"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.
First Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk speaks during a voting session in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 4, 2025. (Andrii Nesterenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk said on April 11 he had decided to resign as first deputy defense minister.
Havryliuk told the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne that he is stepping down voluntarily, without elaborating on the reason for his decision.
Tetiana Nikolayenko, a journalist and member of the civic oversight council at the Defense Ministry, claimed earlier on April 11 that Havryliuk may resign due to a conflict with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
The resignation of Havryliuk, who was in charge of procurement at the Defense Ministry, follows a scandal over the transparency of defense procurement.
Umerov has been lambasted by pro-reform MPs and anti-corruption activists for what they see as his efforts to destroy the independence of the Defense Procurement Agency, which was created in 2022 to make defense procurement more transparent and crack down on corruption.
In January Umerov fired Maryna Bezrukova, the head of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA).
On April 7, Havryliuk also announced the ministry planned to merge the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) and the State Rear Operator (DOT), a sister agency overseeing the procurement of non-lethal supplies for the Armed Forces. He said that the merger may take place after martial law is lifted.
One of NATO and European partners' requirements for Ukraine was the establishment of two agencies that would be directly responsible for procurement for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, not through the Defense Ministry or contractors.
The defense procurement sector was reshaped in December 2023, aiming to meet NATO standards. The DPA, first established in August 2022, was to focus solely on lethal aid. Meanwhile, the DOT was formed to purchase non-lethal aid such as food and clothing.
Havryliuk was appointed first deputy defense minister in charge of procurement in May 2024.
In early March, he was appointed a member of the DPA's Supervisory Board along with Stanislav Haider, Umerov's ex-deputy who was dismissed last fall.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Kateryna Denisova
