"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.
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 aftermath of a reported drone attack in Kursk, Russia, on April 15, 2025. (Kursk Oblast Operational Headquarters/Telegram)
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A drone strike on a residential building on April 14 in Russia's Kursk Oblast killed one person and injured another nine, Russian authorities claimed.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify claims made by Russian officials.
Russia's Kursk Oblast operational command claimed in a post on social media that a fire stemming from the drone strike engulfed the 8th and 9th floors of a residential building in the city of Kursk.
A total of nine people reportedly suffered shrapnel wounds, head injuries, and burns as a result of the blaze. No information was provided on the status of the injured victims.
It was not immediately clear which country the drone belonged to. Ukraine's military has not commented on the attack.
Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, claimed that "unknown drones hit a Russian ammunition depot in Kursk." He did not comment on the reported damage to a residential building.
Emergency crews are currently on-scene attending to injured victims.
Kursk Oblast, situated on the Russia-Ukraine border, is the site of Ukraine's incursion into the region and sees regular fighting.
Ukraine initially seized 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory in Kursk Oblast before Moscow, reinforced by North Korean units, launched a counteroffensive earlier this month.
Russia regularly strikes Ukrainian cities with drone attacks, greatly outnumbering Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory.
Since Kyiv and Washington agreed on a temporary truce on March 11, Russia has launched 70 missiles, 2,200 Shahed-type drones, and 6,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on April 11.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Asami Terajima
