"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.
The U.S. House of Representatives and Capitol Dome on May 28, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
The potential U.S. federal government shutdown on Oct. 1 may complicate the delivery of aid packages to Ukraine, according to the State Department.
"That is a legal question that pertains to who is allowed to work during a shutdown and who isn’t allowed to work," spokesperson Matthew Miller told Ukrinform.
Many U.S. departments and agencies have plans in place to weather a shutdown, but a disruption would still affect critical missions such as Ukraine aid.
“But when you have a number of people who aren’t allowed to come to work that could affect the pace of any deliveries. That's why we think a shutdown would be so concerning, and why we urge Congress to fund the government," Miller said.
Congress returns to Washington on Tuesday with just five days to reach a deal to avert a government shutdown. An internal dispute amongst House Republicans could lead to the first U.S. government shutdown since 2018 and result in serious consequences for the global economy.
Lance Luo (Li P. Luo) is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. Previously, he worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Hromadske Television in Kyiv. He also spent three years in finance and strategy consulting. Mr. Luo graduated from the University of Southern California and serves as an arbitrator at FINRA.
Abbey Fenbert
