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.
A British union flag outside luxury residential properties in the Chelsea and Kensington borough in London, U.K., on Feb. 20, 2025. (Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The U.K. and Norway are set to provide a 450 million pound ($585 million) military aid package to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on April 10.
The U.K. will allocate 350 million pounds ($455 million), while Norway will contribute the remaining 100 million pounds ($130 million), through the U.K.-led International Fund for Ukraine.
The package includes funding for the repair and maintenance of previously supplied vehicles and equipment, and financing for radar systems, anti-tank mines, and hundreds of thousands of drones.
British Defense Minister John Healey is expected to announce the aid officially on April 11 at the Ramstein summit.
The upcoming Ramstein-format meeting, co-chaired by the U.K. and Germany, will bring together defense ministers from 50 countries.
The U.K. previously announced plans to deliver unprecedented military assistance to Ukraine this year, with 3 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) already committed for aid.
Meanwhile, on April 7 Oslo pledged $454 million for the procurement of artillery shells to support Ukraine.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Kateryna Denisova
