"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.
The flags of the European Union, its member states and Ukraine are flying in front of the European Parliament building on May 29, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The EU Council on June 21 approved the accession negotiations framework with Ukraine and Moldova and confirmed that the talks would begin on June 25.
The announcement follows an agreement by EU ambassadors last week. Officials in Kyiv and Brussels were pushing for the June starting date before Hungary takes over from Belgium as the EU chair the following month.
Ukraine received EU membership candidate status in June 2022. The European Commission recommended launching accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova in November 2023, and the European Council agreed on it a month later.
The commission then presented the negotiations framework and said the two countries are ready to begin the talks by the end of June.
Despite the agreement, Ukraine's entry into the EU most likely remains years away. Katarina Mathernova, the EU ambassador to Ukraine, said last month that Kyiv could join the bloc in 2030.
Rachel Amran
