"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.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (L) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R) attend a briefing on Aug. 12, 2024 in Kyiv. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of additional sanctions on Russia on April 26 by calling attention to his plan to impose secondary tariffs on countries importing Russian energy products.
Trump hinted at possible sanctions against Moscow in a social media post criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin. "It makes me think that maybe (Putin) doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through banking or secondary sanctions?" Trump wrote.
Graham praised Trump's efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine and said his proposal in the Senate could help advance the administration's aims.
"As to additional sanctions on Putin's Russia, I have bipartisan legislation with almost 60 cosponsors that would put secondary tariffs on any country that purchases Russian oil, gas, uranium, or other products," Graham wrote on X.
"The Senate stands ready to move in this direction and will do so overwhelmingly if Russia does not embrace an honorable, just, and enduring peace."
Trump has previously threatened to impose sanctions and economic penalties on Russia but has yet to follow through on those threats.
The administration's push for a peace deal has instead focused on extracting concessions from Ukraine, while the U.S. pursues warmer relations with Moscow.
Trump's comments on April 26 nonetheless mark a rare public criticism of Putin. The post followed a short in-person meeting between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican, where the two spoke following the funeral of Pope Francis. Both leaders said the conversation was productive and constructive.
Graham, a Trump supporter, has long been an advocate of military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. He has praised Trump's peacekeeping efforts while calling for the U.S. to "sanction the hell out of" Russia.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Martin Fornusek
