"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.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky at the informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Berlin, Germany, on May 15, 2022. (Janine Schmitz / Photothek via Getty Images)
Czechia's initiative to provide Ukraine with artillery ammunition has secured funding to continue monthly deliveries until September 2025, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on April 3, Ukrainian publication European Pravda reported.
The initiative, backed by contributions from Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and other European countries, has significantly boosted Ukraine's artillery capabilities, Lipavsky claimed.
The minister said the effort had reduced the effectiveness of Russian artillery "by 500%" and improved the shell ratio from 1-to-10 in Russia's favor to 1-to-2.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claim.
In 2024, the Czech initiative supplied Ukraine with 1.5 million rounds of ammunition, including 500,000 large-caliber 155mm and 152mm shells. The initiative was launched amid Ukrainian shell shortages, largely caused by delays in U.S. military aid in 2024.
Czechia's opposition party ANO has vowed to suspend the initiative if it wins the parliamentary elections in October 2025, opposition leader Karel Havlicek said in January.
"We're not going to continue the munitions initiative. Not at all," he told the Czech media Respekt.
Prague has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, supplying military aid, leading EU efforts to secure weapons, and hosting tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
Czech President Petr Pavel said on March 22 that the country was also ready to contribute troops to a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.
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.
Kateryna Hodunova
