"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.
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.
Ukrainian border guards stand in the shadow of a checkpoint, waiting for vehicles for an identity check for possible fleeing men of fighting age, on a road close to the border between Ukraine and Romania near Velyky Bytchkiv on July 10, 2024. (Florent/AFP via Getty Images)
Three Ukrainian men were detained on Aug. 16 after attacking a border guard while attempting to illegally cross into Romania, State Border Guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko told the Liga news outlet.
As men aged 18-60 are prohibited from leaving the country under martial law without special permission, many try to cross the border illegally – mainly to Romania or Moldova – to avoid the draft.
"The men, having attacked the serviceman, took away his weapon and fled in the direction of the neighboring country," Demchenko told Liga in comments published on Aug. 17.
"Additional units were dispatched to search for the assailants and check the approaches to the border. The Romanian border guards and law enforcement agencies were also informed."
One of the men, a Zakarpattia Oblast resident, was detained by Ukrainian border guards while trying to overcome a barrier installed on the border. Romanian police detained the second Ukrainian citizen, finding the stolen weapon in his possession, Demchenko said.
The third offender was detained soon after.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in June that dozens of people try to illegally cross Ukraine's border into the EU every day. According to the Romanian police, 11,000 Ukrainian men have illegally crossed the border into Romania between the start of Russia's full-scale invasion and May 2024.
The attempts sometimes prove fatal. Several men had been found dead while attempting the perilous crossing across the Tysa River, which runs along the borders of Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, or while crossing the mountains.
One Ukrainian soldier was reportedly shot and killed by border guards while trying to illegally cross into Moldova in mid-July.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
