"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.
Zelensky holds a phone call with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Jan. 29, 2024. (Volodymyr Zelensky / X)
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree imposing sanctions on four politicians and prominent business figures on April 12.
The decree put into effect a decision made earlier by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
Included on the list are Serhii Arbuzov, former head of Ukraine's National Bank and former first deputy Prime Minister; Andriy Klyuyev, the once highly influential ex-head of Viktor Yanukovych's presidential administration who was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2015; Ukrainian businessman Viktor Polishchuk; and tycoon Alyona Shevtsova.
The sanctions freeze assets and impose additional financial restrictions on the four.
Arbuzov, who is believed to have fled Ukraine for Russia in 2015 and is wanted by Ukraine's General Prosecutor's Office, briefly served as acting prime minister in 2014 amid the ongoing street protests, known as the EuroMaidan Revolution.
The U.S. sanctioned Klyuyev nearly a decade ago for his role in the government of pro-Russian ousted President Yanukovych.
U.S. prosecutors have said he was among the people who paid U.S. lobbyist and political consultant Paul Manafort, who was found guilty of bank fraud and filing false tax returns.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Anna Fratsyvir
