"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.
The Ukrainian flag flies over the front-line city of Kupiansk on Nov. 2, 2023. (Kostya Liberov / Libkos via Getty Images)
Some 21% of Ukrainians would want to move abroad if all travel restrictions were lifted, according to a survey by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Center published on Jan. 21.
Men aged 18-60 are not allowed to leave the country except for specific cases since Ukraine imposed martial law at the outbreak of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Should the borders open again for all citizens, 70% of the respondents said they would not want to move to another country for permanent residence, while 21% said they are ready to do so, according to the survey.
According to the survey, men and younger people were more keen to move abroad — 25% and 33%, respectively. Only 9% of respondents over 60 expressed willingness to move abroad.
The main motivations for moving abroad included "lack of opportunities for development (30.5%), threat to life due to hostilities (29%), insufficient social support from the state (29%), desire to reunite with relatives (26%), desire to take relatives who depend on the respondent away from the country (23%), and inability to find a job," the survey read.
The poll, carried out between Nov. 29 and Dec. 14, 2024, involved face-to-face interviews with 1,518 respondents from Ukrainian-controlled territories.
An exodus of the working-age population would be certain to increase labor shortages and threaten to plunge Ukraine deeper into the demographic crisis it has been facing since the start of the full-scale invasion.
The U.N. predicted that in the worst-case scenario, Ukraine's population could shrink from 37.441 million in 2024 to just 15.3 million people by 2100.
Boldizsar is a former Reuters correspondent for Hungary, currently based in Kharkiv, reporting for the Kyiv Independent and various other outlets. He holds degrees in political science, philosophy, and development policy.
Elsa Court
