Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"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.
The national flag of Ukraine and the flag of the EU are flying in the wind on April 24, 2023, in Berlin. (Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)
EU ambassadors agreed on the framework for the EU accession talks for Ukraine and Moldova, allowing talks to start on June 25, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU announced on June 14.
EU and Ukrainian officials are reportedly pushing for the talks to start by June 25 before Hungary takes the presidency of the Council of the EU in July.
"Ambassadors agreed in principle on the negotiating frameworks for the accession negotiations of Ukraine and Moldova," the Belgian presidency said on X. "The Belgian presidency will call the first intergovernmental conferences on June 25."
The European Commission announced on June 7 that it supported the start of accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova.
For talks to begin, the EU needs to unanimously agree that Ukraine has undertaken measures to improve issues like corruption and the protection of minority languages. Hungary is expected to raise objections, mainly regarding minority rights.
Budapest has repeatedly claimed that the Hungarian ethnic minority concentrated in southwestern Ukraine is discriminated against due to Kyiv's language laws.
Ukraine received EU membership candidate status in June 2022. In November 2023, the European Commission recommended launching accession talks with Kyiv. The European Council then agreed in December to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova.
Philippe Legrain
