"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: Ukrainian female soldier of 25th Separate Airborne Brigade 'Sicheslav' with call sign ‘Little one’, 21, poses for photo with drone on May 31, 2024, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
The Unmanned Systems Forces have begun recruiting members for its new women's unit called the Harpies, the branch announced on April 2.
The Harpies also include male personnel, but the "role of pilots who deliver the final blows will be performed exclusively by women," the unit said on Telegram.
Ukraine has pioneered drone technology during its full-scale war with Russia, introducing various ground-, air-, and sea-based models for combat and reconnaissance.
The Unmanned Systems Forces were formally established as a separate branch last June to oversee Ukraine's drone fleet.
The Harpies will be commanded by a veteran soldier named Daria, also known by the codename "DSHK", who was an active participant in the EuroMaidan Revolution and has fought in the special forces since 2022.
The branch is offering 75 days of training and a wide selection of vehicles, including first-person-view (FPV) copters, heavy bombers, fixed-wing drones, and ground systems.
"The Harpies are a community of women who seek to take revenge on... (Russia) and protect their children, families, and the state using unmanned systems," the branch said in its announcement.
There are 68,000 women in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including 48,000 military service members and 5,000 fighters deployed in the combat zone, the Defense Ministry said last fall.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Asami Terajima
