"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.
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.
Former deputy head of the Presidential Office Andrii Smyrnov. (Ukraine's Presidential Office)
A former deputy head of the Presidential Office was charged with money laundering and taking a particularly large bribe, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau's (NABU) said in a statement published on April 16.
NABU does not name the person charged with the crimes in its report, but the case involves Andrii Smyrnov, who was a deputy head of the Presidential Office from 2019 to 2024.
Before the new charges were announced, Smyrnov was accused of illicitly enriching himself by Hr 15.7 million ($380,000) while in his former position. Smyrnov acquired assets worth more than Hr 17 million ($412,000) between 2020-2022, although he officially reported his salary and savings for the period as Hr 1.3 million ($31,500).
According to NABU's statement, from 2019 to 2021, the accused illegally cashed in funds, which he laundered by building houses on 300 square meters in a recreational area of Odesa Oblast.
Smyrnov turned to the beneficiary of an unnamed company that owned land by the sea and transferred almost Hr 6.5 million ($157,000) for the construction of the facilities to conceal the origins of the money.
The constructed buildings used by the top official were initially registered in the company's name, but after Smyrnov was charged for the first time in May 2024, they were re-registered in the name of a trustee.
NABU detectives also determined that in 2022, the top official was approached by the owner of an unnamed construction company with a proposal to provide him services worth $100,000 for constructing one of the houses on the coast in Odesa Oblast.
In return, the individual asked to Smyrnov to facilitate a decision by Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee to cancel the results of a tender that was earlier won by a competitor, and to ensure his company's victory in the new tender.
According to the investigation, Smyrnov accepted the proposal and took advantage of his official position.
Smyrnov held the position of deputy head from September 2019 until March 2024, when President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed him without naming a reason.
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 Denisova
