"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.
Illustrative purposes only: The alleged remains of a U.S.-made long-range ATACMS missile reportedly used in attacks by Ukrainian forces and shot down in Russia's Kursk Oblast on Nov. 23-25, 2024, as is displayed by the Russian Ministry of Defense in Kursk, Russia, on Nov. 26, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ukraine attacked the Rostov Oblast's Kamensky Combine, one of the largest chemical plants in Russia, with six U.S.-made ATACMS and four British Storm Shadow missiles on Dec. 18, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on Dec. 20.
In a later statement, the ministry claimed that its forces intercepted the six ATACMS and three of the four Storm Shadow missiles without commenting on the consequences of the attack.
The claims could not be independently verified. The U.S. and the U.K. eased their restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range missiles in November, with ATACMS and Storm Shadow strikes previously reported in two regions bordering Ukraine — the Kursk and Bryansk oblasts.
Yury Slyusar, the acting governor of Rostov Oblast, which also borders Ukraine, said on Dec. 18 that Russian air defense forces shot down 10 missiles over the region, adding that a residential building was damaged by fallen debris.
Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's counter-disinformation center, said the time that the Kamensky Combine was hit in the attack.
The Kamensky Combine "is engaged in the production of rocket fuel, specializing in the manufacture of solid fuel components for rocket engines, in particular for multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and intercontinental ballistic missiles using solid fuel," Kovalenko said on Telegram.
The facility has been sanctioned by the EU, U.K., and U.S. for its role in Russia's war against Ukraine.
Russia's Defense Ministry further said that its Dec. 20 missile attack against Kyiv was a "response" to the strike against the chemical plant, claiming to target a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) command center and a missile manufacturing plant.
"The goals have been achieved. All targets have been hit," the Russian Defense Ministry claimed.
Ukraine said that all five ballistic missiles were intercepted over Kyiv, with fallen debris damaging residential and administrative buildings. One person was reported killed and 12 injured.
Moscow has, on several occasions, presented its strikes against Ukrainian cities as "retribution" for Ukraine's actions, even though Russian forces have launched similar attacks throughout the full-scale war regardless of other developments.
Abbey Fenbert
