"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.
Foreign soldiers made prisoners of war (POW) after being captured by Ukraine as combattants within the Russian armed forces, take part in a press conference organised by Ukrainian officials in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 15, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)
Cubans continue to arrive in Russia to join its forces to fight against Ukraine despite the Cuban government's attempts to clamp down on recruitment, Bloomberg reported on July 19, citing its undisclosed source.
Russia has been recruiting foreigners from such countries as Nepal, Somalia, India, Cuba, and others to fight in Ukraine from the very beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Russian forces have been trying to boost military enlistment at home and abroad as the need to replenish the troops has become more acute.
Between 462,000 and 728,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, injured, or captured in the invasion of Ukraine by mid-June, The Economist reported in July.
Cuban volunteers join the Russian armed forces through informal channels, and the total number involved in Russia's war in Ukraine is "likely in the low hundreds," the source said.
Generous payments offered by the Russian military are luring Cubans to join the war as the Caribbean country struggles with power outages and food shortages amid an economic crisis that has sparked mass migration and street protests, Bloomberg said.
Some Cubans are also attracted to the possibility of obtaining a Russian passport after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in January allowing foreigners to become Russian citizens in exchange for military service.
Cuba and Russia, two allies since the start of the Cold War, have reciprocal visa-free travel between the countries, as well as direct flights between Havana and Moscow.
In March, Russia sent crude oil tankers to Cuba to help mitigate the economic downturn, and last month, a group of naval ships docked in Havana for a planned visit.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Nate Ostiller
