"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.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attends a Special European Council Meeting on April 18, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium. (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
Greece will not supply Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems or S-300 missiles, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with the news outlet Iefimerida on April 25.
Greek media reported on April 22 that Athens planned to send at least one Patriot system to Ukraine, following pressure from the European Union to ramp up air defense assistance to Kyiv.
Mitsotakis said on April 25 that Greece would not send Ukraine either Patriots or S-300s, despite these requests and Ukraine's critical air defense shortage.
"Greece supported Ukraine in various ways, with defense materials," Mitsotakis said.
"But we said from the first moment that we cannot get rid of the weapons systems that are of crucial importance for our deterrence capabilities."
According to Mitsotakis, sending the equiptment to Ukraine would pose too great of a risk to Greek air security.
"We have a surplus of material with which we can support Ukraine, we did it, and I believe that this is the right choice. And, if we can find such material, we will continue to do so. But the air defense systems you mentioned are critical for the protection of Greek airspace and will not be provided to Ukraine."
Escalating Russian strikes and resulting civilian casualties underscore Ukraine's dire need for additional air defenses.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 19 urged allies to move from discussions to concrete decisions on air defense aid, following a Russian missile attack on Dnipro.
"This year cannot be just a year of further discussions. Everything is quite specific now. Ukraine needs air defense, and the partners can help with it," Zelensky said.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
