"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.
Moldovan politician and Gagauzia's Governor Evghenia Gutul at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 7, 2024, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Contributor / Getty Images)
Evghenia Gutul, the head of Moldova's Gagauzia region, was detained at Chisinau airport on the evening of March 25 while attempting to leave the country, the Moldovan service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
Gutul is implicated in the illegal financing case of the banned pro-Russian Shor Party. Moldova's Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced that it had completed its evidence collection.
Moldovan authorities allege that she systematically brought funds from Russia into Moldova while serving as the party's secretary, working with an organized criminal group.
Gutul, elected governor of Gagauzia in July 2023 as a Shor Party candidate, has maintained ties with Moscow. She traveled to Russia in March 2024, where she met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June.
Investigators also accuse Gutul of helping to organize anti-government protests in Chisinau in the fall of 2022. She denies the charges, calling them politically motivated.
Russia condemned the actions of the Moldovan authorities, accusing Chisinau of disregarding "the principles of political pluralism and democracy," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Human rights groups have accused Russia of systematically repressing civil society, political opposition, and free press at home.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Gutul on June 12, 2023, for her ties to pro-Russian oligarch and politician Ilan Shor, who fled Moldova in 2019 and has been accused of attempting to destabilize the country.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu, a pro-European leader, has refused to approve Gutul as a member of the government, citing accusations of vote-buying.
Gagauzia is an autonomous territory in southern Moldova that partly borders Ukraine's Odesa Oblast. It has traditionally favored closer relations with Russia while opposing EU integration.
Chisinau has actively countered Russian influence, expelling dozens of Russian diplomats and embassy staff in July 2023 over espionage concerns.
Tensions escalated further after Chisinau said that Russian drones repeatedly violated Moldovan airspace during air raids on Ukraine, with some of the drones crashing on Moldovan territory.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
