"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.
The U.S. White House in Washington, D.C., on March 9, 2025. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump's White House is proposing dramatic cuts to the U.S. State Department's budget, including halting nearly all of the department's funding to NATO, the U.N., and over 20 other international organizations, the Washington Post reported on April 14, citing an internal draft document.
The proposed cuts for the next fiscal year would reportedly leave $28.4 billion for all State Department activities, a 48% reduction from the 2025 budget approved by Congress.
The plan would preserve only minimal support for a handful of agencies, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
According to Politico, funding for "contributions to international organizations," presumably including U.N. institutions, would be slashed from $1.5 billion to $169 million.
Although the proposal would require congressional approval, the cuts align with broader White House efforts to slash federal spending.
On March 10, the Trump administration announced the termination of 83% of the foreign aid contracts of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The cuts have broad implications for humanitarian efforts, particularly in Ukraine, where USAID has provided $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid, $5 billion in development assistance, and over $30 billion in direct budget support since Russia's full-scale invasion began.
Trump has long expressed hostility toward NATO, repeatedly accusing European allies of underfunding the alliance and threatening to allow Russia to attack non-compliant members.
The proposal to eliminate NATO funding appears to escalate that stance into formal policy.
Before being appointed under Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had consistently defended NATO. In 2023, Rubio co-sponsored bipartisan legislation requiring congressional approval before any president could unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from the alliance.
Some members of Trump's circle, including billionaire and advisor Elon Musk, called for the U.S. to exit NATO, and the U.S. is broadly expected to withdraw some troops from the alliance's eastern flank.
As Europe faces growing Russian aggression and war rages in Ukraine, the proposed withdrawal of U.S. support for NATO and the U.N. could drastically reshape the West's security architecture and strain Washington's credibility as a global leader.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
