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.
Keith Kellogg, former national security advisor, during the America First Policy Institute's America First Agenda summit in Washington, D.C., US, on July 25, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, dismissed the possibility of Ukraine regaining nuclear power status in an interview with Fox News on Feb. 6.
"The chance of them getting their nuclear weapons back is somewhere between slim and none," Kellogg said. "Let's be honest about it, we both know that's not going to happen."
His remarks follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent comments suggesting that if Ukraine's NATO accession remains blocked, the U.S. should provide an alternative security guarantee, including nuclear weapons.
"The president said we're a government of common sense," Kellogg added. "When someone suggests that, consider the outcome or potential — use your common sense."
Zelensky acknowledged that gaining NATO membership could take "years or decades" and raised concerns about how Ukraine would defend itself in the meantime.
Ukraine formally applied to join NATO at the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 but has yet to receive an invitation, with countries such as the U.S., Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia resisting its entry.
As Trump pushes for negotiations to end the war , Russia has made a complete ban on Ukraine's NATO accession one of its core demands.
Ukraine relinquished its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, joining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in exchange for security assurances from the U.S., U.K., and Russia.
Moscow later violated the agreement by occupying Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014 and launching a full-scale invasion in 2022.
While the war has renewed discussions on whether Ukraine should rebuild its nuclear deterrent, Kyiv maintains that NATO membership remains its best security guarantee and has no plans to develop nuclear weapons.
Kellogg will attend the Munich Security Conference from Feb. 14 to 16, where he will meet with world leaders to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine and assess positions on negotiations.
"As you develop the plans to end this carnage, you have to make sure that you've got the feel of everybody in play," Kellogg said.
"Once we get to have these face-to-face discussions, then you can really kind of work … on concessions."
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
