"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 attending a ceremonial ship launching for the new nuclear-powered submarine "Perm" in Murmansk, Russia (Associated Press)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 26 attended the launch of a new nuclear-powered submarine named Perm, various Russian news outlets reported.
The submarine is the first of its kind to be equipped with hypersonic Zircon missiles as a standard feature.
Speaking via video link from the Arctic port of Murmansk, Putin claimed that the vessel would “strengthen Russia’s maritime security and safeguard its national interests,” particularly in regions like the Arctic.
Zircon missiles, capable of flying at several times the speed of sound and with a range of nearly 1,000 kilometers, are considered highly difficult to intercept.
"I hereby authorize,” Putin stated as he officially commissioned the vessel, named after the city Perm in the Urals.
The Zircon hypersonic missile, designed as an anti-ship missile, entered the arsenal of the Russian military in early 2023.
The speed of the Zircon missile is approximately 8-9 Mach or about 10,000 kilometers per hour, and its warheads weigh about 300-400 kilograms.
Russia has used these missiles to attack Ukrainian cities, with the first recorded case being in February 2024.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
