"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 home in Kherson damaged by a Russian attack on April 13, 2025. (Screenshot / Oleksandr Prokudin / Telegram)
Russia attacked the southern city of Kherson with artillery and drones on April 13, killing three people and injuring two others, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
Russian shelling in the city center killed a 62-year-old woman, Prokudin said. Two other Kherson residents, a 48-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman, died in the hospital after being injured in drone attacks.
The drone attack injured two other civilians, according to the governor. A 58-year-old man sustained a mine-blast trauma and shrapnel wound and received medical treatment onsite. A 53-year-old man was hospitalized in moderate condition after a mine-blast injury and shrapnel wound in his leg.
Shelling in central Kherson targeted a high-rise residential building and several houses, Prokudin said. The attack damaged roofs, walls, and windows, in addition to causing a fire in one apartment.
Kherson and other Ukraine-controlled settlements west of the Dnipro River endure daily Russian attacksas Moscow's forces maintain control of the river's east bank.
The attack on Kherson came on Palm Sunday, the same day Russian forces launched a deadly ballistic missile strike on the northeastern city of Sumy, killing over 30 people and injuring over 100.
Russian attacks continue to intensify as Moscow refuses to accept a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire aimed at halting hostilities. Kyiv has already agreed to the proposal if Russia also abides by the same terms. It has now been more than a month since the Kremlin first dismissed the ceasefire proposal.
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.
Dominic Culverwell
