"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.
Ukrainian Air Force Command spokesperson Yurii Ihnat briefs the press on the consequences of Russia's missile strikes on Ukraine and the work of the Air Force at the Ukraine-Ukrinform Media Center in Kyiv on Nov. 21, 2022. (Photo by Evgen Kotenko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Russian forces launched a missile attack on Khmelnytskyi Oblast's Starokostiantyniv district, the Air Force's spokesperson Yuri Ihnat said at around 8 p.m. on July 26.
The Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration reported explosions in the oblast at around 7 p.m. amid a nationwide air raid siren.
"Sounds of explosions are heard in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Air defense is active," the administration reported.
At around 5 p.m., the Air Force reported that 12 Russian Tu-95 bombers launched cruise missiles from the direction of the Caspian Sea. The announcement was followed by air raid sirens across the country.
Ihnat said that cruise missiles changed directions as they moved across the country before heading in the direction of Starokostiantyniv in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
Some of the missiles were shot down over Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, he said.
Ihnat mentioned that several other projectiles were detected, possibly including Kinzhals and ballistic missiles.
The Air Force issued warnings of Kinzhal strikes in Kirovohrad, Kmelnytskyi, and Kyiv oblasts before announcing the end of the air raid siren.
Debris from falling missiles fell on a house in Starokostiantyniv and damaged a car, the Khmelnytskyi Military Administration reportedon Telegram. No casualties have been reported.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Alexander Khrebet
