photo for illustartive purposes. An Iranian supporter of the Islamic Republic and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is waving an Iranian flag in front of the Azadi (Freedom) monument in western Tehran, on Feb. 11, 2024(Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Iran and the U.S. held indirect talks in Oman on April 12, according to Iranian media sources.
This marks the first round of negotiations between Tehran and the current U.S. Donald Trump administration, following years of heightened tensions.
The negotiations aimed to address Iran’s advancing nuclear program, amid U.S. threats of potential military action if no agreement is reached.
Iranian officials described the talks as productive, though there has been no official comment from the U.S. side.
“The American side tried to show its willingness for a fair agreement,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
According to the government-affiliated Iranian Tasnim news agency, Araghchi said that both sides are close to establishing a framework for formal negotiations and agreed to reconvene next week, likely next Saturday.
“The atmosphere of today’s session indicated continuity,” Araghchi commented.
The talks were mediated by Oman, with delegations in separate rooms exchanging messages through Oman’s foreign minister—an arrangement preferred by Iran, in contrast to U.S. calls for direct talks.
Araghchi confirmed that the U.S. and Iranian delegations briefly interacted after the meeting, which lasted over two and a half hours.
Previously, Russia has expressed interest in mediating the relationship between the U.S. and Iran.
Russia and Iran have deepened ties since the start of the full-scale invasion. Notably, Iran has provided Russia with thousands of Shahed drones used in attacks against Ukrainian cities, as well as short-range ballistic missiles.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Kateryna Hodunova
