"(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 purposes only: Russian crew members get on board the "Novorossiysk" B-261 multipurpose diesel-electric submarine in Saint Petersburg on Aug. 22, 2014. (Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia started using submarines to patrol the Black Sea after a number of ships were attacked by Ukraine, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Southern Defense Forces, said on national television on June 10.
Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russia's vessels since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Around 30% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet had been destroyed as of December 2023, according to the Ukrainian military.
"They (Russia) have already established practice where these submarines rotate in the morning. In the Azov-Black Sea region, they have four submarines, three of which are cruise missile carriers. Two submarines periodically go to sea," Pletenchuk said.
Russia is reportedly trying to organize naval exercises in the Azov Sea. To protect the ships from Ukrainian drone attacks, Russia is building barge-like structures, according to the spokesperson.
There are currently three Russian landing ships and three Buyan-M project small missile ships in the Azov Sea, Pletenchuk said.
Ukrainian forces reportedly crippled the Rostov-on-Don, one of the Russian fleet's four missile-capable submarines, in occupied Sevastopol in September 2023.
In one of the latest successful attacks, Ukrainian Magura V5 naval drones hit four Russian patrol boats of the KS-701 Tunets (Tuna) model in Crimea on May 30, Ukraine's military intelligence said. Two of them were reportedly destroyed, and two others damaged.
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.
Kateryna Denisova
