"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.
In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev (L) leave after the official dinner following their talks in Baku on August 19, 2024. (Mikhail Tereshchenko/AFP via Getty Images)
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again accused Russia of causing the Dec. 25 crash of Airlines Flight J2-8243, which killed 38 people, and criticized Vladimir Putin for not admitting guilt during a Jan. 6 meeting with victims’ families and surviving crew members.
The flight, en route from Baku to Grozny, Chechnya, changed course and crashed in Kazakhstan. Multiple reports and official Azerbaijani statements attributed the disaster to a missile launched by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system.
"The blame for this disaster lies with representatives of the Russian Federation," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has maintained close ties with Azerbaijan, offered condolences during a Dec. 28 phone call but stopped short of admitting Russian responsibility.
Aliyev criticized Russia’s handling of the incident, accusing its agencies of suppressing evidence and promoting "absurd versions" of events.
Aliyev also blamed Russia for failing to close its airspace near Grozny and highlighted poor coordination between its military and civil aviation services as factors contributing to the tragedy.
Aliyev said the plane’s black boxes were decoded in Brazil at Azerbaijan’s insistence, bypassing the Interstate Aviation Committee due to doubts about its objectivity.
Flight J2-8243 carried 67 passengers, including 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz citizens. Official Azerbaijani sources confirmed that the missile responsible originated from Russian forces.
Oleg Sukhov
