"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.
Nikita Mazepin of Russia and Haas F1 unveils the Haas F1 VF-22 Ferrari during Day One of F1 Testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Feb. 23, 2022, in Barcelona, Spain. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
EU ambassadors are planning to remove former Russian Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin and Violetta Prigozhina, the mother of the dead Russian mercenary boss, from the list of sanctions later this week, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Sept. 9, citing undisclosed diplomatic sources.
The EU is expected to extend sanctions against some 2,300 entities and individuals associated with Russia's war against Ukraine by Sept. 15.
Hungary, which has repeatedly opposed sanctions on Russia and undermined Western aid efforts for Ukraine, once again reportedly demanded that several people be removed from the sanctions list in exchange for their support.
The Baltic States and Poland proposed that the EU should move from extending the sanctions for six months to making an annual decision, which Budapest opposed, RFE/RL reported.
Eventually, EU member states reached a compromise that would remove Mazepin and Prigozhina from the list, unnamed EU diplomats told RFE/RL. Both are considered "weak cases" by the EU legal service that monitors the judicial aspects of Brussels’ sanctions policy, the media outlet reported.
Nikita Mazepin, a son of Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, won a case in the EU's General court to have the sanctions against him lifted. He has nevertheless remained on the general list, as the decision applies only to the previous period and Brussels has updated the lists according to new criteria since that, according to the court.
Violetta Prigozhina, the mother of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group founder who died in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023, remained on the sanctions list for the same reason.
In March, the EU decided to lift sanctions against Arkady Volozh, the co-founder of Russia's most popular search engine, Yandex.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Martin Fornusek
