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.
Petro Poroshenko speaks at a panel at the 15th Annual Kyiv Security Forum in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 26, 2023. (Kirill Chubotin / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) has imposed sanctions against ex-President Petro Poroshenko, the former president said in a statement.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that an official decree will be published on Feb. 13, without naming Poroshenko by name.
Poroshenko did not specify what restrictions would be imposed on him in his video address, but the sanctions could be implemented based on alleged "high treason," according to Forbes Ukraine, which cited two sources.
"The National Security and Defense Council has just made an unconstitutional, politically motivated decision to impose sanctions against me, Petro Poroshenko, the leader of the opposition and the fifth president (of Ukraine)," Poroshenko said in a statement.
"Today, Zelensky has dealt a huge blow to the internal unity that our team has been strictly adhering to since February 2022 and which is our main weapon in the fight against the aggressor," he said.
"All responsibility for the negative consequences lies directly with him," Poroshenko added.
In his evening address, Zelensky said he had participated in the Defense Council meeting and that its decisions would be published the following day.
"We are defending our country and restoring justice. Everyone who destroyed the national security of Ukraine and helped Russia must be held accountable (for their actions)," Zelensky said without specifying who exactly could be penalized and what that would mean.
Poroshenko served one term as Ukraine's president from 2014 until 2019. Volodymyr Zelensky dealt a decisive defeat to Poroshenko in the 2019 election, securing 73.22% of the vote against his opponent's 24.45% in the second round.
Following Zelensky's victory, over 20 criminal cases were opened against Poroshenko. He was charged with treason, his shares in 19 companies were seized, and his affiliated companies received multimillion-dollar fines from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, according to Forbes Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, the investigation of criminal cases against the former president was suspended.
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.
Oleksiy Sorokin
