"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.
Photo for illustrative purposes: Evacuation of civilians in Donetsk Oblast continues due to Russian attacks on Oct. 28, 2024. (Fermin Torrano/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Authorities in Donetsk Oblast have decided to begin forcible evacuations of families with children in over 20 settlements in the region due to increased Russian shelling, Governor Vadim Filashkin announced on Jan. 24.
Officials intensified civilian evacuations in Donetsk Oblast during the summer and autumn as Russian forces ramped up their offensive in eastern Ukraine. Despite these efforts, around 307,000 civilians reportedly remained in Ukrainian-controlled parts of the region as of early January.
Due to the increased threat to civilian lives, Donetsk Oblast will begin mandatory forced evacuations of families with children in several settlements in the Komar and Kryvorizhzhia communities, Filashkin said.
The evacuation order affects over 100 children.
According to the governor, 76 children currently remain in the Komar area and 34 in Kryvorizhzhia.
"Now that the enemy has intensified shelling of Donetsk Oblast, people are suffering and dying every day, I ask parents to be very responsible about the evacuation," Filashkin wrote.
"Children should live in peace and tranquility, not hide from shelling!"
Some of the settlements under the evacuation mandate are less than 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the embattled city of Pokrovsk, one of the focal points of Russia's eastern offensive.
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.
Kateryna Hodunova
