Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
"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.
One of the nine suspects in the preparation of terrorist attacks in central and eastern Ukraine detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Photo published on April 16, 2025. (Security Service of Ukraine / Telegram)
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained nine agents of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), including five minors aged 14–15, for plotting terrorist attacks in central and eastern Ukraine, the agency said on April 16.
According to the SBU, the network operated across four regions and was planning to target residential areas and a Ukrainian military base with explosives.
The news follows a string of similar cases involving Russia recruiting underage Ukrainians to carry out sabotage, arson, and terrorist attacks across the country.
The group intended to blow up key infrastructure, including bridges and mainline railway tracks used by Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), to disrupt military logistics, the SBU said.
The investigation found that the suspects, all local residents, were recruited through Telegram messenger channels and acted under the guidance of two FSB officers.
The network was reportedly divided into two operational cells: one responsible for manufacturing and storing homemade explosives, and the other for deploying them at designated targets.
Hidden cameras were placed near the explosives so that Russian operatives could monitor and remotely trigger the blasts.
The SBU said it intervened before any attacks could take place, arresting all members of the network and seizing more than 30 kilograms of explosives. Four of the detainees have been formally charged with high treason and illegal handling of explosives.
The two FSB officers who allegedly coordinated the operation have been charged in absentia. Ukrainian authorities are currently determining how to proceed legally with the juvenile suspects.
This incident follows a separate April 14 report from the SBU about the arrest of an instructor at a military training center in Lviv Oblast, who allegedly plotted assassinations of Ukrainian commanders.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
