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.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
"We have a plan B and a plan C. But our focus is plan A, the essence of which is to get everyone's support" for Ukraine's accession, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
"(T)he presence at the Victory Parade of a country that bombs cities, hospitals, and daycares, and which has caused the deaths and injuries of over a million people over three years, is a shame," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
"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.
Kyrgyz investigative journalist Bolot Temirov was arrested on Jan. 22, days after publishing exposes on allies of President Sadyr Zhaparov. He is facing drug charges, which he says are falsified.
The move is an alarming development for Kyrgyzstan, which has fared well in terms of free speech until recently, compared with nearby Central Asian dictatorships. Kyrgyzstan has retained a democratic political system and experienced three revolutions since 2005.
Temirov, head of the Temirov Live investigative show, was arrested by the police’s drug enforcement unit, Radio Azattyq - the Kazakh branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - reported.
He is accused of forcing an unidentified girl to use drugs, said Aktiklek Kaparov, a journalist at Temirov Live. Temirov said during the arrest that he had been framed.
On Jan. 20, Temirov published an investigation exposing alleged corruption by relatives of Kamchybek Tashiyev, head of Kyrgyzstan’s State National Security Committee. A company owned by Tashiyev’s nephew allegedly earned 37 million Kyrgyzstani som ($460,000) as an intermediary for state oil and gas firm Kyrgyzneftegaz.
Kyrgyzstan’s kaktus.media news site cited Temirov attributing his arrest to his plans to publish another investigation on Tashiyev’s relatives.
In November, Temirov also published an expose of relatives of Kyrgyz President Zhaparov who received state jobs during his rule.
Meanwhile, Temirov said in October that he had been surveilled and wiretapped.
Temirov's wife Makhabbat, who is an executive at Temirov Live, told the Kyiv Independent that a hidden camera had been found in the apartment of one of Temirov Live's journalists.
She said that employees of the State National Security Committee had threatened to leak videos with details of the journalist's private life. The committee wanted the journalist to inform it about Temirov Live's investigations and specific journalists' functions in exchange for not publishing the videos, Makhabbat said.
The arrest happened right before Temirov was going to publish a video about the surveillance of his publication's journalists, Makhabbat added.
Another journalist at Temirov Live disappeared on Jan. 22, she said.
Makhabbat argued that the situation with the freedom of speech is worse under Zhaparov than under two previous presidents - Almazbek Atambayev and Soronbai Zheenbekov.
Oleg Sukhov is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He is a former editor and reporter at the Moscow Times. He has a master's degree in history from the Moscow State University. He moved to Ukraine in 2014 due to the crackdown on independent media in Russia and covered war, corruption, reforms and law enforcement for the Kyiv Post.
