Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"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.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (L) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) talk to media in the Berlaymont, the EU Commission headquarters on April 5, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
The Armenian government on Jan. 9 supported a draft law on initiating the country's accession process with the European Union, Armenia News reported.
The government "expressed a positive stance" on the bill, which was submitted as a citizens' initiative. It has been submitted to Armenia's parliament for consideration, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said.
Yerevan has made an effort to build a closer relationship with the
EU amid deteriorating ties with Russia, though the South Caucasus country is yet to submit a membership application.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stressed that even if the bill is passed, the accession process can start only if the Armenian people support it in a referendum.
"But if the law is adopted, we must have some idea about our next steps" and "discuss with the EU the road map that they imagine and that we imagine," Pashinyan said at a government meeting.
The prime minister noted that the bill should be approached without "undue enthusiasm" and that the country should currently focus on developing more practical steps, such as visa liberalization.
Speaking in the European Parliament in October 2023, Pashinyan said that his country is ready to align more closely with the bloc, though he later expressed doubts about whether Armenia is ready for full membership.
Pashinyan spoke in the EU's legislature shortly after Russia, Armenia's traditional ally, failed to prevent an Azerbaijani lighting offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, leading to a rapid deterioration of ties between Yerevan and Moscow.
Last March, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the EU's executive bodies to strengthen relations with Armenia. The parliament also said Armenia meets the Maastricht Treaty requirements to apply for membership.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
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