"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.
First responders work at the site of Russian strike on Ukraine's northeastern regional capital of Sumy on March 24. (State Emergency Service)
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A Russian missile strike that hit the northeastern regional capital of Sumy on March 24 injured 94 civilians, including 23 children, the Sumy City Council reported.
Most of the wounded residents have been transferred to local hospitals, according to the council.
The missile struck the city as the Russian and U.S. delegations met in Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible ceasefire.
Russian forces launched the attack against residential areas and infrastructure facilities, including children's hospital, according to acting mayor Artem Kobzar. Overall, at least 30 high-rises, 15 private residences, and an unspecified number of warehouses, offices, and medical facilities were damaged in the attack, regional military administration reported.
Search and rescue operation continued until at least 10 p.m. local time and was paused for the night, State Emergency Service said.
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The aftermath of a Russian missile attack against Sumy, Ukraine, on March 24, 2025. (Sumy Oblast Military Administration/Telegram)
"Each day like this, every night under Russian missiles and drones, every single day of this war brings loss, pain, and destruction that Ukraine never wanted," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address. "The war was brought from Russia, and it is to Russia that the war must be pushed back. They must be the ones forced into peace. They are the ones who must be pressured to ensure security."
Zelensky said in mid-March that Russian troops have been gathering at the border, indicating plans to strike Sumy Oblast. "We understand this and will take countermeasures," he wrote.
Located just under 30 kilometers from the Russian border, the city of Sumy, as well as the surrounding region, has continuously come under attack since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Sumy Oblast borders Russia's Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
