"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.
Ukrainians wait to step up on an evacuation train in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on February 2, 2024. (Ignacio Marin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A total of nearly 37,000 residents have been evacuated from Sumy Oblast, including over 6,400 children, as efforts are ongoing to evacuate more residents under expanded mandatory evacuation orders, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration said on Oct. 13.
Sumy Oblast, located on Ukraine's northeast border with Russia, is subject to daily attacks, and is situated just across from Russia's Kursk Oblast - the region subject to Ukraine's ongoing incursion.
In recent months, Russian troops have significantly increased the use of guided aerial bombs near the border areas of Sumy Oblast.
Officials said in late August that are planning to evacuate a total of 45,000 residents from Sumy Oblast. Since then, an additional 16,000 people have been evacuated from the region, including 535 adults and 143 children in the past week.
The evacuations continue after local authorities on Sept. 30 further ordered mandatory evacuation of children accompanied by their parents from an expanded area within the 10-kilometer zone bordering Russia.
All residents within the 10-kilometer zone bordering Russia have already been evacuated entirely, the military administration noted.
On Oct. 13, Russia attacked six communities in Sumy Oblast causing 21 explosions throughout the day, the military administration reported. Residents in the region have typically experience living through hundreds of explosions on a daily basis.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
