"(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 President Vladimir Putin and Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill (L) talking during an event at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky on the Red Square, on Nov. 4, 2023. (Gavriil Grigorov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has formally charged 14 high-ranking metropolitans and archbishops of the Russian Orthodox Church for their involvement in the illegal seizure of Ukrainian churches in Russian-occupied territories, the agency announced on April 22.
According to the SBU, the accused clerics were part of the Kremlin-controlled "holy synod" of the Russian Orthodox Church from 2022 to 2024.
Acting under the direction of Russian Patriarch Kirill — an outspoken supporter of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine — they helped orchestrate the forced takeover of religious communities across occupied regions, including Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson oblasts, and Crimea, the SBU said.
The bishops oversaw the incorporation of the Dzhankoy, Berdyansk, Rovenky, and Kherson dioceses into the Russian Orthodox Church, replacing local leadership with Moscow-appointed figures who openly endorsed the war and promoted Kremlin propaganda.
All 14 suspects were charged in absentia with complicity in efforts to alter Ukraine's state borders in violation of the country's Constitution, carried out in coordination with others and resulting in grave consequences.
The SBU said it continues efforts to bring the suspects to justice for their role in crimes against Ukraine.
Patriarch Kirill was added to Ukraine's wanted list in December 2023 on charges of infringing on Ukraine's territorial integrity, a crime that carries a potential life sentence.
In August 2024, Ukraine's parliament passed legislation banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which has long maintained ties to the Russian church. Many of its clergy have been accused of aiding Russian forces or supporting the invasion.
Most Ukrainian Orthodox Christians now belong to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, an independent body formed in 2019 and recognized as autonomous from Moscow.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Yuliia Taradiuk
