"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.
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.
Ukrainian rapper Alyona Alyona performs at the Atlas Weekend festival on July 8, 2021 in Kyiv. (Atlas Weekend)
Our picks for the best art, music, film and more in the capital. All venues require one of the following: certificates of vaccination, negative test or recovery from Covid-19.
From a nursery teacher to Europe’s best young artist – in the last three years, Alyona Alyona has done so much for Ukrainian music that it’s easy to take her for granted. The rapper will show just how much more she has in store at the Dec. 19 show in Atlas with songs from the latest record and acoustic versions of her old bangers.
Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of "West Side Story" mostly lives up to the classic musical and can be watched in English at Zhovten, Planeta Kino (Blockbuster) and Kinoman (Cosmo). Also screening at Zhovten and Planeta Kino (Blockbuster) is "Spencer," an unusual biopic of Princess Diana played beautifully by Kristen Stewart.
West Side Story (musical, romance in English). Zhovten, Planeta Kino (Blockbuster), Kinoman (Cosmo). Dec. 17-19. ₴115-220
The Berlin powerhouse duo FJAAK is playing at the untitled nightclub at 41 Kyrylivska St. on Dec. 18. Legowelt, the Dutch explorer of techno, house and old school acid, will spin records the same night at Arsenal XXII.
FJAAK (house, techno). 41 Kyrylivksa St. ₴450
Christmas Intermezzovintage market by Kyivness is a good place to look for chic holiday presents or a new look for the parties. The event is a daytime party in itself, this time held at the Chocolate House estate on Dec. 18-19.
Christmas Intermezzo by Kyivness (curated vintage and local brands market). Chocolate House (17/2 Shovkovychna St.) Dec. 18-19. 12-8 p.m. ₴200
Artur Korniienko is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, currently on a leave to serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He previously reported on Ukrainian literature, art, music, film and social issues for the Kyiv Post, including the controversial Babyn Yar memorial and other development projects opposed by the community. In 2021, he ran a podcast about Ukrainian migrant workers for RFE/RL on the Vaclav Havel Fellowship in Prague. With a Master's in Journalism from the Ukrainian Catholic University, Korniienko had also worked as a freelance journalist and a TV correspondent.
