"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.
Fortifications on a bridge linking Lithuania to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave posted on Facebook by Lithuania's defense minister on Oct. 9 (Facebook)
Lithuania has blocked and fortified a bridge over the Nieman river linking it to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the country’s defense minister said on Oct. 9.
In a post on Facebook, Laurynas Kasciunas said “dragons teeth” obstacles had been deployed on the structure, which has also been reinforced by iron beams.
Kasciunas said other bridges leading to Kaliningrad would also be fortified, and some may even be mined.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine exacerbated fears of a potential open conflict between Moscow and NATO, and Lithuania, bordering Russia's ally Belarus and Kaliningrad, would be one of the first countries threatened by such a clash.
Kaliningrad Oblast is a small but heavily armed territory lodged between the Baltic Sea and NATO members Poland, and Lithuania. Russia's Baltic Sea Fleet has its headquarters and main base located there.
"Kaliningrad is essentially a Russian weapons depot, and it has a lot of militarily operational equipment in use, not just in storage," Elisabeth Braw, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, told the Kyiv Independent earlier this year.
The map of the Baltic Sea region. (The Kyiv Independent)
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania agreed to build a Baltic defense line in the coming years to strengthen the eastern border with Belarus and Russia, the Estonian Defense Ministry said on Jan. 19.
Vilnius has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the outbreak of the full-scale war, leading to a sharp deterioration of relations with Moscow.
The country has delivered 155-mm ammunition, armored personnel carriers, winter clothing, and anti-drone systems.
Lithuanian customs officers discovered military uniforms and camouflage nets on passenger trains traveling from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to Moscow, sending them to Ukraine as military aid, it was reported on Oct. 6.
Another incident on the Kaliningrad-Moscow railway occurred last week. One carriage of a train that arrived at the Kena checkpoint at the Lithuanian-Belarusian borders displayed the letter Z, a symbol commonly used by Russian invasion forces in Ukraine.
Another carriage displayed an inscription calling Vilnius, Lithuania's capital a "Russian city."
The Soviet Union annexed Lithuania along with other Baltic countries in World War II, with the nation declaring independence only in 1990.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Martin Fornusek
