Ukraine is considering moving away from the U.S. dollar and closer to the euro as a benchmark for the hryvnia, National Bank Governor Andrii Pyshnyi told Reuters.
The Atesh partisan group claims it disabled communication at several Russian military facilities when it allegedly destroyed equipment at a transformer substation in the village of Mogiltsy in Russia's Moscow Oblast.
"The Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much," U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on May 7, according to Politico.
EU ambassadors began talks this week on a 17th sanctions package that targets Russia’s military-industrial complex, Moscow’s shadow shipping fleet, and related support networks.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the trip is currently being coordinated and emphasized that the European Union must do “everything possible” to help secure a lasting cessation of hostilities beyond the upcoming weekend.
Russia launched 187 drones overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones and five Iskander-M ballistic missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
on February 2, 2024 in Krasnohorivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent)
Editor's note: This story is being updated.
Small Russian assault groups broke into the town of Krasnohorivka in Donetsk Oblast, but their advance was blocked at a local plant, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, told Army TV on May 8.
Krasnohorivka lies roughly 30 kilometers west of the occupied city of Donetsk, and Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to break into the settlement after the fall of Avdiivka in late February.
Ukrainian soldiers stopped Russian assault groups on the territory of the Krasnohorivka refractory plant, according to Voloshyn. The city is "under full control" of Ukraine's defense forces, he said.
"(The Russian soldiers) are still there. The enemy is cut off from the supply of ammunition. Our defenders have full fire control over both Krasnohorivka and the outskirts of the town," the spokesperson said.
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War Notes
Fighting near Krasnohorivka is reportedly ongoing. Russian forces are also conducting assaults near the villages of Netailove and Pervomaiske in Donetsk Oblast, Voloshyn said.
Russian forces have been focusing their efforts near Chasiv Yar, which they see as crucial for further advances toward Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, the Ukrainian military reported.
Ukrainian troops retreated in late April west from the villages of Berdychi, Semenivka, and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast. The Khortytsia Group of Ukraine's Ground Forces said that Russian forces also managed to break in and gain a foothold in a part of the village of Ocheretyne in the region.
Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), said that Ukraine should expect to face a renewed Russian offensive in late spring or early summer, with the offensive intensifying around the eastern Donbas region.
Russia aims to completely occupy Donetsk, Luhansk, and, if possible, Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2024, said Oleksandr Pavliuk, Ukraine's Ground Forces commander.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Francis Farrell
