"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.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky at the informal meeting of NATO Ministers of foreign affairs in Berlin, Germany, on May 15, 2022. (Janine Schmitz/Photothek via Getty Images)
Czechia has sanctioned Belarusian journalist Natalia Sudliankova and ordered her to leave the country on April 3, following an investigation by intelligence that found she was working as an agent for Russia.
Russia's military intelligence (GRU) has been accused of interference worldwide. In January, various media outlets reported that Russia's GRU offered a $200,000 bounty to Afghan militants for every U.S. or coalition soldier killed.
"This is part of the hybrid war that Russia is waging against democratic countries and the values we share. It is documented that Russia orchestrated over 100 attempts at sabotage around Europe in the past year," Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said on April 3.
Sudliankova reported to Russian GRU agent, Alexey Shavrov. He was sanctioned alongside Sudliankova on April 3, and the Czech authorities have called for the two to be included in EU sanctions.
"Natalia Sudliankova is a key collaborator of the Russian military intelligence service GRU and has been working covertly and systematically for several Russian organisations in the Czech Republic for many years," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Jipavsky said.
Czech intelligence found that Sudliankova, following Sharov's orders, arranged for several articles to be published in the Czech media.
Sudliankova worked for the "Russian Fund for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad" and the "Immortal Regiment of Russia," Czech intelligence has said.
She also acted in the interest of sanctioned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov and the Russian state nuclear energy company, Rosatom.
"Her activities were directed from Moscow by Russian GRU intelligence officer Alexey Shavrov, and she was paid tens of thousands of euros in cryptocurrencies," Jipavsky said.
Sudliankova has been ordered to leave Czechia and has 30 days to leave the country.
"It is precisely such cases that led us to propose and push through Parliament legislation on 'unauthorized activity for a foreign power'... If that law were already in effect, we would not be talking about expulsion, but about criminal liability," Rakusan said.
On Dec. 16, Russian ice hockey player Maxim Sergeyev was convicted by a Polish court on charges of espionage and sentenced to nearly three years in prison.
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn is a news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He is pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, majoring in political science with a minor in anthropology and human geography. Volodymyr holds a Certificate in Business Fundamentals from Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto. He previously completed an internship with The Kyiv Independent.
Viacheslav Ratynskyi
