"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.
Smoke rises over the alleged site of a Ukrainian drone attack in North Ossetia, Russia, on April 9, 2025. (Astra / Telegram)
Russian air defenses intercepted 158 Ukrainian drones across occupied Crimea and several Russian regions overnight on April 9, including as far south as North Ossetia, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed.
Independent Telegram channel Astra reported that drones targeted the military airfield in Mozdok, from where MiG-31K carriers of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles are deployed.
Social media posts showed images of smoke rising near the area. Astra said it geolocated one image to a site roughly 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the air base.
Russian authorities did not acknowledge any strike on the Mozdok airfield itself. Regional head Sergey Menyaylo said air defenses "repelled" the attack in the Mozdok district.
Menyaylo claimed there were no casualties or visible damage but confirmed that a drone attack alert had been implemented.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify all the claims. The Ukrainian military has yet to comment on the attacks.
Explosions were also reported in Taganrog in Rostov Oblast, Tikhoretsk, Sloviansk-on-Kuban, Krymsk, Saratov, and Engels, according to the Russian media and local authorities.
The airports of Vladikavkaz and Grozny, the capitals of Russia's republics of North Ossetia and Chechnya, were reportedly closed because of the attack.
North Ossetia is located roughly 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine's border. It borders Georgia to the south and lies along the Caucasus Mountains.
Kyiv has regularly used long-range drones to target Russian military and industrial infrastructure deep behind the front lines. On March 20, the Ukrainian military confirmed that a successful drone strike had hit the Engels-2 airbase in Saratov Oblast.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Abbey Fenbert
