Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"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.
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
An overnight Russian drone attack on Ternopil on Dec. 3 damaged energy infrastructure in the city, Mayor Serhii Nadal said.
Nadal added that part of Ternopil remains without power after a Russian drone struck an unspecified energy facility within the city. Emergency response workers are currently on-scene, and no casualties were immediately reported in the attack.
Ternopil, a city in western Ukraine with a population of roughly 225,000 residents, lies hundreds of kilometers from the front line and is not a common target of Russian attacks.
Despite its geographic positioning, in recent days the city has experienced multiple attack drone swarms as Russia continues to deploy thousands of drone each month on various region of the country.
On Dec. 2, a Russian drone struck a high-rise building in the city, killing at least one person and injured three.
The most recent attack comes as Russia continues to target energy infrastructure across the country with drone and missile attacks as it seeks to plunge Ukrainians into another harsh winter without adequate power and energy resources.
In the most recent mass aerial attack on the country on Nov. 28, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that Russia struck a "massive blow" to the nation's power grid.
In November, Russia launched a total of 347 missiles as well as over 2,500 Shahed-type attack drones at Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Sonya Bandouil
