"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 flag of Latvia (Gints Ivuskans/AFP via Getty Images)
Latvia will provide 1,500 combat drones to Ukraine, the country’s Defense Minister Andris Spruds said on April 1.
"Two Latvian companies will deliver a total of 12,000 drones worth 17 million euros to Ukraine in the first half of this year as part of the international drone coalition," he wrote on X.
The allied initiative, co-led by the U.K. and Latvia, was launched in January 2024 to strengthen Ukraine's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities, a key factor in modern warfare.
By late 2024, nearly 20 countries had joined the coalition.
Latvia, one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters, has committed to providing military support at the level of 0.25% of its GDP every year and will provide thousands of drones.
Ukraine is also working to scale up domestic production. In Dec. 2024, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that Ukrainian drones accounted for over 96% of all UAVs used by the military in 2024.
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.
Kateryna Denisova
