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 United States embassy in Kyiv on May 9 issued a warning that Russia could launch "a potentially significant" attack in the coming days, despite Putin's self-declared Victory Day "truce."
The sanctioned oil tankers have transported over $24 billion in cargo since 2024, according to Downing Street. The U.K. has now sanctioned more shadow fleet vessels than any other country.
Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
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.
Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, during a swearing-in ceremony in Washington, DC, US, on Jan. 21, 2025. (Oliver Contreras/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The U.S. is "evaluating" conditions put forward by Russia after Moscow agreed "in principle" to a Black Sea ceasefire, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on March 26 during a visit to Jamaica.
"Obviously, after our meeting (in Saudi Arabia), as part of their release, the Russians detailed a number of conditions that they want to see met in order to do that," he said.
The U.S., Russia, and Ukraine agreed to "eliminate the use of force" and prevent commercial vessels from being used for military purposes in the Black Sea, the White House announced on March 25, following two-day talks in Saudi Arabia.
The Kremlin later said the ceasefire would take effect only if Western sanctions on Russian food producers, exporters, and financial institutions — including Rosselkhozbank — are lifted and if Russia is reconnected to the SWIFT payment system.
Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is ready to take such a step if Russia also agrees to the terms. So far, Russia has refused, instead attempting to extract major concessions from the U.S. in exchange for partial ceasefire agreements.
According to Rubio, some of the sanctions Russia wants lifted "are not ours — they belong to the European Union."
Moscow also demands the removal of sanctions on Russian-flagged cargo vessels involved in food and fertilizer trade, as well as on the import of agricultural equipment and fertilizers into Russia.
Rubio added that the U.S. received Russia's proposal for an "energy truce" and a conceptual framework for a future de-escalation mechanism.
European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper reiterated that Russia's "unconditional withdrawal" from Ukraine remains a key precondition for any changes to EU sanctions.
The EU's current sanctions framework imposes economic restrictions on over 2,400 individuals and entities linked to Russia.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Abbey Fenbert
