"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 picture published by the Crimean Wind Telegram channel on Sept. 30 purporting to show barriers meant to protect the Crimean Bridge washed up on shore (Crimean Wind/Telegram)
Barriers put in place to protect the Crimean Bridge from Ukrainian attacks have been washed ashore after a recent storm, it was reported on Sept. 30.
According to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel, plastic and metal barrels connected by metal frames were spotted littering the beach in Kerch on the occupied peninsula.
"The local population dismantles them and takes away the metal, and the plastic barrels remain on the beach," it added.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the report, but Russia has taken steps in recent weeks to bolster the defenses of the Crimean Bridge.
Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk on Sept. 26 said Russian forces were building a new but unidentified structure near the structure, but added deteriorating weather conditions as winter approaches would make it difficult to complete.
"They are constantly trying to place something new in the Kerch Strait, to build various hydrotechnical or barrier structures. But periodically they end up on the shore after another storm," he said.
A day later it was reported Russia was attempting to bolster defenses around the Crimean Bridge using underwater drone traps.
Construction on the 19-kilometer-long bridge began after the illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014 and was completed in 2018.
After becoming a critical supply route for Russian forces after the launch of Moscow's full-scale invasion, it has been attacked by Kyiv's forces on several occasions, and was heavily damaged by Ukrainian strikes in October 2022 and July 2023.
The Crimean Bridge is currently the subject of a dispute between Ukraine and Russia at the Permanent Court of Arbitration
Speaking there on Sept. 23, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Anton Korynevych, said Russia "wants to take the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait for itself."
"So it has built a great gate at their entrance, to keep international shipping out while allowing small Russian river vessels in," he said.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Kateryna Denisova
