"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.
Ukrainian refugees living in Poland are seen during Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations in Gdansk, Poland, on Aug. 24, 2023 (Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced to Reuters on April 26 that it has had to scale back support for newly displaced Ukrainians due to significant funding losses.
The funding shortfalls have largely stemmed from recent U.S. aid suspension and broader donor cuts.
"Some of the programs that we previously used to implement with the generous support of U.S. funding are on hold," Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine, said during a videolink briefing.
The suspension affects crucial services like psycho-social support, emergency shelter material, and cash assistance.
The agency said its $3.32 billion appeal to aid 8.2 million people is only 25% funded, with U.S. aid alone having accounted for 40% of last year’s UNHCR budget.
"We had to reduce the number of people we are prioritizing," Billing said, noting that nearly 9,000 newly displaced individuals have passed through UNHCR’s transit centers in Pavlohrad and Sumy since January, often arriving "with little or no belongings and deeply traumatized."
On March 10, the Trump administration announced the termination of 83% of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) foreign aid contracts.
The cuts have broad implications for humanitarian efforts, particularly in Ukraine, where USAID has provided $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid, $5 billion in development assistance, and over $30 billion in direct budget support since Russia's full-scale invasion began.
Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has spearheaded efforts to dismantle USAID, eliminating staff positions and attacking the agency's work in public.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
