"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.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets during the "Ukraine. Year 2024" forum in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 25, 2024. (Dmytro Larin/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russian forces have executed at least 102 Ukrainian prisoners of war since 2022, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said in an interview on Oct. 18, citing data from the Prosecutor General's Office.
According to Lubinets, the actual number of such cases is likely much higher since it is difficult to document Russian war crimes without supporting evidence such as videos of the executions.
There have been multiple reports of executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian soldiers over this year. Videos and photos resurfaced on social media with evidence of the crimes, including drone footage showing the shooting of the POWs as they surrendered to Russian troops, as well as videos and photos with bodies of Ukrainian soldiers suggesting torture and violent death in captivity.
Lubinets said that Ukrainian authorities document the cases as much as possible and pass the evidence to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation.
"In my opinion, the main reason (for the executions) is that the Russian military does everything possible so that Russian soldiers have no desire to surrender to Ukraine," Lubinets said.
Apart from that, Russians kill prisoners to demonstrate their disregard for international law, according to Lubinets. "They want to show that they are not going to be punished for it (by the international community)," he added.
"This is a deliberate policy of Russia, but international organizations turn a blind eye," Lubinets said.
"I see no public or legal reaction to these events - there are still no arrest warrants for war criminals," he added.
Natalia Yermak is a staff writer for the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a fixer-producer and contributing reporter for the New York Times since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. Previously, she worked in film production and documentary.
Oleg Sukhov
