"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.
The Federal Palace, Switzerland's parliament building, in Bern, Switzerland, March 2023. (Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Switzerland will join the European Union in sanctioning eight Russian state media outlets, the Swiss Economic Ministry announced on April 22.
The 16th EU sanctions package, passed on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion,targeted a number of Kremlin propaganda outlets in addition to imposing sweeping restrictions on Moscow's banks, aluminum imports, and "shadow fleet" of oil tankers.
Switzerland's Economic Ministry issued a statement on April 22 announcing that it had taken steps to align with the latest EU sanctions.
"Eight organisations have been added to Annex 25 and the existing entries concerning 158 individuals and organisations in Annex 8 have been updated," the statement reads.
The February EU sanctions targeted eightRussianoutlets accused of spreading propaganda: Eurasia Daily, Fondsk, Lenta, NewsFront, RuBaltic, SouthFront, Strategic Culture Foundation, and Krasnaya Zvezda.
The Swiss sanctions against these outlets will come into force on April 23, 2025.
While the longstanding policy of neutrality still prevents Switzerland from supplying Kyiv with military aid, the country has provided Ukraine with billions in economic and humanitarian support.
Switzerland has also said it would consider committing troops to a prospective peacekeeping mission in Ukraine after a ceasefire.
Yuliia Taradiuk
