"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.
The flags of Russia and China along a highway during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit in Beijing, China, on Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Bloomberg/Getty Images)
China's Foreign Ministry on April 23 accused Ukraine of making "groundless" accusations after the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned a Chinese ambassador to present evidence of Chinese involvement in Russia's war.
A day earlier, Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Ma Shengkun was invited to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis.
Perebyinis presented the Chinese ambassador with evidence of Chinese citizens' participation in hostilities against Ukraine on Russia's side and the involvement of Chinese companies in the production of military products in Russia.
The evidence was also passed on to the Chinese side by the Ukrainian security services.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry called Ukraine's recent statements "groundless" and "political manipulations."
"We have clarified China's position on the relevant issues. China strongly opposes groundless accusations and political manipulations," Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said during a press briefing.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 17 that China is supplying weapons to Russia, marking Kyiv's first confirmation that Beijing supports Russia's war effort by direct military aid. Iran and North Korea are two other allies of Moscow that supply Russia with arms.
Though Beijing has long denied supplying arms, multiple reports have suggested otherwise. In summer 2024, Zelensky said China had assured Ukraine it would not deliver weapons to Russia.
While officially claiming neutrality, Beijing has deepened economic ties with Moscow, supported Russia against Western sanctions, and emerged as a top supplier of dual-use goods that feed the Russian defense sector.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian forces captured two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia in Donetsk Oblast. Zelensky later said that "several hundred" Chinese nationals were fighting on Russia's side.
China has denied any direct involvement in the war and claimed it has urged its citizens to avoid armed conflicts.
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.
Kateryna Hodunova
