"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.
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.
The aftermath of Russia's overnight attack on the city of Kharkiv on May 21, 2024. (Oleh Syniehubov/Telegram)
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 28 of the 29 Shahed-type attack drones launched during a Russian attack overnight on May 21, Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said.
The drones were reportedly launched from the Russian port town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, located on the coast of the Sea of Azov, from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea, and from Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Aircraft, missile and electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force intercepted the drones over Odesa, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Kherson, and Kirovohrad oblasts, Oleshchuk said.
The fragments of drones damaged two houses, a garage, and a mini-bus in the city of Kharkiv overnight, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
The aftermath of Russia's overnight attack on the city of Kharkiv on May 21, 2024. (Oleh Syniehubov/Telegram)
The aftermath of Russia's overnight attack on the city of Kharkiv on May 21, 2024. (Oleh Syniehubov/Telegram)
A 61-year-old man and two women aged 69 and 72 reportedly suffered from shock.
A Russian morning missile attack on transport infrastructure in Kharkiv injured a 53-year-old man, according to the governor.
Drone attacks are a daily occurrence in Ukraine, affecting various regions across the country. In recent months, Russia has intensified attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, launching massive drone and missile strikes targeting critical facilities.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
