"(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.
EU member state flags in front of the Konrad Adenauer building of the European Parliament in Luxembourg, on Friday, June 21, 2024. Ukraine and Moldova began EU accession talks in Luxembourg on June 25. (Simon Wohlfahrt/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The European Commission has proposed adding 15 new individuals and entities to its sanctions framework targeting Russian hybrid threats and suspects linked to the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, EU sources told Reuters on May 7.
In November 2024, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported evidence of tear gas use along the front line in Ukraine, though it did not assign responsibility. Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, the use of riot-control agents like tear gas as a method of warfare is banned. Both the United States and Ukraine have accused Russia of breaching the treaty, claims that the Kremlin denies.
EU ambassadors began talks this week on a 17th sanctions package targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex, Moscow’s shadow shipping fleet, and related support networks. Two other sanction proposals are also under discussion—one targeting individuals suspected of human rights violations and another focused on hybrid threats.
As part of the new sanctions round, EU member states are expected to agree to blacklist approximately 140 ships—mostly tankers—and around 70 individuals and entities. A third package under review would add another 25 individuals and entities, mostly for alleged rights violations.
Sources say the EU is also expected to list Surgutneftegaz, a major Russian oil producer already sanctioned by the United States in January during its broader crackdown on Russia’s energy sector.
While the European External Action Service (EEAS) initiates new listings, sector-wide measures remain under the Commission’s authority.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
