"(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.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Oval Office of the White House on March 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
U.S. Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth will not take part in the Ramstein-format meeting of Ukraine's partners next week, Defense News magazine reported on April 2, citing undisclosed official sources.
This would make the April 11 summit in Brussels, co-chaired by the U.K. and Germany, the first instance when the Pentagon's chief will be absent since the format's founding in 2022.
Hegseth's predecessor, former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, launched the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) after the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war to coordinate assistance among some 50 of Kyiv's allies.
A U.S. official source told Defense News that Hegseth is not expected to join even virtually and that the Pentagon is unlikely to send any senior representatives to the summit.
Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has begun scaling down U.S. presence in various international pro-Ukraine initiatives as he seeks to broker a ceasefire and a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
Hegseth attended the previous Ramstein summit on Feb. 12 but not as its chairman, a position held by Austin until then. His British counterpart, John Healey, presided over the summit instead.
At the previous Ramstein summit, Hegseth delivered a jarring speech to Ukraine's partners, calling the country's return to pre-2014 borders and accession to NATO "unrealistic" in a major turn from the Biden administration's rhetoric.
The comments signified the foreign policy pivot brought about by the Trump administration, which has yet to approve a single additional package of military aid to Ukraine.
Thus far, Trump has only allowed the continued flow of assistance approved by his predecessor, briefly pausing it last month to pressure Ukraine to the negotiating table.
The new U.S. leadership has also repeatedly urged Europe to boost its defense spending and increase the share of its assistance to Ukraine.
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.
Katie Marie Davies
