"(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.
Russian occupying authorities created a whole network of torture chambers in Melitopol's police headquarters, pre-trial detention center, and local commissariat, according to torture survivors and refugees, including exiled Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov. Russian forces set up at least five torture and detention centers in the city, including makeshift ones in garages and containers in the yards of administrative buildings, according to testimonies gathered by the Kyiv Independent. (Map: Lisa Kukharska)
Leonid Popov, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia since 2017, was charged with espionage by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the Russian independent outlet IStories reported on Nov. 29.
The case against him was opened in Aug. 2024, but he disappeared over a year before, in Apr. 2023.
According to IStories, he has endured a year of abuse while in captivity.
Detained by Russian troops a day before his planned evacuation, Popov was held in the basement of the local commandant’s office. His cellmate later contacted Popov’s parents, warning that he had been severely beaten and was in critical condition.
A few months later, Popov weighed just 40 kg despite being nearly two meters tall.
“Mum, you told me there was a hell, and I’ve been there... I was so thirsty, but they wouldn’t give me water. And I was even hungrier than I was thirsty,” Popov said in a call with his mother from detention.
After briefly being released, Popov was re-abducted by Russian forces into an undisclosed location.
Popov’s schizophrenia condition has likely worsened due to the lack of proper care during his detention.
According to some estimates, there could be over 7,000 Ukrainian civilians currently held in Russian-controlled prisons.
These people are held in dire conditions, often abused and tortured, without any means of communication.
They are also trapped in a legal limbo, as international law prohibits the capture and exchange of civilians for prisoners of war.
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.
Olena Goncharova
