"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.
Screenshot from a video allegedly showing fire on Russia’s Kavkazskaya oil pumping station overnight of March 24, 2025. (Screenshot / ASTRA).
Firefighters continue battling a fire at an oil depot near the village of Kavkazskaya in Russia's Krasnodar Krai for the fifth day after a drone attack, local authorities claimed on March 24.
Ukrainian drones struck the Kavkazskaya oil pumping station overnight on March 19, damaging infrastructure and igniting a fire, Moscow claimed earlier.
The fire has since spread to 2,000 square meters (21,500 square feet), with one of the storage tanks and the oil products inside still burning, according to the region's administration.
The Kavkazskaya oil transshipment point is a key facility for Russia's energy exports, linking a railroad oil terminal with the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station.
The facility is part of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium system, which pumps up to 6 million metric tons of oil annually.
The reported attack came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have ordered a pause on strikes against energy infrastructure after a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kyiv said it agreed to the energy ceasefire in principle but accused Russia of continuing its aerial strikes.
Ukraine has carried out strikes on Russian refineries, oil depots, and defense industry facilities to disrupt Moscow's ability to sustain its full-scale invasion.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Martin Fornusek
