"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.
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 31: Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in action against Donna Vekic of Croatia in the Women's Singles Quarter Final match on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Roland Garros on July 31, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)
Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, 22, loses to Croatian Donna Vekic, 28, in a nerve-racking Olympic tennis quarterfinals match 4:6, 6:2, 6:7 (8:10).
After losing the first set, Ukraine's highest-ranked tennis player dominated the second and took the lead in the third. Following a beak point by Vekic, Kostyuk was able to save the game in the 10th and 12th games, winning Vekic's game point.
In the tie break, Kostyuk took the early on yet dropped a few points, facing several more match points. After losing her match point, Vekic was finally able to win the game at the sixth match point.
Vekic will now face Anna Karolína Schmiedlova from Slovakia in the semifinals on Aug. 1.
In the quarterfinals, Schmiedlova defeated Barbora Krejcikova from the Czech Republic, who stopped Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the round of 16.
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