"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.
A multi-story damaged in a Russian air strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on April 22, 2025. (State Emergency Service/Telegram)
Editor's note: The article was updated with a statement by the Air Force.
Russian attacks across Ukrainian regions killed at least four civilians and injured at least 88, including children, over the past day, regional authorities reported on April 23.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 67 of the 134 attack and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Forty-seven drones disappeared from radars without causing damage, according to the statement.
Russia has intensified its attacks against Ukrainian cities and towns even as Kyiv proposed a 30-day truce on strikes against civilian infrastructure.
A Russian air strike against the city of Zaporizhzhia on April 22 killed a 69-year-old woman and injured at least 40 people, including children, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported. Multiple residential buildings and an educational facility were damaged.
Russian attacks against Dnipropetrovsk Oblast over the past day injured four men, aged 40, 48, 65, and 85, Governor Serhii Lysak said.
In Donetsk Oblast, three people were killed and seven injured in Russian attacks, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported. This included three people killed and four injured in an attack on Myrnohrad.
Russian forces launched at least 13 drones against the city of Kharkiv on April 22, injuring 10 people, Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported. Elsewhere in Kharkiv Oblast, in the town of Kupiansk, seven people were injured in a Russian air strike, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Twelve people, including a child, were injured in Russian strikes in Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. Two high-rise buildings, 12 houses, an ambulance, and cars were damaged.
Russian forces also destroyed an energy facility in the region, Prokudin said, warning about possible emergency shutdowns.
A drone attack against Odesa's suburb started multiple fires and injured two people, according to Governor Oleh Kiper.
Russian forces launched 13 drones against the city of Poltava, injuring six people, three of whom have been hospitalized. Governor Volodymyr Kohut said that houses, multi-story buildings, warehouses, office buildings, and cars were damaged.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
