Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"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.
F-16 aircrafts during a military parade on Polish Armed Forces Day in Warsaw, Poland on Aug. 15, 2023. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Netherlands will deliver its first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine already this summer, shortly after Denmark, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in an interview with European Pravda published on June 12.
The minister presented a more pessimistic timeframe in May when she said that the first Dutch F-16s would start flowing to Ukraine only in autumn.
The Netherlands has pledged to deliver 24 of its fourth-generation U.S.-made jets to Ukraine as Kyiv seeks to bolster its Air Force, in addition to F-16s promised by Denmark, Belgium, and Norway.
As Ollongren explained, the joint plan evinsages Denmark supplying its aircraft first and the Netherlands starting its continuous deliveries right afterward, as early as this summer. She did not provide a more specific timeframe.
The minister said that everything is "moving according to plan" regarding the preparation of Ukrainian infrastructure and technical personnel needed to operate the aircraft.
Ollongren reiterated her country's position that Ukraine will be able to use Dutch-supplied F-16s "to target military targets – when necessary for self-defense – that are on the other side of the border" with Russia.
In turn, Belgium previously said that its F-16s may be used by Ukraine only within Ukrainian territory.
According to Politico, Kyiv is growing frustrated with the slow pace of training Ukrainian pilots in the U.S. and elsewhere, which threatens to further delay the supply of F-16s.
Ollongren also added during the interview that this was her last visit to Ukraine as the Dutch defense minister, a position she held in Mark Rutte's decisively pro-Kyiv cabinet since January 2022.
The largest party in the incoming coalition government is the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), which has often been critical of the support for Ukraine. The leaders of the new coalition issued a statement in May where they pledged to maintain their support for Kyiv.
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.
Chris York
