"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.
Ukraine's Olga Kharlan celebrates after winning in the women's saber team gold medal bout between South Korea and Ukraine during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, on Aug. 3, 2024. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
The saber of Olga Kharlan, a Ukrainian fencer and Olympic gold medalist, sold for Hr 10 million (about $242,000) at an auction, the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation said on Aug. 15.
The funds will be used to purchase Ukrainian-made "ShaBlia" turrets, bulletproof automated systems, for Ukraine's infantry.
All funds will be allocated to purchase for Ukraine's infantry Ukrainian-made "ShaBlia" turrets, bulletproof automated systems for machine guns, according to the foundation.
Kharlan won Ukraine's first medal at the Paris Olympics, taking bronze in the women's individual saber event on July 29. She also secured Ukraine's first gold medal of the 2024 Games alongside fencers Olena Kravatska, Alina Komashchuk, and Yuliia Bakastova.
The saber auctioned by the foundation was the one she used in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Metalist 1925, a Kharkiv-based Ukrainian football club, won the auction.
"This Sabre has already brought one victory and its price will soon bring victories on the battlefield," the foundation said.
Kharlan's gold medal made her Ukraine's most decorated Olympian, with six medals in total. Swimmer Yana Klochkova, who retired in 2008, holds five Olympic medals.
Kharlan's achievements include two gold medals, a silver medal in the 2016 team event, and three individual bronze medals (2012, 2016, 2024).
She has also become a prominent figure for Ukrainian athletes opposing Russia's aggression. Her status was solidified in July 2023 when she refused to shake hands with Russian opponent Anna Smirnova at the world championships in Milan. This led to her disqualification and cost her valuable Olympic qualifying points.
Despite this, Kharlan and her teammates qualified for the Paris Olympics on their own merit, although she received a guaranteed entry from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, a former fencer himself.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
