Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"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.
Producing and distributing porn is illegal in Ukraine. Sharing intimate content over Telegram can land someone in jail for three years, despite OnlyFans paying over $900,000 in taxes over the span of six months in 2023. (Illustration: Lisa Kukharska)
Ukraine's tax service is looking to collect taxes on Ukrainians' income made on the the subscription-based site OnlyFans, widely known for being an adult content platform, despite pornography being illegal in the country.
After the country's tax service sent out requests to Ukrainian citizens who earn money on the platform, 451 people sent in declarations totaling Hr 326.1 million ($7.76 million) for the period of 2020-2022, Ekonomichna Pravda reported on Jan. 22, citing information requested from the country's tax service.
Ukraine's tax authorities said it had requested data from the U.K.'s tax service on Ukrainian earnings on OnlyFans for the period from 2020-2022, Ekonomichna Pravda reported. OnlyFans is owned by the British company Fenix International Limited.
Ukraine's tax service refused to disclose how many Ukrainian citizens were earning money on OnlyFans, but said it had sent out 4,429 requests to Ukrainians to declare their income from the site.
Only 451 people, or 10% of those contacted, filed declarations. These filings revealed a total tax liability of Hr 63.2 million ($1.5 million) in personal income and military taxes. It is unclear what type of content those who responded to the request for declaration are creating on OnlyFans.
Although OnlyFans is known for adult content, it hosts a variety of materials, including fitness tutorials, cooking lessons, and behind-the-scenes content from artists.
Ukraine's tax service also told Ekonomichna Pravda that it had received a court order to pass along information on Ukrainians earning money on the site to a law enforcement agency, without specifying which one.
The media outlet reported a day earlier that Ukraine's Bureau of Economic Security was provided the names of Ukrainians earning income on the platform, and had begun carrying out searches of models and bringing charges against them under Article 301 of the criminal code that deals with the production of pornography.
Kyiv has looked to increasing tax revenues as a means to bolster its wartime budget amid Russia's ongoing war.
But as pornography and adult content, which makes up a lot of the activity on OnlyFans, remains illegal in Ukraine, its users have largely avoided declaring income from the site out of fear of legal repercussions.
Ukraine's strict anti-pornography laws have created complications for creators. The legal framework prohibits the production and distribution of pornography, with broad interpretations leading to prosecutions even for consensual sharing of intimate images.
"OnlyFans already pays taxes in Ukraine. But for 'Ukrainian actors,' even if they want to pay taxes, it is impossible. It would be an admission of guilt," Opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said late last year.
OnlyFans as a company pays taxes in Ukraine through the country's taxes on electronic services.
Efforts to change the laws surrounding pornography are underway. A bill to decriminalize pornography was registered in late 2024 for the second time in recent years and gained support from the Verkhovna Rada's specialized law enforcement committee in December.
Zhelezniak, who has supported amending the laws around pornography in Ukraine, said late last year that there are more than 5,000 people in the country currently making money through OnlyFans.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
