"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.
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.
Thousands of protesters, some waving flags, take part in one of the largest anti-corruption demonstrations since the anti-graft movement on March 15, 2025, in Belgrade, Serbia. (Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on March 16 drew comparisons between the ongoing anti-government protests in Serbia and Ukraine's 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, vowing to "protect and defend" the country from such an event.
His comments followed a massive rally in Belgrade on March 15, culminating months of near-daily protests against corruption and misgovernance, posing the most significant challenge to Vucic's 13-year rule.
Vucic accused protest organizers of spreading misinformation, including claims that authorities had shut down the internet and used sonic cannons against demonstrators.
"Then they came up with a story about a sonic cannon... but the army does not have such weapons," Vucic said in a video address published on social media, insisting that what was shown was an anti-drone rifle, not a crowd-control device.
Vucic compared the accusations to those made against ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych during the EuroMaidan protests, which saw over 100 demonstrators killed before Yanukovych fled to Russia in 2014.
"That's how they started talking here: 'Vucic, you shot at your own people,'" the Serbian president said. "There were no wounded; nothing happened to anyone, but they have to come up with something."
The protests erupted in November following the deadly collapse of a newly reconstructed train station roof in Novi Sad, which killed 15 people.
The reconstruction, financed with Chinese and state funds, was widely viewed as corrupt.
Student-led demonstrations quickly grew into broader anti-government protests, demanding accountability and an end to corruption.
Vucic, who maintains close ties with Moscow, has frequently used Kremlin-style rhetoric to discredit protests.
The Serbian opposition, along with student activists, has accused authorities of deploying a sound cannon against demonstrators during a silent vigil for the Novi Sad victims, with footage of people fleeing after a loud blast circulating on social media.
The Serbian president vowed an investigation into what he called "brutal fabrications and lies" and warned that those responsible would be prosecuted.
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.
Andrea Januta
