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.
Military equipment is seen inside of a snow covered tank in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on March 31, 2023. (Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
According to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) at the request of the Kyiv Independent, 51.2% of Ukrainians believe that Western countries fear that Russia will lose the all-out war against Ukraine and hold off military aid to Kyiv as a result.
The survey, commissioned by the Kyiv Independent, was conducted between Feb. 5 and March 10. Two thousand twenty-nine people took part, and the margin of error stands at 2.1%.
According to the poll, 17% of respondents completely agreed with this statement, while 34.2% said they would rather agree. Another 21.3% said they would rather disagreed with the statement.
The number of those who strongly disagreed stands at 17.7%, the survey showed.
The poll was conducted when U.S. President Donald Trump's administration took a number of steps widely seen as friendly toward Russia.
The U.S. froze intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine soon after a heated argument broke out between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on Feb. 28. U.S. officials have suggested the pause is "temporary," without indicating when aid will resume.
Given Trump's rhetoric and policy shift, European officials are considering stepping up support for Kyiv.
In 2024, when Russia maintained an initiative on the battlefield, taking advantage of delays in defense aid to Ukraine from Western allies, primarily the U.S., Zelensky said that Western countries "are afraid of Russia losing the war" and would like Kyiv "to win in such a way that Russia does not lose."
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.
Alisa Yurchenko
