Despite the Kremlin's announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the front line.
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.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Moscow and Washington discuss the potential resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, among other issues related to the peaceful settlement of Russia's war in Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed to the Russian state-run Interfax news agency.
"This is a historic decision, as weapons for Ukraine will be purchased at the expense of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets through the European Peace Fund," Denys Shmyhal said.
Kurt Volker said that now "there is more alignment" between Ukraine and the U.S. under the Trump Administration than at the beginning of 2025.
The approval marks a key step in international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for what is considered the gravest violation of international law committed against Ukraine.
Although Moscow declared on April 28 that it would halt all military actions from May 8 to midnight on May 11 to mark Victory Day, strikes on civilian areas have continued.
Under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's rule, millions of Ukrainians died during the Holodomor, a man-made famine in 1932–1933. The dictator also oversaw mass deportations, purges of Ukrainian intellectuals and leaders, and the suppression of the Ukrainian language and culture.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak confirmed at a briefing on March 9 that 10 more Leopard 2 tanks had been transferred to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian soldiers on how to operate the tanks has concluded.
"We are dealing with a battalion of heavy tanks, which in the case of the Polish side have already been transferred, and in the case of our allies will be transferred to Ukraine in a very short time," he said.
Poland has led Western efforts in providing Ukraine with modern Leopard main battle tanks, having delivered the first batch of four tanks on Feb. 24.
The Polish defense minister also told reporters that his country was ready to launch a maintenance center for Leopard tanks transferred to Ukraine.
"The challenge with providing spare parts for these tanks is that it stopped 20 years ago," Błaszczak explained. "But we are ready to resume production. We are currently in talks with the Germans to ensure that the Leopard tanks that have been or will be delivered to Ukraine are serviced and repaired in Poland through our cooperation."

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