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.
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.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during the 2025 American Dynamism Summit on March 18, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on April 15 pushed back against criticism from President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying it was "absurd" to accuse Washington of siding with Russia, Reuters reported.
"I think it's sort of absurd for Zelensky to tell the (American) government, which is currently keeping his entire government and war effort together, that we are somehow on the side of the Russians," Vance said.
The remarks followed an interview with CBS News, in which Zelensky condemned Vance for echoing Kremlin rhetoric and accused the U.S. vice president of trying to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"It's a shift in tone, a shift in reality... and I don't want to engage in the altered reality that is being presented to me," Zelensky said, referencing the Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting where tensions between the two leaders spilled into public view.
During that meeting, Zelensky challenged Vance to visit Ukraine and witness firsthand the destruction caused by Russia's full-scale invasion. Vance declined, claiming the Ukrainian government orchestrates "propaganda tours" to shape Western narratives about the war.
Vance, a leading voice in the Trump administration's "America First" foreign policy, has long opposed U.S. military aid to Ukraine. He has argued that such support burdens American taxpayers and distracts from domestic priorities.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Vance has drawn criticism for downplaying the war's significance and repeating Kremlin-aligned talking points.
Shortly after the invasion began, he said he "doesn't care about Ukraine," a statement he has since defended on the grounds of prioritizing U.S. interests.
"That doesn't mean you morally support the Russian cause, or that you support the full-scale invasion," Vance said.
"But you do have to try to understand what are their strategic red lines, in the same way that you have to try to understand what the Ukrainians are trying to get out of the conflict."
Zelensky has repeatedly warned that Moscow's goal is not negotiation but conquest, and that Ukraine's survival depends on the West continuing to provide military, financial, and political support.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
