"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.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) greets US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (L) prior to their talks in Moscow on April 25, 2025. (Kristina Kormilitsyna / AFP via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the U.S. about his readiness to enter negotiations with Ukraine "without preconditions," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on April 26, state news agency TASS reported.
Putin told this to U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff during their meeting in Moscow on April 25, according to Peskov. The spokesperson added that the Russian leader had "spoken about this many times already."
The Kremlin's chief has repeatedly proclaimed his supposed readiness for peace talks while simultaneously pushing for maximalist demands, with Kyiv accusing him of deliberately stalling peace efforts.
The announcement comes just two days after Russia launched a deadly missile strike on Kyiv, killing at least 12 civilians and injuring about 90.
On April 23, in an interview with France’s Le Point, Peskov reiterated Russia’s core demands: territorial concessions from Ukraine, guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO, and strict limitations on Ukraine’s military.
Kyiv maintains that it is ready for negotiations but insists any peace process must preserve Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and that territorial issues can only be addressed after a full ceasefire.
It has been more than 45 days since Ukraine accepted a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire first introduced in March. Moscow rejected the plan, demanding a complete halt to Western military aid to Ukraine.
Despite claiming to support de-escalation, Russia has continued offensive operations along the front lines.
Meanwhile, a separate partial ceasefire covering Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, brokered during a March 18 call between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, has also been repeatedly violated.
According to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, Russia has breached the energy truce more than 30 times since it came into effect on March 25, targeting critical power infrastructure across the country.
Kateryna Hodunova
