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.
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, eastern France, April 9, 2024. (Frederick Florin / AFP via Getty Images)
Russia's law labeling foreign organizations as "undesirable" and Moscow's prosecution of individuals involved in those groups violates the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) determined in a unanimous ruling issued June 18.
A seven-judge panel ruled unanimously that the law violates the convention's articles regarding freedom of assembly and association and freedom of expression.
"The Court found that the legal provisions relating to 'undesirable organizations' were not formulated with sufficient precision to enable the applicant organizations to foresee that their actions, normally lawful, would result in their classification as 'undesirable' and the prohibition of their activities in Russia," the ECHR said in a statement.
The case was filed by the Andrey Rylkov Foundation and others on behalf of four organizations based outside Russia — the Free Russia Foundation in Washington, the Ukrainian World Congress in Toronto, the Association of Schools of Political Studies of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and the Spolecnost Svobody Informace in Prague.
The four organizations were deemed "undesirable" under the Russian law, while other applicants were convicted for their affiliation with organizations also designated as "undesirable."
There are currently 160 such organizations listed as being "undesirable," including NGOs, independent media outlets, human rights groups, and others.
Organizations belonging to the list are banned from operating in Russia, and it is illegal for individuals or other media outlets to share their content. The Russian government passed a law on May 13 expanding the list of "undesirable" organizations to include those funded by foreign states.
Chris York
