"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.
Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, left, and Marco Rubio, U.S. secretary of state, right, in the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Feb. 11, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are set to travel to Paris later this week for high-level meetings on ending the war in Ukraine, the U.S. State Department said on April 16.
Rubio and Witkoff will be in the French capital from April 16 to 18 for talks with their European counterparts to “advance President Trump’s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war,” according to the statement.
Witkoff is expected to meet directly with French President Emmanuel Macron, while Rubio will hold separate discussions with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Politico earlier reported on April 16, citing two undisclosed official sources. After the meetings, Rubio is scheduled to depart for Africa.
The visit comes on the heels of Witkoff's April 11 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. The talks reportedly focused on a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, with Witkoff later describing the discussion as "compelling."
Speaking to Fox News on April 14, Witkoff said the two sides explored a possible deal centered on the status of "so-called five territories."
Though Witkoff did not name the territories directly, he appeared to refer to Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and the partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. Moscow declared the annexation of the latter four regions in 2022, despite not fully controlling any of them.
"This peace deal is about these so-called five territories," Witkoff said. "But there's so much more to it. I think we might be on the verge of something that would be very important for the world at large."
France is leading the European push for stronger security guarantees for Ukraine, including the deployment of a so-called "reassurance force" if hostilities are paused.
Macron has publicly backed the idea of sending European troops to Ukraine — not for combat, but to help train forces, rebuild infrastructure, and reinforce stability along the Dnipro River, far from the front line.
The reassurance force, first proposed by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in early March, is backed by a "coalition of the willing" involving some 30 countries, six of which voiced readiness to commit their troops.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
