"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.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
The German flag flies in front of the Reichstag building on the anniversary of the reunification of the two German states. (Fabian Sommer/dpa via Getty Images)
Germany has excluded the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus from a special session of the Bundestag set for May 8 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, Reuters reported on April 17.
The decision reflects growing dissatisfaction in Berlin with the way Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to manipulate the legacy of the war to justify Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"This assessment led to the ambassadors of the Russian Federation and Belarus, among others, not being invited," the statement reads.
Representatives from other embassies will attend the commemoration, which will take place in the Bundestag's plenary hall. The ceremony will mark the end of Nazi Germany's genocidal campaign across Europe.
In response, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the decision, calling it an insult by the "ideological heirs and direct descendants" of those who carried out Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's killings.
Putin has repeatedly drawn false comparisons between World War II and the war in Ukraine, framing the latter as a continuation of the Soviet Union's fight against Nazism.
His annual May 9 Victory Day address often invokes such rhetoric, falsely accusing the Ukrainain leadership of Nazi ideology.
While European countries mark Victory in Europe Day on May 8 with somber ceremonies, Russia uses May 9 to stage large-scale military parades and patriotic displays.
The Kremlin has invited leaders from China, Israel, Brazil, Slovakia, and Serbia to attend this year's Victory Day celebration in Moscow.
In turn, Ukraine has invited European leaders to visit Kyiv on May 9 in a symbolic move to counter Putin's annual Victory Day parade in Moscow.
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
