"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
"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.
Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, speaks with the media at the special European Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on March 6, 2025. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent)
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen slammed the U.S. on April 3 for its repeated threats to take over Greenland.
"You cannot annex another country... Not even with an argument about international security," Frederiksen said on April 3 in response to inflammatory remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump and the White House administration threatening to assume control of Greenland.
"This is not only about Greenland or Denmark... This is about the world order that we have built together across the Atlantic over the generations," Frederiksen added.
On March 29, Trump said there is a "good possibility" the U.S. could annex Greenland without using military force, but did not rule it out. "We'll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%," Trump said.
Frederiksen described the U.S. threats to annex Greenland as a shock to the many years of cooperation between Denmark and the U.S.
"When you demand to take over a part of the Kingdom of Denmark’s territory, when we are met by pressure and by threats from our closest ally, what are we to believe in about the country that we have admired for so many years?" Frederiksen said.
On March 29, when asked what the annexation of Greenland would signal to Russia, which has been illegally occupying Ukrainian lands since 2014, Trump said that was not a concern.
"I don't really think about that. I don't really care. Greenland's a very separate subject, very different. It's international peace. It's international security and strength," Trump said.
Greenland is a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The territory is home to a U.S. military base and vast reserves of mineral wealth.
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn is a news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He is pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, majoring in political science with a minor in anthropology and human geography. Volodymyr holds a Certificate in Business Fundamentals from Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto. He previously completed an internship with The Kyiv Independent.
Chris York
