"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.
U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy, U.K. Defense Minister John Healey, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov (L-R) in London, U.K. on April 23, 2025. (Andrii Sybiha/X)
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov are meeting their U.K. counterparts, David Lammy and John Healey, in London on April 23, Sybiha said.
"We are grateful to the U.K. for its leadership and support. We will discuss ways to strengthen Ukraine and guarantee long-term peace and security," Sybiha said on social media.
The Ukrainian delegation, also including Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak, arrived in London after the expected ministerial meeting was postponed after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled his attendance.
A lower-level meeting among officials is still taking place, the U.K. Foreign Ministry said. Ukrainian delegates said they hope to discuss a potential ceasefire as part of broader peace efforts.
Rubio's move came after President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly ruled out the possibility of recognizing the Russian annexation of Crimea.
The U.S.'s de jure recognition of Russia's hold over the peninsula, occupied since 2014, is reportedly a key point in Washington's peace proposal handed over to Kyiv last week.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that his country would abandon the peace effort unless tangible progress is made soon.
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.
Kateryna Hodunova
