"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.
Photo for illustrative purposes. Gas valves and gas pipelines at the delivery station in the Slovak village of Plavecky Stvrtok. (Samuel Kubani Samuel Kubani/AFP via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Jan. 25 that Ukraine is ready to facilitate the transit of gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. Zelensky explained that he discussed this potential arrangement with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev during their recent meeting.
The president emphasized that Azerbaijan has significant export capacity, with the ability to send up to 25 billion cubic meters of gas, and that Ukraine can provide the necessary infrastructure to transport it, though not Russian gas.
"There is gas, there are supply routes from Azerbaijan. The key is having the political will to work for your people, not with Moscow for some shadowy benefit, as some figures in Eastern Europe do, Zelensky said.
Zelensky's remarks followed the suspension of Russian gas flows to Europe through Ukraine earlier this month, which caused dissatisfaction in Slovakia and Hungary, both of which had continued to receive substantial Russian gas deliveries.
Zelensky, speaking at a press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, noted that Ukraine was focused on providing quick solutions to the energy crisis in Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria, where Russia had also cut off gas supplies. He stressed that Ukraine would not allow Russia to profit from the situation but was willing to support Azerbaijan, Slovakia, and other European countries in this effort.
In December, Zelensky firmly rejected any renewal of the gas transit deal with Russia, saying: "We’re not going to extend the transit of Russian gas. We won't allow them to earn additional billions on our blood." His stance further complicated relations with Hungary, which has been a vocal supporter of Russia and has expressed concern over energy shortages.
The issue is expected to be a central topic when EU diplomats meet on Jan. 27 to discuss foreign policy.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned that he will veto the renewal of EU sanctions on Russia unless Ukraine agrees to reopen the gas pipeline and allow Central European countries, including Hungary, to import Russian gas.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Abbey Fenbert
