"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.
A Ukrainian soldier prepares 155mm artillery shells in his fighting position in Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 6, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall received a framework contract from the Bundeswehr for 155 mm artillery ammunition worth up to 8.5 billion euros ($9.1 billion), the company said on June 20.
The main purpose of this requisition is to restock the arsenals of the German military and its allies and to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has made a wide-reaching shift to NATO standard 155 mm artillery, as Kyiv's partners had a short supply in stock of Soviet shell calibers like 122 mm and 152 mm.
The company called the latest order the largest in its history.
"This large-volume framework contract underlines Rheinmetall's leading role as an ammunition supplier in Germany and our position as the world's largest manufacturer of artillery ammunition," Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said.
Deliveries of the shells are to begin in early 2025. The German government will be the primary purchaser, which will then provide part of its supplies to Ukraine. The Netherlands, Estonia, and Denmark are also participating in the order, the company said.
The "entire value chain for artillery ammunition" will be produced at a plant in Unterluess, Lower Saxony, which opened in February. The factory is expected to reach a capacity of 100,000 projectiles per year in its second year of production and later increase it to 200,000 projectiles per year.
Several Western defense companies have been ramping up their defense production amid rising tensions with Russia and Ukraine's growing needs, with a particular focus on 155 mm shells and other ammunition.
Francis Farrell
