"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.
Photo for illustrative purposes: A Ukrainian air intelligence soldier carries a drone in the direction of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on May 10, 2024. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Lithuania will allocate 10 million euros ($11 million) to buy new Ukrainian-made Palianytsia missile-drones for Kyiv, former Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin said on Sept. 6 after the meeting of Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) in Germany.
Ukraine developed Palianytsia in order to respond to Russian attacks with its own domestically produced long-range weapons. The first successful use of Palianytsia was confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelensky in late August.
Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told the Associated Press (AP) on Aug. 27 that the production of one missile-drone costs less than $1 million.
The announcement follows aid pledges made by the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Germany and Ukraine's other allies during the Ramstein summit, which Zelensky attended in person.
"We presented the production capabilities of our defense industry and asked our partners to buy more weapons from our Ukrainian manufacturers," Kamyshin said.
Denmark became the first country to offer to donate arms to Ukraine via direct purchases from the Ukrainian defense industry, as Kyiv's defense budget does not match the capacities of domestic weapons production.
In June, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that the first donation of 18 Ukrainian-made Bohdana artillery pieces financed by Copenhagen will be delivered within the coming months.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Daria Svitlyk
