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 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.
Ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has ended his 50-day hunger strike, AFP reported on Nov. 20, citing his doctor Nikoloz Kipshidze. Saakashvili agreed to end the hunger strike following his transfer to a military hospital’s intensive care unit after he fell unconscious in a Tbilisi prison on Nov. 18.
Saakashvili is a Ukrainian citizen and the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Executive Committee for Reform. Saakashvili left for Georgia to support his United National Movement party ahead of local elections on Oct. 1. He was arrested upon arrival and jailed on what he says are fabricated abuse of office charges.
In an op-ed published on Politico’s website on Nov. 20, Saakashvili called on U.S. President Joe Biden to support Georgia’s fight for democracy by publicly condemning the country’s government and considering sanctions against the “human rights offenders.”
Anastasiia Lapatina is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the same role at the Kyiv Post and has focused on politics and human rights in conflict zones and issues in Russia-occupied Crimea. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia in Canada.
