"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.
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 building of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on April 10, 2022. (Natalia Synenko/ Getty Images)
The international monetary reserves of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) declined by 7.9% in May, resulting in a total of around $39 billion at the beginning of June, the NBU said on June 6.
The NBU's international reserves have fluctuated significantly since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war, dropping as low as $22 billion in July 2022.
The reserves at the beginning of May 2024 stood at $42.4 billion.
The decline for the month of May was the result of state interventions in the foreign exchange (FX) market, aimed at "preserving (the) sustainability of the exchange rate," as well as the repayment of foreign debts, the NBU said.
The outflow of funds was "partially offset" by funds from Ukraine's international partners, which totaled $143.1 million.
The revaluation of exchange rates resulted in the addition of $216.1 million to the NBU's coffers.
International reserves are now able to cover 5.1 months of upcoming imports, the NBU added.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Nina Mishchenko
