"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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin enters the hall during his meeting with minister at Novo-Ogaryovo State Residence on Aug. 7, 2024, in Moscow, Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Russian Army Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, and other Russian top officials over clashes with Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 7.
Moscow claims that Ukrainian forces crossed the border into the Kursk region on Aug. 6, resulting in clashes on Russian soil that were described by Putin as "a large-scale provocation." Kyiv has not commented on the fighting in the area.
Russian pro-war Telegram channels claimed that fighting was ongoing in the region's towns of Sudzha and Korenevo, writing that the Russian military has retreated from the Sudzha gas metering station, which transits gas to Europe through Ukraine.
European natural gas prices jumped over reports that Ukrainian forces had reached the key transit point of Sudzha, Bloomberg reported.
Vlitaliy Slashchov, the town's mayor, claimed that the situation in Sudzha, which is located some 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border with Ukraine, is "very tense," Russian state-controlled RIA Novosti news agency wrote.
Gerasimov told Putin via video that Ukrainian soldiers allegedly aimed to "seize" the territory of the Suzhansky district, but their "advance in the Kursk direction was halted."
These claims cannot be verified independently.
Satellite imagery obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) shows significant damage to the Sudzha road border crossing point as of the morning of Aug. 6.
The Kursk region lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily attacks since Russian troops were pushed out of the oblast and back across the border in April 2022.
Over the past day, Moscow's troops have increased aviation activity near the border areas of Sumy Oblast, dropping about 30 guided aerial bombs on the settlements, Ukraine's General Staff said in its latest update. The local authorities ordered further mandatory evacuation of the border settlements.
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.
Martin Fornusek
