"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.
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.
Soldiers standing guard in front of an IRIS-T SLM air defense system at the Todendorf military base in Panker, Germany, on Sept. 4, 2024. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Gregor Fischer/Getty Images)
Ukraine will receive the sixth German IRIS-T air defense system by the end of the year, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 13 after a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Ukraine has lobbied international partners for more air defense capabilities in the wake of intensifying Russian strikes targeting energy infrastructure.
Germany ordered an additional 17 IRIS-T air defense systems for Ukraine, Scholz said on Sept. 4. Berlin handed over the most recent IRIS-T system to Kyiv in early October.
During the call, Zelensky and Scholz discussed further cooperation in the defense sector, particularly the volume of air defense supplies for the next year and possible additional assistance with air defense systems from Germany.
The counterparts also agreed that the meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, also known as the Ramstein format, should be maintained, the Presidential Office's statement read.
Zelensky also said that Ukraine's vision of a just and lasting peace should be presented at the Group of Twenty (G20) meeting in Brazil and thanked Germany for its support.
Initially a hesitant partner, Berlin has become Ukraine's second-largest military donor after the U.S. However, Scholz is still reluctant to supply some key capabilities, namely Taurus long-range missiles.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Kateryna Hodunova
