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.
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas at the European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL) in Luxembourg City on April 14, 2025. (John Thys / AFP via Getty Images)
The European Union will never recognize the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula as legally Russian, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on April 22.
Kallas' comments come in response to reports that the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory is being considered as part of a U.S.-backed proposal to end the war in Ukraine.
"It means a lot for the ones who are occupied that others don't recognize this as Russian."
Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, occupying the peninsula with troops and staging sham referendums to justify the seizure of territory. The move was widely condemned as a violation of international law. Kallas said it would be a mistake to reward Moscow's land grab by including recognition of Crimea as part of a ceasefire deal.
"Then Russia clearly gets what they want," she said.
Kallas said Washington should instead look to mount pressure on Moscow, rather than ceding to Kremlin demands.
"They have tools in their hands to use, actually, to pressure Russia. They haven't used those tools," she said.
"If they are now walking away without using the tools that they have actually in their hands, then my big question mark is, why? Why aren't they using the tools to really end this war?"
While Europe has largely been shut out of the U.S.-brokered peace negotiations with Ukraine and Russia, talks in Paris on April 17 brought Europe back to the table. U.S. delegates reportedly unveiled their ceasefire proposal during the Paris talks — and are expecting a response from Ukraine during follow-up talks in London on April 23.
Representatives from Ukraine, the U.K., France, and the U.S. will convene in London to continue discussions.
"There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine," Zelensky said on April 22.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Kate Tsurkan
