"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.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and his Dutch counterpart Ruben Brekelmans during the visit of Dutch officials to Ukraine in later March, 2025. (Ukraine's Defense Ministry)
The Netherlands will allocate 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) to support Ukraine in 2025, said Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans and State Secretary Gijs Tuinman on March 31.
This support will include 500 million euros ($540 million) for Ukraine's Drone Line project, Brekelmans noted. Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced the project in February, presenting it as a new military initiative aimed at integrating unmanned aerial systems into front-line operations.
Various aerial, naval, and ground drones have been developed and successfully used by Ukrainian troops for reconnaissance, combat, and other tasks. Ukraine is also working to scale up domestic production, having the capacity to produce over 5 million first-person-view (FPV) drones per year, presidential advisor Alexander Kamyshin said.
"These drones will make a difference on the battlefield and literally save lives," said Brekelmans in a statement.
During their recent trip to Ukraine, Brekelmans and Tuinman visited the city of Dnipro after a Russian mass drone attack. Four people were killed and 28 injured, according to authorities.
The two also visited military headquarters on the eastern front and met with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the Netherlands has provided Kyiv with a combined 7.33 billion euros ($7.87 billion) in support, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
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.
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