"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.
Participants walk in front of a large screen displaying the logo of Russia's energy giant Gazprom during the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPIGF) in Saint Petersburg on Sept. 15, 2022. (Olga Maltzeva/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. and Russian officials have held talks over potentially reviving Russian natural gas exports to Europe, eight sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on May 8.
The talks come as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a peace deal in Ukraine, with some diplomats reportedly suggesting that restoring Russia’s role in the European gas market could serve as a key incentive for Moscow.
Washington’s involvement may also help mitigate political opposition in Europe, while giving the U.S. strategic visibility over future Russian energy flows, sources tell Reuters.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European Union nations dramatically cut their imports of Russian gas. State energy giant Gazprom reported a $13.1 billion loss in 2024 as a result. Russian pipeline gas now accounts for only 19% of European supply, down from 45%.
Despite efforts to diversify, some EU countries, like Hungary, Slovakia, Belgium, and France, continue receiving Russian gas through pipelines or long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and a Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev have discussed gas exports, two sources said. The two met last in St. Petersburg on April 11. Russia's Direct Investment Fund denied the talks, stating, “Currently, there are no such discussions.”
In an interview with French magazine Le Point, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Gazprom would consider renewed sales to Europe if control of export infrastructure changed hands. Suggestions on the table include potential U.S. stakes in Nord Stream pipelines, Ukraine’s gas transit system, or even Gazprom itself, five sources told Reuters. American firms could also act as intermediaries, buying Russian gas and reselling it to European buyers.
Major U.S. asset managers BlackRock, Vanguard, and Capital Group currently hold minority stakes in Gazprom.
Still, opposition in Brussels remains firm. After years of reducing its reliance on Russian gas, the European Commission (EC) on May 6 presented a detailed roadmap to fully sever the European Union’s energy dependence on Russia by 2027.
The plan has been described as the bloc’s most comprehensive effort yet to end imports of Russian gas, oil, and nuclear fuel, a dependency critics argue has long compromised EU sovereignty and funded the Kremlin’s war machine in Ukraine.
Anna Fratsyvir is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent, with a background in broadcast journalism and international affairs. Previously, she worked as a TV journalist at Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne, covering global politics and international developments. Anna holds a Bachelor's degree in International Communications from Taras Shevchenko National University and is currently an MA candidate in International Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
The Kyiv Independent news desk
