"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.
Illustrative purposes only: A Ukrainian drone takes off into the sky against the background of sunset on June 28, 2024, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russian regional authorities claimed on Sept. 11 that Murmansk Oblast behind the Arctic Circle came under a drone attack, necessitating temporary flight restrictions.
Murmansk Oblast lies some 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from Ukraine and at the Russian borders with Finland and Norway.
It hosts the Olenya Airbase, where Russian strategic bombers used in strikes against Ukraine are stationed, as well as the Severomorsk naval base of the Russian Northern Fleet.
The regional governor, Andrey Chibis, claimed on his Telegram channel at 2:10 p.m. local time that three drones were downed over Murmansk Oblast. The airports of Murmansk and Apatity were temporarily closed, he added.
There is currently no information on possible damage or casualties.
Reports of drone sightings in Murmansk Oblast near Severomorsk emerged on Russian Telegram channels earlier on Sept. 11. Ukraine has not commented on the claims, which could not be independently verified.
The Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR) claimed in July that two Russian Tu-22M3 bombers were damaged in an attack against the Olenya airbase.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Oleg Sukhov
