"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.
A Ukrainian flag fluttering over the Verkhovna Rada building, on the Day of the National Flag, in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Aug. 23, 2024. (Roman Pilipey /AFP via Getty Images)
The bilateral screening process of Ukrainian legislation for compliance with EU standards will continue until the fall of 2025, European Pravda reported on Jan. 27, citing the European Commission's spokesperson.
Ukraine applied for EU membership at the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The country has made quick progress, achieving candidate status within months, with the initial negotiations process formally launching in June 2024.
If Ukraine fulfills all the requirements, the commission expects the launch of cluster negotiations, starting with Cluster I, "Fundamentals," "as soon as possible" in 2025, the spokesperson told the Ukrainian media outlet.
The commission submitted the first Cluster I screening report for Ukraine on Jan. 16. The Cluster I opens first and closes last in the EU accession negotiations.
The presentation of the report is the first step in the EU accession negotiations, during which the commission familiarizes the candidate country with its rights and obligations. During the second stage, the commission assesses the candidate's progress in terms of legal harmonization and ability to apply the EU acquis.
The screening report will then be discussed with member states in the EU Council, European Pravda reported. The spokesperson added that a unanimous decision of all EU member states is required in accession negotiations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 15 that Ukraine has the "ambitious goal" of opening five or all the six EU accession negotiation clusters in 2025.
Ukraine will open two or three negotiation clusters in the first six months of 2025 under Poland's rotating presidency, and three more during the second half of the year under the Danish presidency, the president said.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Kateryna Hodunova
