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.
"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.
The bodies of a woman in her early 50s and her son lay near their house in Vablya, a village near Andriivka in Kyiv Oblast, where they were killed in March while the village was under Russian occupation. The photo was taken on April 14, 2022. (Asami Terajima/The Kyiv Independent)
Months after the Russian military retreated from Kyiv Oblast, a 21-year-old Russian soldier confessed to killing a civilian man in the then-occupied village of Andriivka on March 12 by order of his commander.
Speaking to a journalist from Russia-focused investigative news site iStories, Daniil Frolkin confessed to committing atrocities during his service as part of the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, stationed in Andriivka at the time.
iStories published an investigative report on Aug. 15, revealing the war crimes committed in Andriivka in detail.
Andriivka, a small village located on the road from the Belarussian border to Kyiv, was among dozens of settlements near the capital seized by Russian forces in the early stage of the full-scale invasion. Moscow’s military quickly captured Andriivka on Feb. 27, terrorizing civilians and destroying houses before soldiers eventually withdrew in early April.
Frolkin, who the investigation describes as a poorly-trained soldier, told iStories reporters he could not remember the face of the man who he shot in March because he was in shock at the time.
He also revealed the names of commanders who he blamed for the atrocities and confessed to committing other crimes, such as stealing personal belongings from the civilian population.
According to the information gathered by iStories, the young Russian most likely killed a civilian man named Ruslan Yaremchuk, who is survived by his small son and wife Oksana.
Though Frolkin couldn’t remember the exact date of his crime, his description of his commander ordering him and his fellow soldiers to look for three local men matched an incident that took place on March 12, the investigation reveals.
Local testimonies collected by iStories pointed to the murder of Yaremchuk and two other men, Vadim Ganyuk and Vitaly Kibukevich on March 12. Frolkin told iStories that he showed a photo of the murder victim to another man who was part of the group of Russian soldiers hunting for the three men. The man confirmed it was Yaremchuk that Frolkin shot.
Frolkin told iStories that he was under the impression Yaremchuk was giving away information about the Russian military to Ukrainian sources.
Dmytry Danilov, the only other Russian soldier of the brigade with whom iStories managed to have a conversation, said that he and his colleagues were engaged in “a constant search for people who gave out (Russian) coordinates” during the occupation of Andriivka.
But he claims he wasn’t involved in the killings of civilians in the then-occupied village and doesn’t know anything about people being shot there.
Danilov said that as far as he knows, captured civilians suspected of sharing information with Ukrainian sources were taken as prisoners and handed over to superior authorities.
Frolkin said that he left his home in Russia for a military exercise in Belarus on Jan. 11, not knowing that he would later be going into Ukraine. He is now back in Russia.
In its report, iStories has also published the names of four Russian soldiers, including Frolkin and Danilov, who are believed to have committed atrocities in Andriivka. Local testimonies suggest the soldiers were involved in looting, torturing, and murders.
The report says that what helped in finding their identities was a phone left behind by Russian soldiers at a woman’s house, which contained photos of themselves posing for “a photo shoot.” The photos show Russian soldiers posing with their weapons and wearing stolen medals on their chests.
Danilov later asked iStories to send one of the photos that he took with a fellow Russian soldier in a local resident’s house uninvited.
The report says at least 13 civilians were killed and more than 40 others are still missing in Andriivka.
After Russian troops left the oblast, evidence of summary executions, torture and systematic looting during the weeks of occupation in northwest areas of Kyiv Oblast came to light.
As of Aug. 5, a total of 1,349 civilians were killed in Kyiv Oblast after Russian forces withdrew from the region, and Kyiv Oblast Police Chief Andriy Nebytov said in July that at least 700 of them were fatally shot with small arms.
Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.
