"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.
In this archive photo, now-U.S. President Donald Trump faces off against incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden in the first presidential debate at CNN Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. on June 27, 2024. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce on Feb. 4 that the United States will withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council and extend a freeze on funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, a White House official told Reuters.
The move comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington. Netanyahu has been a vocal critic of UNRWA, accusing the agency of inciting anti-Israel sentiment and alleging that some of its staff members have ties to terrorism.
During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump also halted U.S. contributions to UNRWA, arguing that the agency required reforms and that funding should be contingent on Palestinian participation in peace talks with Israel.
His administration withdrew from the 47-member Human Rights Council in 2018, citing what it described as a persistent bias against Israel and a failure to implement reforms. The U.S. later rejoined the council under President Joe Biden, serving a term from 2022 to 2024.
The Human Rights Council is set to review the United States' human rights record in August as part of its routine evaluation of all member states. While the council lacks legal authority, its discussions carry political significance and can generate international pressure for policy changes. Since returning to office for a second term on Jan. 20, Trump has also ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement, mirroring decisions made during his first administration.
The U.S. was previously UNRWA's largest donor, contributing between $300 million and $400 million annually.
However, in January 2024, Biden paused funding after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA employees of involvement in the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. In response, the U.S. Congress formally suspended contributions to the agency until at least March 2025.
UNRWA provides essential aid, healthcare, and education services to millions of Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Daria Shulzhenko
