"(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.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Jan. 13, 2022. (Source: Presidential Executive Office of Russia/Wikimedia Commons)
Russia sees Ukraine's Constitution as an "obstacle" to peace efforts as it does not permit territorial changes, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said on March 19, according to state-owned TASS news agency.
"On Ukraine's part, the main obstacle is the Constitution. Their Constitution prohibits any negotiations regarding changes in territory," Shoigu told journalists.
The comments underscore Moscow's efforts to legitimize its occupation of one-fifth of Ukraine's territory as part of a potential peace deal pushed forward by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Russia occupied and illegally annexed Crimea at the start of its aggression against Ukraine in 2014. After the outbreak of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Moscow also illegally declared annexation of partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected recognizing Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories in any peace talks, calling it a "red line" that Kyiv will not cross. Ukraine's Constitution states that the "territory of Ukraine within its present border is indivisible and inviolable."
The Semafor outlet reported earlier this week that the Trump administration is considering recognizing Crimea as part of a peace deal. Washington has not confirmed this claim.
Shoigu also named the "legitimacy of power" as another supposed obstacle to peace talks, alluding to the Kremlin's long-standing narrative about Zelensky's illegitimacy, which Trump has also echoed.
Russia claims that Zelensky is no longer a legitimate head of state since Ukraine suspended elections that were to be held in 2024. The Ukrainian Constitution prohibits elections during martial law, which was declared at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Zelensky said that the next vote would be held after a peace deal is concluded and martial law is lifted.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Kateryna Denisova
