"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.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk (L) and Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar (R) speak at a joint press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan on Sept. 18, 2024. (Screenshot / Pakistan's Foreign Ministry / Facebook)
Russia and Pakistan hope to expand bilateral trade and improve their economic cooperation, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said during a joint press conference in Islamabad on Sept. 18.
Moscow also pledged support for Pakistan's bid to join the BRICS international alliance.
While Russia has faced increasing economic isolation due to Western sanctions following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, trade between Moscow and Islamabad has expanded, reaching $1 billion in 2023.
The nations hope to continue expanding their economic relationship despite the restrictions imposed by sanctions, Dar said during the press conference.
"Even today, we looked at how to expand our relationship, and overcome this constraint of the banking system, which you know are facing sanctions, which obviously constrains our relationship, the volume of our relationship could have been much bigger," Dar said.
Pakistan aims to expand cooperation with Russia "across multiple sectors," including the purchase of Russian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG.)
Russia will also back Pakistan's membership in BRICS, a bloc of countries that now includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
"Of course, we would be supportive," Overchuk said of Pakistan's application to the bloc.
Pakistan applied for BRICS membership in 2023. The alliance will hold a summit in Kazan, Russia, in October.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Nate Ostiller
