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.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, speaks at a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 12, 2025. (Photo: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 1 that the signing of a long-awaited U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal was the first concrete result of his recent meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Vatican, calling it a “historic” outcome of their April 26 conversation.
The 15-minute conversation took place inside St. Peter’s Basilica after the two leaders encountered each other at the late pontiff’s funeral. Zelensky reportedly pressed Trump to return to his original proposal of an unconditional ceasefire as the starting point for peace talks, a move Kyiv has supported but Moscow has rejected.
The discussion marked the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since their tense February encounter in the Oval Office, during which Trump and Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Zelensky over what they described as “a lack of gratitude for U.S. support.”
Zelensky said the minerals agreement — which sets up a joint investment fund between Kyiv and Washington — had been significantly revised during months of negotiations to ensure equal terms and benefits for both sides.
“It is now a truly equal agreement that opens the door to substantial investment in Ukraine and enables major modernization of production within the country, as well as, just as importantly, an upgrade of our legal practices,” Zelensky said.
The agreement, signed April 30 in Washington by Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, creates a reconstruction-focused fund operated as a limited partnership between the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the Agency for Supporting Public-Private Partnership representing Ukraine.
The future fund will be financed exclusively from new licenses. Fifty percent of revenues from new licenses in the fields of critical materials, oil, and gas, generated after the fund is created, will be directed to it, according to Svyrydenko.
The minerals deal, which now awaits ratification by Ukraine’s parliament, includes a list of 57 strategic resources and ensures compliance with Ukrainian and EU laws, addressing earlier concerns about sovereignty and conflicts with existing EU agreements. Ukrainian officials also succeeded in removing any repayment obligations for past U.S. military aid.
Opposition MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said the deal could be voted on during parliamentary sessions between May 13-15, if all procedures are completed in time.
While the current deal doesn’t contain any security guarantees, Svyrydenko wrote on X to say that “in addition to direct financial contributions (to the fund), the deal may also provide new assistance — for example, air defense systems for Ukraine.”
Zelensky hailed the agreement as “a partnership on fair terms” and said it could attract further American support. “We expect other results from our (Vatican) talks,” he added.
Andrea Januta
