"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.
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce holds a press briefing in Washington, D.C., U.S. on March 31, 2025. (Andrew Thomas / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
The United States finds it "disturbing" that Chinese nationals are fighting alongside Russian soldiers in the war against Ukraine, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a press briefing on April 8.
Earlier in the day, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Ukrainian troops captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting with a Russian unit in Donetsk Oblast.
"It's disturbing with the Chinese soldiers having been captured," Bruce told reporters.
"We're aware of those reports that Ukraine captured two Chinese citizens fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine."
Bruce also said North Korea's direct involvement in the war was disturbing and highlighted China's role in supporting Moscow's full-scale war.
"China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine. China provides nearly 80% of the dual-use items that Russia needs to sustain the war."
According to Zelensky, Ukrainian troops clashed with six Chinese soldiers near the villages of Tarasivka and Bilohorivka in Donetsk Oblast. The two captured fighters are now being held by Ukraine's Security Service.
Last fall, North Korea deployed approximately 12,000 troops to Russia's Kursk Oblast to support Russian forces in repelling a Ukrainian offensive. Ukraine captured two North Korean soldiers in January.
North Korean soldiers have thus far fought against Ukraine on Russian soil, while the Chinese fighters were captured on Ukrainian territory.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine had summoned China's charge d'affaires to express condemnation and demand an explanation regarding the matter.
China has been a key strategic partner to Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, expanding trade and becoming Moscow's top supplier of dual-use goods. Dual-use items can be designated for both military and civilian purposes, thus evading international sanctions.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have risen in recent days amid a looming trade war triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on international goods.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Dominic Culverwell
