While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power.”
Speaking to CNN on May 10, Peskov commented on the latest ceasefire proposal from Ukraine and Europe, responding that Russia needs to "think about" it, but is "resistant" to pressure.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on May 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked the idea of a demilitarized zone in the war and emphasized the importance of first securing a ceasefire.
"We agreed that a full and unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. We jointly demand this from Russia, and we know we are supported in this by the United States," Zelensky said.
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.
A flag bearing the logo of private mercenary group Wagner flutters above a portrait of late head of Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin at a makeshist memorial in Moscow, on Aug. 27, 2023. (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)
Former Wagner Group mercenaries are joining Chechnya’s Akhmat battalion and heading to the war in Ukraine, Akhmat Battalion Commander Apti Alaudinov confirmed in an Oct. 28 interview, the Institute for the Study of War said in their latest report.
Alaudinov said that a “massive” number of Wagner soldiers have joined various detachments of the Akhmat forces and are operating in several unspecified sectors of the front in Ukraine.
Alaudinov claimed that former Wagner soldiers are following their former commanders to the Chechen Akhmat units. Alaudinov noted that Wagner fighters have “always spoken very respectfully about [‘Akhmat’],” likely in an attempt to stifle discussions of possible tension between the Wagner and Chechen forces after the feud between deceased Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin and Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov.
ISW continues to assess that former Wagner forces fragmented between the Russian Ministry of Defense and Rosgvardia Chechen units across various sectors of the front are unlikely to reemerge as an effective military organization. ISW believes that those fragmented forces "will lack the strength Wagner had drawn from being a unitary organization under clear and coherent leadership."
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Alexander Khrebet
