"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.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever during a a diplomatic visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday 08 April 2025 (Justin Yau / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, and Defense Minister Theo Francken, arrived in Kyiv on April 8, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The delegation also visited Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv which became a symbol of Russian war crimes after mass graves were uncovered in April 2022 following its liberation by Ukrainian troops.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has documented over 1,400 civilian killings in the Bucha District, including 637 in Bucha itself. Among the victims were 37 children. Many were executed, their bodies left on the streets or buried in mass graves.
Prevot said on his social media that their visit is "more than a symbolic gesture."
"Today, we honor the victims. We stand with the survivors. And we reaffirm this: Belgium stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. Justice must prevail. And we will not look away," Prevot said in a post on social media.
The Kremlin has long-used Bucha in state propaganda, denying the extensively documented crimes committed by Russian forces.
Ukraine marked the third anniversary of the Bucha tragedy on March 31, with European parliamentary leaders visiting the suburb.
Today, together with the Prime Minister of Belgium, @Bart_DeWever, we commemorated our defenders—the warriors thanks to whom Ukraine is alive, free, and continues to fight.
We remember the feat of every man and woman who defended Ukraine at the cost of their own lives. Eternal… pic.twitter.com/oTSUZRnZLt
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 8, 2025
"The brutality of March 2022 is not hearsay," Prevot said. "It is fact. Documented by satellite images, forensic experts, survivors’ testimonies, and the tireless work of the UN, ICC, and NGOs.
"And yet, Russia still tries to deny it, spinning lies, peddling disinformation, calling Bucha a hoax. But no lie can erase the truth written in blood," he added.
"Bucha is not an isolated case. From Mariupol to Izium, from Kramatorsk to Kherson, the pattern is the same: terror, torture, mass killings. These are not tragic mistakes of war. They are war crimes. Systematic. Calculated. Deliberate."
Tim Zadorozhnyy
