"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.
Civilian volunteers with chemical gas masks learn how to shoot with their their rifles in a military training in the forests of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. With the Russian army just a few kilometers from the city, many civilians are getting military skills for the future combat in Russia´s war in Ukraine. (Celestino Arce/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
LATEST: Russia detains two suspects over assassination of General Igor Kirillov, Kremlin media reports
Ukrainian prosecutors charged Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense troops, in absentia with the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Dec. 16.
According to the SBU's investigation, chemical weapons have been used in more than 4,800 cases since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Since 2022, over 2,000 Ukrainian service members have been hospitalized with chemical poisoning, and three have died, Ukrainian Colonel Artem Vlasiuk said earlier this week.
"Russian forces mostly use ammunition with toxic substances by dropping them from FPV (first-person-view) drones on Ukrainian positions. When chemical grenades are detonated, their poisonous compounds affect human mucous membranes, especially the eyes and respiratory tract," the SBU’s statement said.
When detonated, the irritating gases force Ukrainian soldiers finding cover in the trenches to leave and expose themselves to Russian gunfire, the statement noted.
Ukraine handed over soil samples that prove the use of banned materials to independent laboratories of the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for examination and were confirmed to breach international humanitarian law.
Russia's use of gas attacks is rising, a Kyiv Independent investigation from August showed. Ukrainian soldiers and officers interviewed by the Kyiv Independent acknowledged that the tactic is effective, allowing Moscow to capture positions occasionally without destroying them.
The U.K. issued sanctions against Kirillov and his unit over the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine on Oct. 8.
Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department confirmed that Russian forces had used the chemical agent chloropicrin in Ukraine. The announcement was part of a larger statement about introducing new U.S. sanctions against more than 280 individuals and entities.
Boldizsar is a former Reuters correspondent for Hungary, currently based in Kharkiv, reporting for the Kyiv Independent and various other outlets. He holds degrees in political science, philosophy, and development policy.
Asami Terajima
