"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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting on the Ukraine Compact during the NATO Summit in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his Christmas Eve address on Dec. 24 that Ukrainians continue to hold on to their faith, unity, and traditions during the third Christmas in wartime.
Zelensky highlighted the cultural importance of Mykola Leontovych's "Shchedryk," written in Pokrovsk, and its global association with the spirit of Christmas. "Let everyone who hears it remember Ukraine, how we are fighting for the main symbol of this holiday – for hope and victory," he said.
“This is our third Christmas during the war,” Zelensky wrote. “We cannot celebrate it fully – not everyone is at home, not everyone has a home, and not everyone is with us.”
“All we need is to live peacefully on our land, to see the sun, our sky, and in it – the Christmas star, not Iranian drones and Russian missiles.
The president called for prayers for soldiers, prisoners, and those in occupied territories, adding, "Wherever we are today, we are together. As one big family, as one united nation."
He concluded by wishing for peace, justice, and joy for all Ukrainians. "We fight and pray for this. And we deserve it."
Russia launched a mass aerial attack against Ukraine on Dec. 25, targeting cities across the country with missiles and drones. The northeastern city of Kharkiv was among the hardest hit, coming under "massive fire" from ballistic missiles, according to local authorities.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
