"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.
Armenia's former defense minister, Major General Arshak Karapetyan, during talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 11, 2021. (Mil.ru/Wikiepdia)
Armenia's former defense minister, Major General Arshak Karapetyan, was detained in Moscow on Dec. 29 and later released, the Armenian Interior Ministry confirmed for the Novosti-Armenia news agency.
Karapetyan was detained at Armenia's request and was subsequently released from custody on bail, the Russian state-news agency TASS reported.
The Armenian government previously placed the former defense minister on the international wanted list for "participation in illegal business activity," abuse of power, and abuse of official position.
Karapetyan served as Armenia's defense minister between August and November 2021 and as an advisor to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan from 2018 to 2021.
According to Pashinyan, the former minister was dismissed after reporting full control over the border on the morning of Nov. 14, 2021, even though Azerbaijani troops "invaded (Armenian) territory in several sections and even took up positions."
Karapetyan subsequently launched an opposition political group called the All-Armenian Front, advocating for closer ties with Russia and Iran.
Relations between Yerevan and Moscow, traditionally close military allies, have deteriorated after Russian peacekeepers did not prevent the Azerbaijani 2023 offensive that led to Baku's capture of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
