"(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.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry building in Beijing, China on July 26, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
China has delivered four batches of humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia's all-out war, Li Ming, spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said on March 18.
China remains committed to being a "positive force for world peace and stability and a progressive force for global fairness and justice," Li reportedly said, addressing reports that President Volodymyr Zelensky had expressed hopes for China's involvement in restoring peace and supporting Ukraine's reconstruction.
"We are ready to continue to provide assistance within our capacity according to the wishes of parties involved, which, of course, includes post-war reconstruction," he added.
Beijing has positioned itself as a neutral party in the war, calling for diplomatic solutions while maintaining ties with Moscow.
China has deepened its ties with Russia since the start of the Kremlin's full-scale war against Ukraine and has become Moscow's leading source of dual-use goods that feed the Russian defense industry.
Western officials remain wary of Beijing's deepening ties with Moscow, with NATO labeling China a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
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