"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.
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 Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, part of the Russian naval detachment visiting Cuba, arrives at Havana's harbour, June 12, 2024. (ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian naval vessels including a warship and nuclear-powered submarine arrived in Cuba on June 12, on their way to conduct military exercises in the Caribbean.
The submarine Kazan and the Admiral Gorshkov frigate were accompanied by a tugboat and fuel ship, which were met with a cannon fire salute from the harbor.
Officials from both Cuba and the U.S. have said none of the vessels are carrying nuclear weapons, Reuters reports.
The Russian defense ministry said they had conducted training with "high-precision missile weapons" before arriving in Cuba.
The naval vessels have been closely tracked in recent days by the U.S. which said last week the exercise was likely an attempt by Russia to demonstrate it could still project naval strength globally in the wake of Ukraine's multiple successful strikes on Moscow's Black Sea Fleet.
The Ukrainian Navy claimed in March to have destroyed one-third of the fleet since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Speaking on June 12, White House National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the exercises were routine.
"We have seen this kind of thing before and we expect to see this kind of thing again, and I'm not going to read into it any particular motives," Sullivan said in comments reported by Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 5 said Moscow could supply advanced weapons to certain regions to enable strikes against "sensitive" Western targets as a response if Ukraine strikes Russia with Western arms.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Chris York
