"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.
Ukrainian playwright and filmmaker Natalya Vorozhbit receives an award at the Kyiv Critics Week film festival for her directorial debut, war drama "Bad Roads," on Oct. 23, 2020. (Natalka Vorozhbyt/Facebook)
U.S. pay television network HBO has acquired the Ukrainian war drama “Bad Roads,” directed by acclaimed playwright and filmmaker Natalya Vorozhbit.
The film is now available in original Ukrainian and Russian languages, with English subtitles on HBO's streaming platform HBO Go, but only in Central Europe, according to the film's Dec. 16 announcement.
The original film consists of five short stories taking place in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas as Russia’s war continues to destroy the area. However, HBO bought the shorter version of the movie that consists of four stories.
In this "international" edition, Vorozhbit cut a story about a Ukrainian medic who’s driving her lover’s body out from the warzone. According to Vorozhbit, the U.K.-based company Reason 8 that distributed "Bad Roads" asked to cut the fifth story because it's "too dark and too long."
The original version of "Bad Roads" is available on three Ukrainian streaming services Takflix, OLL.TV and SWEET.TV. Neither of HBO's streaming services is available in Ukraine.
“Bad Roads” has been well received internationally before HBO's acquisition. It premiered in September 2020 at the Venice Film Festival, receiving an award for “best innovative work.” In September, the Ukrainian Oscar Committee nominated Vorozhbit's drama to represent Ukraine at the 94th Academy Awards. The movie didn't eventually make it to the Oscar's shortlist.
“Bad Roads” is based on Vorozhbit's eponymous 2017 play that takes a close-up look at how the war affects people and the relationships between them. The director's inside knowledge about life in the Donbas comes from years of research for her screenplay for a 2017 war drama “Cyborgs” and her documentary theater work.
The movie was mostly financed by the Ukrainian Cultural Fund, a state organization that supports national culture and art. The movie’s production cost Hr 13.5 million ($500,000.)
Daryna Antoniuk is a tech reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She worked in the same role at the Kyiv Post and has focused on Ukrainian startups, investment and the fintech market. Antoniuk previously was a tech reporter for Forbes Ukraine. Her work has also been published at Sifted and The Record. She graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv with BA in journalism and communications.
