"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.
Vladimir Putin leaves the scene during the opening ceremony of the last phase of the Moscow-Saint Petersburg motorway on July 16, 2024, in Tver, Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on Feb. 7 that inflation remains a major challenge for the country’s economy and directed the government to develop measures to lower it in 2025.
Speaking at a televised meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Putin noted that consumer prices in Russia rose by 9.5% in 2024 and have climbed further to 9.9% year-on-year this month, according to the Moscow Times.
Putin reportedly emphasized the need for "balanced growth" and reiterated his expectation for the government to present a plan to address inflation and advance structural economic changes. "The task for this year is to reach a balanced growth trajectory, to reduce inflation," he said, according to a Kremlin transcript.
Mishustin reported that the Russian economy grew by 4.1% in 2024, revising an earlier estimate of 3.6% for 2023 to match the latest figure. However, he agreed with Putin that inflation was the biggest concern.
The Russian Central Bank recently said that it sees "no signs of a sustainable slowdown in price growth" despite maintaining a high key interest rate of 21%. The regulator pointed to Western sanctions, the ruble's depreciation, and a weak harvest as key inflationary pressures. Additionally, increased defense spending is driving demand beyond the economy's capacity to supply goods and services.
The Central Bank forecasts inflation to ease to a range of 5.2% to 8.6% by the end of 2025. Its next rate meeting is scheduled for Feb. 14, where policymakers will assess further measures to stabilize the economy.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Dominic Culverwell
