"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.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance addressing the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 14, 2025. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on May 7 that Russia is "asking for too much" to end its war against Ukraine, highlighting growing frustration within the Trump administration over stalled peace efforts with Moscow.
Speaking at the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, Vance said the U.S. remains focused on securing a long-term settlement after Russia dismissed a proposed 30-day ceasefire, according to Politico. Moscow argued that a temporary pause would benefit Ukraine militarily and was not in its strategic interest.
"The Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much," Vance said.
Vance’s remarks reflected what he described as a shift in the White House’s approach to President Vladimir Putin. "Maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war," Trump said in April on Truth Social, following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome. Trump also suggested he might impose sanctions to "change the dynamic."
Vance added that while Trump is ready to step away from the talks, the administration’s current priority is getting both sides to engage directly. "We would like both the Russians and the Ukrainians to actually agree on some basic guidelines for sitting down and talking to one another," he said. "That is the next big step we’d like to take."
Although Vance acknowledged the wide gap between Kyiv and Moscow, he maintained a degree of optimism. "I’m not yet a pessimist," he said, but added that "it’s probably impossible" for Washington to act as a mediator unless both parties first establish contact.
Vance struck a notably more measured tone than in his speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, according to Politico, where he drew backlash for harshly criticizing European governments. Addressing a room of senior transatlantic officials — many of them critical of Trump — Vance emphasized shared values, saying Europe and the U.S. remain on the "same civilizational team."
He also addressed tensions from his earlier appearance. "It’s not ‘Europe bad, and America good,’" he said. "I think that both Europe and the United States, we’ve gotten a little bit off track, and I’d encourage us all to get back on track together."
While some attendees said they were reassured by the more conciliatory tone, others remained skeptical. One participant noted the absence of clarity on how far Washington is willing to go. “If Ukraine can’t join NATO what will you do to prevent future Russian invasions?” they asked. “Because without hard defense commitments to Ukraine, we all know it will happen again.”
Another participant welcomed the softer rhetoric but criticized what they saw as false neutrality. “To come off as somehow neutral between Russia and Ukraine is morally repugnant. One side is the aggressor, one the victim fighting for its survival. Nice speeches can’t change that.”
As the event unfolded, tensions between the United States and Germany also flared over Berlin’s decision to classify the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as extremist.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Natalia Yermak
