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.
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."
Police look for pieces of the missile near the explosion site in Przewodow, Poland, on Nov. 17, 2022. (Photo credit: Karolina Jonderko/For the Washington Post)
Polish experts had concluded that the projectile that caused the death of two people in Poland's Przewodow last year was a stray Ukrainian anti-air missile launched to intercept a Russian strike, the Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported on Sept. 26, citing its sources.
On Nov. 15, 2022, an explosion killed two civilians in a Polish grain facility near Ukraine's border. On that day, Russian forces carried out a massive attack against Ukraine, launching around 100 missiles against the country's energy infrastructure.
Suspicions that a Russian missile hit a Polish territory fuelled fears that the war in Ukraine could spiral into a wider conflict between NATO and Moscow.
According to Rzeczpospolita's sources, Polish experts of the country's Prosecutor's Office have "categorically" denied the possibility that Russia launched the missile. They have allegedly identified the projectile as an S-300 5-W-55 anti-air missile launched from Ukraine's territory.
As Russia was attempting to strike a thermal plant near Lviv, Ukraine was said to have fired two missiles with a range of 75-90 kilometers to intercept the attack. According to the report, one of them hit the Russian missile, while the other accidentally flew into Poland's territory.
The investigators pointed out that a safety mechanism of these missiles should make them self-destruct at a certain height. However, this did not happen for an unknown reason, Rzeczpospolita said.
The experts concluded that even if Russia had placed its missile batteries in Belarus, they would be no closer than 150 kilometers from Przewodow and, therefore, out of range.
Prosecutor's Office's spokesperson Lukasz Lapczynski confirmed in a comment to Rzeczpospolita that the experts have indeed provided their conclusions on the incident, but they remain confidential.
He added that Poland sent an application for legal assistance to Ukraine and is awaiting a response.
In November 2022, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that according to the ongoing investigation, the projectile was identified as a Ukrainian air defense missile. However, he stressed that Russia was ultimately to blame for the tragedy.
Kyiv denied that the incident was caused by a Ukrainian missile but confirmed that its forces attempted to intercept a Russian projectile near and during the timeframe of the missile strike in Poland.
Although Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksii Danilov urged a joint examination of the explosion, Rzeczpospolita's sources claimed that Ukraine had "not yet made any materials available to Poland."
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
