"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.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Oct. 11, 2024. (Iranian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iran's recently elected President Masoud Pezeshkian in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Oct. 11.
It was the first time the two leaders had met.
"We are actively working together in the international arena and our assessments of events taking place in the world are often very close," Putin said.
The Russian state-run media outlet TASS reported that Putin and Pezeshkian would discuss a number of bilateral issues, as well as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The meeting occurred against the backdrop of an international forum that leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Tajikistan were invited to, among others.
The Turkmen capital is hosting the forum called "Interconnection of Times and Civilizations – the Basis of Peace and Development," dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi.
Pezeshkian won Iran's runoff election in July earlier this year, defeating hard-liner Saeed Jalili. Internationally recognized monitors were not present to verify the results or guarantee the fairness of the election.
The runoff election was triggered by the death of former President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister in a helicopter crash in May.
Asami Terajima
