Institute for the Study of War: Kremlin continues to create regional volunteer battalions, face some mounting dissatisfaction from domestic enclaves

In turn, President Volodymyr Zelensky published a declaration allowing Russia to hold its Victory Day parade in Moscow with an official promise not to strike the territory of Red Square.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that Ukraine's military launched dozens of drones towards the Russian capital throughout the night on May 8, just one day before Moscow is set to stage its annual Victory Day military parade.

Russia has used drones to drop propaganda leaflets resembling Ukrainian banknotes in border areas ahead of Victory Day, Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation said.

When the leaked transcripts were first published on April 28, the President's Office declined to comment, while President Volodymyr Zelensky has stayed tight-lipped on the scandal since it broke in November.

The Kyiv Independent’s Kollen Post and Nick Allard embed with sailors of the Ukrainian Navy operating small mine-clearing vessels off the coast of Odesa. Using sea drones and sonar systems, these crews identify potential explosives and secure maritime routes — often under the threat of Russian drone and missile attacks.

The Kyiv Independent is proud to announce that the Kyiv Independent’s reporter Asami Terajima has been shortlisted for the 2026 One World Media Awards in the Print Award category.

The fire, previously estimated at around 2,400 hectares (5,930 acres) on May 7, has now expanded to about 4,300 hectares (10,600 acres).

Ukrainian drones previously attacked local oil infrastructure overnight on April 29-30.

Instead of going to court, Russia's oligarchs are relying on a 1989 investment treaty, which Belgium and Luxembourg signed with the Soviet Union.

Rustem Umerov said he and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner discussed humanitarian issues, prisoner exchanges between Kyiv and Moscow, and peace efforts.

A Ukrainian delegation asked U.S. State Department officials to verify whether sanctioned vessels in Russia's shadow fleet are using Starlink technology, which could violate U.S. sanctions policy.