"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.
Vsevolod Kniaziev (L), dismissed from the position of the head of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, in the courtroom of the High Anti-Corruption Court on May 18, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
The High Council of Justice suspended on April 4 Vsevolod Kniaziev, the former chair of the Supreme Court and a suspect in a bribery case, from administering justice until the court verdict comes into force or the criminal proceedings are closed.
Kniaziev was detained and dismissed from his position in May 2023 after he was charged with accepting a $2.7 million bribe to rule in favor of Ukrainian billionaire Kostyantyn Zhevago. He was released from detention after paying Hr 18 million bail ($450,000) on Jan. 31.
Kniazev was already formally suspended from working at the court in February until at least April 6. Until Feb. 6, he could technically return to work as an ordinary judge at the Supreme Court because he had not been formally suspended.
Oleksandr Klymenko, the chief of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), later filed a petition saying that if Kniaziev continues to administer justice, there are risks that "he could personally or indirectly influence witnesses or other participants in the criminal proceedings," according to the High Council of Justice.
The sum of Kniaziev's bail was reduced several times since his arrest, originally being set at Hr 107.3 million ($2.8 million). The court attributed the decisions to the ex-Supreme Court chief's allegedly poor health and his inability to pay specific amounts.
Oleg Sukhov
