"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.
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 image: Russian POWs are seen living in a prisoner of war detention camp lining up for a meal in the cafeteria in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, on Aug. 3, 2023. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
Russia has recruited 140,000 to 180,000 prisoners to fight in a full-scale war against Ukraine as of November 2024, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) said on Jan. 2.
Moscow has been recruiting convicts for its war since summer 2022, first under the auspices of the Wagner mercenary company and then directly under the Russian Defense Ministry.
There were about 300,000-350,000 prisoners in Russian prisons in 2024, which is half as many as in 2014, according to the Ukrainian intelligence agency.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify all the claims.
A Russian government decree abolishing the one-time payment of $3,524 to prisoners for signing a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to participate in the war against Ukraine came into effect on Jan. 1.
Prisoners and their relatives are deprived of a number of payments and benefits received by members of volunteer formations. Salaries of prisoners are also two to four times lower than that of other Russian soldiers, the agency said.
Dozens of men convicted of violent crimes were allowed to return to Russia following their service. In some cases, these ex-convicts were accused of new crimes.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Alexander Khrebet
