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.
U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Europe Miroslav Jenca speaks during a Security Council meeting on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh at U.N. Headquarters. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The escalation in Russia's war against Ukraine is a "direct threat to regional stability and international security" and an "existential threat to the people of Ukraine," U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca said on April 11 at a Security Council session.
"Since our last briefing to this Council almost a month ago, Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns have become a daily destructive pattern. This includes intense and systematic targeting of Ukrainian energy infrastructure across the country," Jenca said.
"We are appalled by the increase in civilian casualties as a result of these relentless attacks."
Jenca noted that in March alone, 57 children were killed or wounded, doubling the February numbers. Since February 2022, the U.N. has recorded 10,810 civilians killed, including 600 children, and 20,556 civilians injured, among which 1,357 were children.
The U.N. official denounced Russia's attacks as "unacceptable" and called for "lasting and comprehensive peace in Ukraine, in line with the (U.N.) Charter, international law and resolutions of the General Assembly, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."
Jenca also appealed to Russia to grant full access to U.N. monitoring missions in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Finally, the official noted that hostilities are spreading outside of Ukraine's borders "with regular cross-border strikes into the Russian Federation."
Recent months saw a campaign of drone strikes targeting Russian oil refineries and industrial facilities. In March, anti-Kremlin Russian militias carried out raids from Ukraine into Russia's border regions of Kursk and Belgorod.
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.
Yuriy Gorodnichenko
