"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.
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 view from the street while Kyiv is going through blackouts as a result of the harm Russian attacks cause on Ukrainian infrastructure in Kyiv, Ukraine on June 4, 2024. (Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure caused a sharp rise in Ukrainians citing blackouts as a reason for leaving the country over the summer, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said in a report published on Sept. 19.
Russia launched nine coordinated attacks against Ukraine's electricity infrastructure between March and the end of August, striking facilities in 20 oblasts and affecting millions of civilians.
At least 18 people were killed in the vicinity of the strikes, and at least 84 were injured, the report said. The attacks destroyed around 9 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity, "equivalent to half of what Ukraine requires during winter months," the report said.
Border monitoring carried out by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) "indicated a slight rise in departures from Ukraine due to lack of access to electricity, water, and heating beginning in April," the report said.
That rise "starkly increased" by June, and in July, nearly half (49%) of those "interviewed at the border departing Ukraine reported they were leaving due to the energy situation."
"During the summer period, energy-related reasons were the second most important factor contributing to departures, in addition to broader concerns related to the volatile security situation," the HRMMU said.
The report highlighted that Ukraine's National Bank revised its forecast on population movement for the coming year due to the destruction inflicted on Ukraine's energy system.
The National Bank now projects an additional 500,000 people will be displaced between 2024 and 2025.
"From heating homes and ensuring clean water to powering online education, running businesses, and functioning health services, the destruction of electricity infrastructure affects almost every aspect of daily life," said HRMMU Head Danielle Bell.
According to one energy company cited in the report, the attacks damaged three times more Ukrainian power generation units than during the campaign of strikes during the winter of 2022-2023.
The HRMMU noted that the attacks since March targeted electricity generation facilities to a much larger extent than the previous campaign of strikes. Experts told HRMMU that the upcoming winter may see outages of between 4 and 18 hours per day.
Blackouts particularly impact those living in cities, where inhabitants rely on central heating.
In Kyiv, for example, 95% of the city's three million inhabitants "rely on centralized district heating, which is delivered to consumers in high-rise buildings using electric pumps," the report said.
The strikes impacted not only heating but also water distribution, as electricity is required to distribute water to consumers.
"Most municipal water utilities lack backup energy sources to ensure consistent supply in the case of prolonged power outages," the report said.
The HRMMU also highlighted that power is needed for schools "and to provide internet access for the 1.7 million children in Ukraine who attend school online" due to the safety risks of attending in-person.
Russia's attacks on Ukrainian electricity infrastructure "likely violated all three principles of international humanitarian law," the HRMMU concluded.
Dinara Khalilova
