"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.
The U.S. Flag flies above a sign marking the US Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters building on Jan. 20, 2024, in Washington, DC. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)
The U.S. has privately told European officials that it is pulling back from an international group investigating Russian leaders for the crime of aggression committed against Ukraine, the New York Times reported on March 17, citing undisclosed sources.
The move underscores the foreign policy shift in Washington as the Trump administration seeks to restore ties with Moscow while pushing for a swift peace deal in Ukraine.
The decision is expected to be announced on March 17 in an email to the group's parent organization, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), the New York Times wrote.
The Hague-based International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is a judicial hub supporting national investigations into the crime of aggression committed by the Russian leadership, including President Vladimir Putin, and Moscow's allies against Ukraine.
While the group is made up of specialists from Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and the Baltic countries, the Biden administration appointed a special prosecutor to support the hub's activities in 2023.
The Trump administration will also reduce the work of the U.S. Justice Department's War Crimes Accountability Team, which was launched in 2022 to investigate Russia for the atrocities it had committed during the full-scale invasion.
Ukraine is investigating more than 150,000 possible war crimes committed by Russia as part of its all-out war, including the summary execution of prisoners and targeted aerial strikes against civilians.
U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to mend the ties with Moscow in an effort to bring a swift end to the war while adopting a more antagonistic stance toward Ukraine and other partners.
The U.S. has briefly halted military and intelligence support for Kyiv while also cutting key foreign aid supporting programs aimed at the prosecution of Russian war crimes and the restoration of Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
On the international scene, the U.S. has sought to water down joint statements labeling Russia as the aggressor and the "sole obstacle" to peace.
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.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
