"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.
Ukrainian soldiers fire with mortar on Russian position in Toretsk, Ukraine, on Feb. 14, 2025. (Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russian soldiers tried to enter Ukraine's rear in Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast via underground communications as battles in the city continue, said Victor Tregubov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, on March 31.
Toretsk, which lies roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of Russian-occupied Bakhmut, has seen fierce fighting in recent months, and Ukraine launched a counterattack in late February and early March. The city is largely occupied by Russian troops.
Speaking on national television, Tregubov said that Russian troops are having difficulty moving through the streets of Toretsk, so they have resorted to underground communications to attempt to advance in the city.
"Since this is also a priority sector, the Russians are trying to use every chance to bypass Ukrainian troops," the spokesperson said.
In a similar instance, Russian troops allegedly used a gas pipeline to gain a foothold on the outskirts of Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast earlier this month to conceal their movement.
Last week, Ukraine's military also said that Russian forces have resumed their attacks in the Pokrovsk sector, which had experienced a relative lull in Russian activity until then.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is planning renewed offensives in various parts of the front line, including in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
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.
Martin Fornusek
