"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.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) meets with Sudan's acting foreign minister, Ali al-Sadiq, following his arrival in Khartoum late on Feb. 8, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)
Russia and Sudan are reportedly close to signing a 25-year deal entailing mutual military cooperation and access for Russia to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, the Qatari media outlet Al-Sharq reported on June 4.
Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war since April 2023 between the military government of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhanand the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), under General Hemedti.
Russia and Ukraine have played a complex role in the fighting, with the Kremlin-backed Wagner mercenary group previously backing the RSF, while Ukrainian commandos reportedly arrived in Sudan in August 2023 to support the government.
In a sign of the shifting tides, Malik Agar, the deputy head of Sudan's military-backed government, arrived in Russia on June 3, reportedly with plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Bloomberg, Agar will discuss receiving Russian arms and military support in exchange for providing port access in the Red Sea.
Sources shared more details of the alleged plan with Al-Sharq, saying that Russia would be able to create a small naval base on the Red Sea with Sudan's permission, which would allow no more than 300 personnel and four ships to be stationed there. In turn, Russia would provide the Sudanese government with an undisclosed amount of military hardware.
At the same time, analysts have said that it is unlikely that Russia will unequivocally back either side in Sudan's war, so the prospects of Russia's support decisively tipping the scale in either direction are low.
"(Russians) recognize that in the end, neither side will be able to completely destroy the other, the Russians would want to be able to maintain close ties with whoever is in power when this is all over," said Samuel Ramani, an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), in comments to the New Arab media outlet.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Olena Goncharova
