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 Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Chinese President Xi Jinping during an official welcoming ceremony for delegations' heads at the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 23, 2024 (Maxim Shemetov / POOL / AFP)
Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Moscow on May 9 to attend Russia's Victory Day celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, pro-Kremlin media Interfax reported on Feb. 10, citing Russian Ambassador to Beijing Igor Morgulov.
Morgulov also claimed that Xi invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to China to commemorate Japan's surrender and the conclusion of World War II.
Beijing has not yet officially commented on these reports.
China has strengthened ties with Russia since the Kremlin launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, becoming Moscow's leading supplier of dual-use goods that bolster Russia's defense industry.
The Kremlin uses Victory Day celebrations for propaganda purposes, showcasing its military might and drawing on the Soviet victory in World War II to justify its aggression against Ukraine.
Putin has falsely accused Ukraine of fascist and Nazi tendencies, framing the invasion as an effort to "de-Nazify" the country — rhetoric rooted in Russia's broader disinformation campaign.
While China has positioned itself as a potential mediator in the war, it has simultaneously criticized the U.S. and its allies for "exacerbating" the war by supplying weapons to Ukraine. NATO has labeled China a "decisive enabler" of Russia's aggression.
North Korean soldiers will reportedly participate in Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow for the first time, Japanese broadcaster NHK World reported in January.
Slovakia's Ukraine-skeptic Prime Minister Robert Fico also said he had accepted Putin's invitation to attend the May 9 celebrations.
Ukraine has distanced itself from Soviet-era commemorations. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a 2023 law moving Ukraine's World War II remembrance day to May 8, aligning with most of Europe.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Abbey Fenbert
