"(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: People with flashlights go down the stairs at dusk in front of St Andrew’s Church during power outages on June 7, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukraine might face minimal power outages in the next three months if Russia does not carry out new attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the advisor to the prime minister on energy issues, Yurii Boiko, said on national television on July 30.
Russia carried out a massive campaign of aerial attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure over the spring, similar to the one launched during the fall and winter of 2022-23.
The damage caused a serious energy deficit and necessitated rolling blackouts across the country.
Boiko said that the amount of electricity generated in the system increased due to decreases in weather temperatures and the restoration of some energy-generating facilities.
"We are now more or less in balance in terms of our energy situation," Boiko said. He nevertheless emphasized that to keep the energy supply at the current levels, Ukraine needs to concentrate on protecting the repaired infrastructure from new attacks. For that, Ukraine needs more air defense systems.
Earlier, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of state grid operator Ukrenergo, commented that after a "very difficult couple of weeks" due to record-breaking heat and power plants being under repair, Ukraine's energy supply situation is improving.
Due to the heatwave in mid-July, the energy consumption in Ukraine hit maximum levels, leading to significant energy shortages in the system and causing necessary scheduled blackouts, sometimes lasting up to 20 hours.
DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said it had lost nearly 90% of its generating capacity due to the Russian attacks earlier this year. The company said it aims to recover 60-70% of its power generation capacity by October.
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Daria Shulzhenko
