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.
Ukrainian soldiers walk in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Sudzha, in Kursk Oblast, Russia, on Aug. 18, 2024. (Ed Ram/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Some 112,337 residents of Russia's Kursk Oblast left their homes due to hostilities, Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova said in an interview published on Oct. 14, citing the country's Emergency Ministry.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, authorities in Russian border regions have often reported Ukrainian strikes as the hostilities spilled across the border.
Speaking to the Kremlin-controlled outlet Argumenty i Fakty, Moskalkova said that this number includes 12,328 people placed at temporary facilities across Russia and around 100,000 living with relatives and friends.
Around 40,000 people refused to evacuate or had already returned to their residences, the official added.
Overall, 30,415 residents of Belgorod and Kursk regions and other territories near the Russia-Ukraine border were placed at 960 temporary accommodation facilities across Russia, Moskalkova claimed. This number includes 7,670 children, she added.
The official alleged this figure encompasses residents who "fled" Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts two years ago "due to shelling."
The Kyiv Independent could not verify Moskalkova's claims as Russia has carried out forced deportations of Ukrainian residents of occupied territories, including children.
Ukraine launched its cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, claiming to initially seize some 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) but recently facing mounting pressure from growing Russian reinforcements.
Kyiv said it would adhere to international humanitarian law in its conduct toward Russian civilians in Kursk Oblast, inviting the U.N. and the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) to "join humanitarian efforts." The Kremlin has dismissed the move as "provocation."
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.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
