"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 soldiers patrol a street in occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on May 1, 2022. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Getty Images)
The explosions in occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast killed Russian soldiers and destroyed their military equipment, according to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR).
HUR claimed to have orchestrated a joint attack with local resistance against a group of Russian serviceman in the city on March 22.
The alleged footage of an attack on Russian forces in occupied Melitopol on March 22, 2024. (Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR)/Telegram)
Melitopol, a city with a pre-war population of about 150,000 people, has been occupied since March 2022. The Ukrainian resistance has been active here since then, targeting Russian military personnel and facilities.
"According to preliminary data, about 20 Russian soldiers, two Kamaz trucks and a UAZ Patriot pickup truck were at the epicenter of the explosions," the agency wrote on Telegram, saying that the losses are being clarified.
The Kyiv Independent couldn't verify these claims.
Military intelligence occasionally reports on resistance forces' operations in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Several cases of explosions at Melitopol's railway infrastructure have been reported since Russia occupied the city.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Francis Farrell
