"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.
An Iranian-made Shahed 131/136 kamikaze drone, a model often used by Russian forces in airstrikes against Ukraine. (Source: Southern Operational Command/Telegram)
Interpol in Botswana began investigating Alabuga Start, billed in Africa as a work-study program in Russia for "ambitious young women" but linked to the production of military drones, for possible involvement with human trafficking, Bloomberg reported on April 25.
Since launching in 2022, Alabuga Start has recruited around 350 women from over 40 countries to work in Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan and aims to bring 8,500 more this year, according to the article.
The head of Interpol's bureau in Gaborone, Detective Senior Superintendent Selebatso Mokgosi, said the investigation began after the company’s social media posts were brought to the organization’s attention.
Alabuga Special Economic Zone is an industrial complex dedicated to mechanical engineering and the production of Shahed kamikaze drones, as well as their Russian Geran copies, which Russia routinely uses in its attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.
Facing a labor shortage, Russia is trying to stuff its factories with outreach efforts in some of Africa’s poorest nations, denying that the workers are going to work in military production.
Alabuga Start is looking for women between the ages of 18 and 22 in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Lesotho, but also in Botswana, one of Africa’s richest countries per capita that struggles with unemployment, Bloomberg writes.
Last October, the Associated Press reported that African women were being forced to build drones in Alabuga under gruelling and hazardous conditions, and were paid much less than promised.
The in-depth investigations into Alabuga by Protokol, a Russian independent media outlet, showed that it has a track record of surveiling workers involved in drone manufacturing and keeping details about production in secret.
Last year, Ukraine confirmed attacking military facilities in Tatarstan at least twice with long-distance drone strikes. Most recently, Ukrainian drones reportedly struck the plant on April 23.
Before Alabuga Start ramped up recruitment abroad, the drones were assembled by students at the nearby vocational school, Alabuga Polytechnic. The students faced expulsion and the threat of fines ranging from 1.5 million to 2 million rubles ($18,000-$24,000) if they were found to have shared any information about their work, according to Bloomberg.
Natalia Yermak is a staff writer for the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a fixer-producer and contributing reporter for the New York Times since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. Previously, she worked in film production and documentary.
Alisa Yurchenko
