"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.
Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on March 12, 2024. (Peter Szijjarto / Facebook)
Hungary hosted the head of Russia's state nuclear energy company Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, on March 12, the day of the 25th anniversary of Budapest's accession to NATO.
Likhachev is included in British, Canadian, Swiss, Australian, and New Zealand sanctions lists. He has a prominent role in the Russian military-industrial sector and is responsible for Rosatom specialists to Ukrainian nuclear facilities occupied by the Russian military.
"The investment in Paks (Nuclear Power Plant) has reached another important milestone," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto captioned a photo of himself and Likhachev on Facebook.
Paks Nuclear Power Plant is Hungary's first and only nuclear power plant, located 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Budapest on the Danube River.
Szijjarto was referring to the ongoing construction of the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant, an expansion of the existing plant, being carried out by Rosatom.
"The pace is good, the work is continuous," Szijjarto said.
Szijjarto visited Moscow in October 2023 to attend the Russian Energy Week forum, marking his fifth visit to Russia since February 2022.
Kateryna Denisova
