"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.
Russian Foreign Minstry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova attends an annual news conference in Russia on Jan. 14, 2022. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Russia will not attend the Ukraine peace summit scheduled to be held in Switzerland later this year even if it is invited, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on March 13.
Switzerland agreed in January 2024 to host a global peace summit on Ukraine. Over 160 countries will be invited to discuss Kyiv's peace formula and create a joint document on what needs to be done to restore the country’s sovereignty.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, suggested the following month that representatives from Russia might be invited.
Kyiv has long emphasized its 10-point-peace plan. President Volodymyr Zelensky presented the proposal in a virtual speech to G20 leaders in November 2022.
The plan envisages preventing ecocide in Ukraine, punishing those responsible for war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and the release of all prisoners of war and deportees.
The proposal also calls for ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety. Moscow has rejected this proposal.
An article on the Russian state-run media outlet RIA Novosti that carried Zakharova's comments claimed that Russia is open to negotiations, but it is Ukraine that is not willing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published earlier on March 13 that it was "ridiculous" to start negotiations with Ukraine just because Kyiv is facing an increasingly critical ammunition shortage.
