"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.
Illustrative photo of President Volodymyr Zelensky signing a document in his office in Kyiv. (Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)
President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed new Ukrainian ambassadors to seven countries on April 7, according to decrees published on the president's website.
The appointments include Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's former Prosecutor General, who resigned in October 2024 amid a major corruption scandal involving hundreds of prosecutors who obtained disability benefits.
Despite promises to bring Kostin to "political responsibility," Zelensky appointed him ambassador to the Netherlands.
Previously, a source familiar with decision-making in the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent that Kostin wanted an ambassadorial post in the Netherlands.
Kostin has also been appointed Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The various ambassadors have been appointed to represent Ukraine in Argentina, China, Finland, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, and Norway.
Andriy Melnyk was formally appointed as the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations (UN). He was dismissed from his role as ambassador to Brazil.
Kostin has been criticized for failing to reform the prosecutor's office and not obtaining any notable achievements as Prosecutor General. He has been praised for not blocking or sabotaging any high-profile cases.
Francis Farrell
