"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.
Illustrative image: Metropolitan Onufriy (C) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) heads a prayer service at the St. Volodymyr Hill in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 27, 2016. (Vasyl Shevchenko/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) charged in absentia a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in occupied Luhansk Oblast with collaborating with Russia's proxy authorities in the region.
Ukraine has long accused the Moscow Patriarchate's representatives in Ukraine of serving as an arm of the Kremlin's propaganda in the war. Some "rank-and-file" clergymen have also been convicted of directly assisting Russian troops.
Ukraine's parliament passed on Aug. 20 a much-debated bill banning activities of religious organizations with ties to Russia, a country whose armies are currently occupying large swathes of Ukraine's land.
SBU investigators alleged that the priest, who also works as a jeweller in occupied Luhansk, provided "precious gold and silver items... for decorating the premises of dioceses."
The accused also allegedly makes jewelry badges for occupation forces as well as Russia's Security Service (FSB). The priest expanded his jewellery business through different parts of Ukraine's occupied territories following Russia's full-scale invasion.
The SBU allege that the priest re-registered his business in accordance with Russian legislation in the occupied territory and has been paying taxes to the Russian-proxy authorities.
The accused was charged on Aug. 22 under Ukraine's Criminal Code for "collaborative activity."
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Martin Fornusek
