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.
The US Supreme Court is seen in Washington, DC, March 2, 2025. (TIERNEY L CROSS/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 5 the Trump administration must adhere to a lower court ruling that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) restart payments worth nearly $2 billion for the remaining USAID projects.
The split 5-4 decision did not explain the reasoning for its decision, nor did it provide a timeline as to when the payments must restart, but did note that "feasibility of any compliance timelines" must be considered. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, who ordered the initial payments, must now provide clarity on the foreign aid's release.
The ruling does not apply to the Trump administration's decision to terminate over 90% of the USAID foreign aid contracts that cuts $60 billion in foreign assistance.
The cuts will include 5,800 of 6,200 USAID contracts, purportedly saving $54 billion, and 4,100 of 9,100 State Department grants, for a cut of $4.4 billion, Politico reported.
Multiple global health groups challenged the Trump administration's cuts to foreign aid for work already completed until Feb. 13. The White House initially appeared as though they would not comply with the court order but eventually appealed the decision.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration initally halted almost all foreign aid for 90 days for a review amid efforts to shutter the aid agency and merge it under the State Department.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, USAID has provided $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid, $5 billion in development assistance, and more than $30 billion in direct budget support to Kyiv. The agency has funded school reconstruction, bomb shelters, critical energy repairs, and civil society initiatives.
The White House has accused the agency of pushing a "liberal agenda" and widespread waste, despite foreign aid making up just 1% of the federal budget.
USAID cuts not only marked a significant realignment of U.S. foreign policy but also threatened various Ukrainian organizations and projects across multiple sectors reliant on U.S. funding.
Ukraine is in talks with private and EU partners to replace funding sources for key projects in energy infrastructure, veterans' affairs, and more.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Martin Fornusek
