Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"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.
Police detained a man who allegedly killed a draft officer in Poltava Oblast overnight on Jan. 31, 2025. (Poltava National Police / Official website)
The Poltava Oblast National Police detained a man who allegedly shot a draft officer, stole his weapon, and escaped with another man overnight on Jan. 31.
The armed attack happened at a fuel station near Pyriatyn during the escort of conscripts to the 199th training center, the Ukraine's Ground Forces said on Feb. 1.
According to a Ground Forces statement, an unidentified man wearing a gray balaclava and military pants approached a serviceman of the Poltava draft office, threatening him with a hunting rifle and demanding that he hand over his weapon.
"When he refused, the man shot the soldier. The soldier died on the spot as a result of a serious injury," the statement said.
The attacker seized the soldier's assault rifle and fled with one of the mobilized conscripts after the attack.
Within a few hours of search operations, the police established the location of the attackers, according to a statement by the Poltava OblastNational Police.
The man who allegedly shot the soldier was detained, and investigators seized his weapon, the report said. It also specified the shooter was a resident of Poltava region born in 1984. His accomplice was a resident of Poltava born in 1988.
Police detained a man who allegedly killed a draft officer in Poltava Oblast on Jan. 31, 2025. (Poltava National Police / Official website)
The prosecutor's office said it had launched a criminal investigation.
"The Ground Forces Command strongly condemns the armed attack on the serviceman of the Poltava Regional conscription office and demands a prompt investigation of this crime and severe punishment for the perpetrators," the Ground Forces wrote in their initial statement.
Ukraine has long struggled with manpower shortages on the front to compensate for losses and the need to rotate soldiers who have been on fighting since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Corrupt schemes uncovered throughout the full-scale invasion helping men avoid service have added to the difficulty of shoring up more soldiers for the war.
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.
Abbey Fenbert
