"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.
Participants attend 'Kyiv international cyber resilience forum 2024. Resilience at the Cyber War' in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 07, 2024. (Vladimir Shtanko/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed a bill on March 27 in its second reading aimed at strengthening the country’s cyber defense capabilities, and protecting state information resources.
The new law introduces a national system for responding to cyberattacks and incidents, including the creation of cyber defense units within state institutions and critical infrastructure.
It establishes national, sectoral, and regional response teams aligned with the EU’s NIS2 directive and clearly defines roles during cyber crises to ensure quick, coordinated action.
Law #11290 aligns Ukraine’s cybersecurity framework with European standards and is a direct response to ongoing cyber threats, including recent attacks like the one against Ukrzaliznytsya on March 24.
Russia has regularly targeted Ukrainian companies and government institutions with cyberattacks since the onset of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The new system will be overseen by the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, which will ensure consistent standards are applied at all levels of government.
Oleksandr Fediienko, member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, confirmed that 240 members voted in favor of the bill.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Yuliia Taradiuk
