"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.
A screenshot from a video released on Dec. 7 by the Ukrainian Navy of the sea drone strike on Russian-held gas platforms (X/Ukrainian Navy)
Ukrainian naval drones have destroyed surveillance systems on Russian-held gas platforms in occupied Crimea, the Commander of the Naval Forces Vice-Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa, announced on Dec. 7.
"The hunt for the enemy in the Black Sea continues. The occupiers will not stay on our territory — we will get them everywhere," he said in a post on Facebook.
"Naval (drones) delivered precise strikes on Russian targets," he said.
💥Морські безпілотники підрозділу ВМС завдали точних ударів по російських цілях
Результати роботи показав командувач Військово-Морських Сил ЗС України віце-адмірал Олексій Неїжпапа.
Several successful Ukrainian strikes on occupied Crimea have been conducted in recent weeks.
On Nov. 27, Russia claimed that Ukrainian naval drones had hit the seaside city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.
A powerful explosion was reported in Sevastopol, as well as near the Belbek military airbase.
On Nov. 28, Ukraine destroyed a Russian radar station near the village of Kotovske in occupied Crimea.
Just one day later, on Nov. 29, Ukrainian forces destroyed three more Russian radar stations in occupied Crimea.
The destroyed systems included Podlet, an advanced mobile radar system which is estimated to have cost around $5 million, and a Kasta radar, which is estimated to have cost around $30 million.
Ukraine repeatedly attacked Russian military and industrial targets in Sevastopol and elsewhere in the occupied peninsula during the full-scale war.
After repeated attacks, Russia withdrew its last patrol ship of the Black Sea Fleet from Crimea on July 15.
Martin Fornusek
