"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.
A Russian flag flies above a barricades in an unknown location. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A Russian court in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast sentenced two residents to 14 years in a general regime penal colony, for alleged “treason” over fund transfers to the Ukrainian military, Russian state media TASS reported on April 22.
The press release identified the convicted women from Energodar by name and initials: L.A. Kachkareva and S.N. Dolgopolova.
The women were detained in December 2023 and, according to Russian authorities, confessed in court and expressed remorse for their actions.
Prosecutors claimed that one of the women transferred around 5,000 hryvnias ($120) to a foreign bank account allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services since January 2024.
The second woman reportedly sent 2,400 hryvnias ($57) from her mother-in-law's account to Ukraine’s Armed Forces in May 2023.
In a video published by Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee, one of the women explained she had transferred only small amounts, 100–200 hryvnias ($2-5), after seeing a donation appeal on an entertainment channel.
"I was just watching an entertainment channel, and there was a bill. They asked for repairs, for help," she said.
The case reflects Russia’s broader efforts to prosecute Ukrainians in occupied territories, as part of an expanding crackdown since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Since 2022, authorities have escalated arrests, prosecutions, and harsh prison sentences, frequently targeting individuals accused of “discrediting” the Russian military, committing “treason,” or allegedly acting as “foreign agents” for other states.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Kateryna Denisova
