"(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.
Polish border guards near the new fence on the Polish-Belarusian border near the village of Nowdziel on June 30, 2022, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Poland plans to complete its fortified border wall and close the border with Belarus by next summer, aiming to curb what it sees as Russia's and Belarus's "hybrid war" through illegal migration, Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszczyk told the Financial Times on Dec. 29.
The initiative follows strained relations between Poland and Belarus, a close ally of Russia, after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Warsaw has accused Belarus of orchestrating migrant flows into Poland to pressure the EU over sanctions, a claim Minsk denies.
Additional reinforcements along the 400-kilometer (250 miles) eastern border include installing night vision cameras, thermal imagers, and a new patrol road, as well as strengthening the five-meter steel fence built in 2022.
Poland is investing over 2.5 billion zlotys ($611 million) in the project, with half the funding allocated by the current government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
"This artificially created migration route will be closed during next summer, I hope and believe it," Duszczyk said. He added that once complete, the border’s security would be "as close to 100% as possible."
Tensions escalated in May after a Polish border guard was critically injured by a migrant using a makeshift spear to breach the existing fence. In response, Tusk announced plans to create a 200-meter-wide buffer zone along the border with Belarus.
Despite the border fortification, Duszczyk warned of potential attempts by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko to escalate tensions or sabotage Poland’s infrastructure.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
