"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.
Foreign soldiers made prisoners of war (POW) after being captured by Ukraine as combattants within the Russian armed forces, take part in a press conference organised by Ukrainian officials in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 15, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference organised by Ukrainian officials, eight POWs from Cuba, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Somalia said they were lured with promises of high wages, non-frontline roles or simply tricked. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)
Leaked documents reveal that Russia has been coercing Cuban citizens into the Russian Armed Forces with salaries of approximately $2,000 per month, in addition to offers of a Russian passport within months of signing up, a BBC investigation revealed on May 4.
According to the BBC, hundreds of Cubans have allegedly joined Russia's Armed Forces since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, online leaks reveal.
At least 200 names of Cubans were leaked in September and October 2023 by pro-Ukrainian hackers, with the BBC confirming at least 31 accounts whose names matched leaked records appearing to be in Russia or linked to the Russian army.
The BBC investigation further revealed social media posts suggesting some Cubans are receiving Russian passports within months of signing up for the Armed Forces, a theory that was corroborated by local media reports suggesting that citizenship to newly-recruited Cuban fighters would be granted "in the future."
Other Cubans who have moved to Russia on the prospects of finding work in the construction industry were reportedly instead sent to Ukraine's eastern front. In September 2023, Cuba uncovered a human trafficking ring aimed at recruiting people to fight for Russia, a violation that Cuba's Foreign Affairs Ministry "firmly rejects."
Russia continues to increase its campaign to recruit foreigners in neighboring countries and exploited migrant workers for its war against Ukraine to avoid domestic mobilization. Foreign recruits from Nepal, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Somalia, as well as additional central Asian and African countries, have served as primary targets for recruitment.
In January, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree allowing foreign nationals who join the Russian Armed Forces to be able to apply for Russian citizenship.
Cuba and Russia, two allies since the start of the Cold War, have reciprocal visa-free travel between the countries, as well as direct flights between Havana and Moscow.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Alexander Khrebet
