"(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.
A patient infected with Covid-19 breathes through an oxygen mask at the sub-intensive care unit in Dnipro clinical hospital №8 on Nov. 3, 2021. (dniprorada.gov.ua)
Ukraine could register up to 52,000 daily Covid-19 cases in early February, reaching its peak of incidence, according to the latest report published by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Experts claim that the number of new cases is now doubling every week, and given the experience of other countries, the peak incidence per day should be expected in one to three weeks.
The academy estimates that there will be on average 29,878 new daily cases from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1, and 39,241 new daily cases from Feb. 2 to Feb. 8. The range is forecasted at 20,596 to 52,651 cases per day.
Ukraine has registered 34,408 new cases of Covid-19 on Jan. 27. It is the highest-ever number detected in the country since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
The previous highest number of daily cases, 32,393, was recorded in Ukraine just a day before, on Jan. 26
Although the infection rate has been growing for the last three weeks, the number of hospitalizations is twice lower compared to the outbreak in the spring of 2021.
According to Ukraine’s Health Minister Viktor Lyashko, the low hospitalization rate is observed due to nationwide vaccination. Still, Ukraine’s vaccination level remains relatively low: Only 38% of the population are fully vaccinated.
The Health Ministry announced the beginning of a new Covid-19 wave on Jan. 19. The ministry expected this wave to peak in February.
The highly transmissible Covid-19 variant Omicron was first detected in Ukraine on Dec. 18. As of Jan. 24, the strain has reportedly spread in 17 out of the country’s 24 oblasts but hasn’t yet become the dominant variant in Ukraine, according to Lyashko.
Alexander Query is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He is the former business editor at the Kyiv Post. He worked as a TV correspondent and an anchorman at UATV in Ukraine, and received a BA in modern literature from La Sorbonne, in Paris.
