"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
"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 Military Intelligence Agency targeted Gazprom and Gazpromneft in a cyber attack on Jan. 29 (Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Cyber specialists from Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Agency (HUR) launched a cyber attack against Gazprom and Gazpromneft on Jan. 29, Hromadske reported, citing undisclosed sources from HUR.
The group carried out a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, severely disrupting Gazprom’s digital services.
This operation was symbolically carried out on Jan. 29 which is the anniversary of the Battle of Kruty, where Ukrainian cadets and volunteers fought against the Bolshevik advance in 1918.
As about 5,000 Bolshevik troops came to seize Kyiv, a young student battalion of about 500 students dug trenches near the city and courageously faced them in an unequal fight.
“Today’s troubles for Russian drivers are a message from our brothers of 1918, the heroes of the battle at Kruty, who over a century ago dealt a blow to the criminal Russian forces under Muravyov. Today, we continue the fight of those defenders of Kyiv, both on the front lines and in cyberspace,” HUR stated.
The attack targeted critical online systems, and as a result, customers have been unable to access accounts, process fuel payments, or use other digital services since January 28.
Gazprom referred to the incident as a “temporary technical glitch” without offering details or a resolution timeline.
Cyberattacks have been widely used by both Ukraine and Russia during the full-scale war.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Yana Prots
