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.
Illustrative image; The Kriti King, a crude oil tanker entering the Bosphorus on Nov. 22, 2023, heading towards the Black Sea and the port of Novorossiysk, Russia. Photo for illustrative purposes. (John Wreford/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The sinking of two Russian tankers in the Kerch Strait on Dec. 15 may cause "significant" environmental damage, Greenpeace Ukraine warned.
The two tankers, which reportedly sank due to severe weather conditions, were carrying approximately 4,000 tons of fuel oil on board each.
"Any oil or petrochemical spill in these waters has the potential to be serious," the head of Greenpeace Research Laboratories, Dr. Paul Johnston, said in a statement issued by Greenpeace Ukraine. "If the ships sink, then there is the potential for releases of oil and petrochemicals over a longer time span."
Johnston added that the type of oil spilled will make a difference to the environmental impact, with heavy residual fuel oils causing more visible damage than marine gas oils which tend to break up easier.
It was not immediately clear as to what type of oil was spilled in the sinking of the tankers, which were originally built around 50 years ago and were hastily converted in the 1990s from full-fledged tankers to "river-sea" class vessels.
"If (the oil) is driven ashore, then it will cause fouling of the shoreline which will be extremely difficult to clean up," Johnson added.
Greenpeace noted that a 2007 Russian oil tanker spill in the Black Sea, which release 1,200 tons of oil, resulted in "severe" environmental damage which was observed upwards of one year after the incident.
Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has caused massive environmental damage, including the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam and subsequent flooding, widespread forest fires, and the devastation of wide stretches of farm land.
According to a joint study conducted by Ukraine's Environment Ministry and climate NGOs released on June 13, the total damage associated with greenhouse gas emissions from the first two years of the full-scale invasion has exceeded $32 billion. That number does not include other types of environmental damage caused throughout Russia's full-scale invasion which likely amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars.
In October, the Kyiv School of Economics Institute warned that Russia's "shadow fleet" of old and poorly insured tankers pose significant environmental risks, as these often uninsured and aging vessels increase the danger of oil spills.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Martin Fornusek
