"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.
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed to have shot down a cargo plane in Darfur on Oct. 21, with speculation that Russian nationals may have been on board.
The aircraft, identified as an Ilyushin Il-76 from Kyrgyzstan, had documents connecting it to a UAE-based company.
The RSF released mobile phone footage showing identity documents recovered from the crash site, including a Russian passport.
Additionally, the RSF stated that "foreign mercenaries" were killed in the operation, further implying the potential presence of Russian citizens.
This connection raises concerns about the involvement of Russian mercenaries or private contractors in Sudan’s ongoing conflict, which has seen various international actors entangled.
Russia maintains a strong presence in African countries like Sudan through Wagner and other entities, propping up authoritarian governments, fueling destabilization, and extracting resources to fund its war against Ukraine.
Claims have previously appeared in other media publications that Ukrainian special forces took part in operations in Sudan and are responsible for strikes against Wagner-backed militants.
According to the WSJ, Sudan's de facto ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, appealed to Ukraine for assistance in the summer of 2023 while besieged by rebel forces.
Kyiv responded positively in order to curb Russia's influence abroad, but also because "Burhan had been quietly supplying Kyiv with weapons since shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022," the outlet wrote.
Russia’s Embassy in Khartoum issued a statement confirming that its diplomats were investigating the incident in Sudan’s Malha region, near the border with Chad.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Kateryna Denisova
