"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.
A sign with the inscription "Carry your passport when crossing the border" in Latvian and Russian stands at the Latvian border in Valka on Jan. 28, 2024. (Alexander Welscher/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Eight hundred Russian citizens are at risk of being deported from Latvia, according to Madara Puke, representative of Latvia's Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCME).
These individuals have not applied for either permanent or temporary residence, Puke said on Latvian television, according to Suspilne.
"We have passed the information about these people to the State Border Guard Service for further verification," she said.
"In the coming weeks, it will be clear whether these people are still in Latvia."
Puke said that Russian nationals who remain in the country without documentation will be sent notices to leave the country within 30 days.
Latvia passed a legal requirement in 2023 stating that Russian citizens needed to pass a Latvian language proficiency test to attain or keep permanent residence permits.
Russian citizens who do not pass the exam are eligible to receive a temporary residence permit, after which they will be re-tested in two years. If they fail the second exam, they face potential deportation.
Together with Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia, Latvia imposed visa restrictions on Russian nationals in September 2022.
The Latvian Foreign Ministry recently extended the ban, saying that Russian citizens are prohibited from entering the country until March 2025, unless they have an EU or Latvian residence permit or there is an "exceptional case," such as a serious illness or funeral.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Alessandra Hay
