"(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.
A mosque in Kyiv damaged by a Russian missile strike on Sep. 2, 2024. (Refat Chubarov/Facebook)
Editor's note: this is a developing story and will continue to be updated.
Several waves of explosions were heard in Kyiv shortly after the air alert sounded at around 5:30 a.m. local time, Kyiv Independent journalists reported on Sept. 2.
Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said that Russia had used cruise and ballistic missiles in the attack.
Air defense was active in the capital and Kyiv Oblast.
Ukraine's Air Force said that it had detected 35 missiles of various types and 23 attack drones across the country. Nine Iskander ballistic missiles, 13 Kh-101 cruise missiles, and 20 drones were downed, the Air Force said.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that emergency services were called to the city's Sviatoshynskyi, Holosiivskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi districts.
As a result of the missile strike, Popko said that debris fell in at least four districts of the city, causing damage to cars and non-residential buildings. The extent of the damage is still being investigated, he said.
A mosque and other religious buildings in Kyiv's Nyvky neighborhood were damaged in the attack, said Refat Chubarov, the chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Olena Goncharova
