"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.
Illia Vitiuk, the chief of the cyber security department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). (Ukrainian Security Service)
The wife of the chief of the cyber security department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Illia Vitiuk, reportedly bought an apartment in a premium residential complex in Kyiv worth Hr 20 million ($512,000).
A new investigation by Slidstvo.Info revealed that the apartment was bought for Hr 12.8 million, but the market price for the apartment is listed at 20 million.
The official salary for Vitiuk is not enough for such a purchase, but his wife, Yulia, bought the apartment during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A renovated apartment of this size can reportedly cost up to $1.5 million.
The investigation comes amidst reports from Vitiuk himself that Russian intelligence services have launched a "huge number" of disinformation and psychological operations against Ukraine's top government and military officials. Vitiuk also emphasized that Russia is targeting him specifically.
Vitiuk earns Hr 1.8 million annually, while his wife reportedly made Hr 9.4 million in profit in 2022 and Hr 13.4 million in 2023. Yulia Vitiuk refused to comment on her business and the new apartment.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the Chair of Ukraine's Anti-Monopoly Committee, Pavlo Kyrylenko, was under investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecution Office (SAPO) over suspected illicit enrichment.
An investigation by RFE/RL found that Kyrylenko's family acquired real estate and cars worth over Hr 70 million ($1.8 million) between 2020 and 2023. None of his relatives own a business, and their salary would not be sufficient for such a purchase, as RFE/RL noted.
Ukraine continues to tackle cases of internal corruption within its government and military, though often with mixed results.
Oleg Sukhov
