"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.
Flanker Sukhoi Su-27 Ukrainian fighter jet seen during the international military exercises "Rapid Trident - 2021" in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sept. 28, 2021. (Mykola Tys/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Ukraine has lost a Su-27 fighter jet while it was repelling a Russian drone attack and providing air support to ground troops on the morning of April 28, Ukraine's Air Force reported.
The pilot ejected and is receiving medical attention, according to the statement. The cause of the incident is under investigation.
The Su-27, also known under the NATO code name "Flanker," is a highly maneuverable Soviet-era air superiority fighter used by both Ukraine and Russia.
Throughout the war, Ukraine has rarely reported losses of its fighter jets and other military equipment targeted by Russia. Meanwhile, Moscow periodically claims to have carried out strikes on Ukrainian airfields, which cannot be independently verified.
In mid-April, Pavlo Ivanov, a 26-year-old Ukrainian F-16 pilot, was killed during a combat mission. Ivanov's death marks the second F-16 pilot loss for Ukraine since receiving these jets, following Oleksii Mes’s death last August.
Russia has lost over 370 planes since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on April 28. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify these figures.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Olena Goncharova
