Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
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.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, speaks at a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 12, 2025. (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
There are no ongoing preparations for elections, as all parties agree that the next vote can be held only after the lifting of martial law, Davyd Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, told Suspilne on March 31.
Arakhamia's statement comes after the Economist reported that Ukraine's elections could be held in July 2025, and Zelensky allegedly called a meeting on the matter.
Arakhamia said that he did not take part in such a meeting and claimed that it "did not happen at all."
"No elections are being prepared, no preparations are underway. All parliamentary parties and groups have agreed that elections should be held six months after the lifting of martial law, " Arakhamia said. "Our position has not changed since then."
Serhii Dubovyk, deputy head of the Central Election Commission, told Suspilne that preparations for elections after the war will require the adoption of a law on the specifics of post-war elections.
According to existing legislation, parliamentary elections should be held 60 days after the end of martial law, and presidential elections 90 days after. Yet, this period will not be enough to prepare for the elections, Dubovyk added.
Ukraine's Constitution prohibits elections under martial law, which has been in place since the onset of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia has widely used the claim that Zelensky is illegitimate in its propaganda to discredit the Ukrainian government. The false claim is based on the premise that Zelensky's first term in office was originally meant to end on May 20, 2024.
Russia's full-scale invasion and the subsequent declaration of martial law in Ukraine has meant elections have been impossible to hold, and his term has been extended, something constitutional lawyers say is allowed under Ukrainian law.
U.S. President Donald Trump initially echoed the Kremlin's narrative, denouncing Zelensky as a "dictator without elections." He then seemingly walked back on the statement, even voicing displeasure wth Russian President Vladimir Putin over the latter's attacks on Zelensky's credibility.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Chris York
