"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.
The Ukrainian Legion has launched its first recruitment center in the Polish city of Lublin. In its first days of operation, the center received over 200 applications from volunteers for military service, the Defense Ministry said on Oct. 3, 2024. (Ukraine's Defense Ministry)
The recruitment center of the Ukrainian Legion in Poland has received over 500 applications in a month from Ukrainians living in 30 countries, Ukrinform reported on Nov. 5, citing the center's officials.
The legion was unveiled in July as a volunteer military unit made up of Ukrainian men living in Poland and trained by the Polish Armed Forces. The first volunteer recruitment center was opened in October at the Ukrainian consulate in the eastern Polish city of Lublin.
The unit is part of an effort to replenish the ranks of Ukraine's military as the all-out war with Russia goes on for over two and half years.
Most applications came from Poland and Czechia, but Ukrainians living in the U.K., Ireland, the U.S., and Canada also submitted requests, Ukrinform wrote. While the center's officials believe that not all applicants will end up signing a contract, they deem the turnout to be a good first result.
The legion will allow Ukrainians to join the fight while being able to return to Poland after completing their service. Under martial law instituted in 2022 after the start of the full-scale war, Ukrainian men aged 18-60 are not permitted to leave Ukraine without permission.
The U.N. estimates that 6.7 million Ukrainians were driven abroad as a result of Russia's all-out invasion. This is in addition to a sizeable diaspora living in Europe, the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere since before 2022.
The first volunteers are expected to sign a contract before the end of the year and begin training in Polish training grounds. Around 90% of the applicants were men, and roughly 80% had no previous military experience, Ukrinform reported.
Dinara Khalilova
