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.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on Sept. 11, 2023. (Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images)
Greenpeace Ukraine has urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to prevent Russia from illegally restarting reactors at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the organization said in a Feb. 4 press release.
The appeal comes as IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi is visiting Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian officials before heading to Moscow to discuss the situation with Russian authorities.
Russian forces have occupied the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility, since March 2022. The power station has been repeatedly disconnected from Ukraine's power grid due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, increasing the risk of a nuclear disaster.
Greenpeace warned Grossi that Russian officials have recently expressed intentions to restart the reactors to generate electricity for Russia and solidify their control over the plant.
In December 2024, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said restarting the plant's reactors was the Russian state nuclear company's "dream." Sergey Kiriyenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin's first deputy chief of staff, similarly noted that Moscow intended to restart the reactors "as fast as possible."
Greenpeace stressed that there is no legal or safety justification for restarting any reactors at the plant under the current occupation.
"So long as Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains under illegal Russian occupation, there are no conditions that permit the restart of reactors," said Shaun Burnie, a nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Ukraine.
"If the Russian occupation is not ended, there is the very real prospect of the IAEA secretariat collaborating with Russia's plans for the restart."
Grossi previously said that a restart is impossible under current wartime conditions but has reportedly discussed with Rosatom the possibility of preparing the plant for future operations when conditions allow.
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.
Olena Goncharova
