Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"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.
Illustrative photo of President Volodymyr Zelensky signing a document in his office in Kyiv. (Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram)
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed on April 20 a decree on counteracting the negative effects of online gambling, which proposes to ban it for the military until the end of martial law.
Zelensky supported the National Security and Defense Council's decision after he had announced that the government was preparing to tighten control over the online gambling industry in Ukraine.
The negative social impacts of gambling are increasingly becoming a topic of public discussion, after a petition demanding restrictions on online gambling passed the threshold for presidential consideration.
Zelensky tasked the government to define restrictions on all forms of gambling advertising, focusing on the ads using the symbols of Ukraine's Armed Forces and other military formations.
The list also includes a large-scale information campaign on the danger of gambling, the introduction of an online monitoring system and the blocking of illegal gambling websites.
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Ukraine's Security Service will examine gambling organizers for compliance with the legislation within two months, according to the decree.
The Commander-in-Chief and the leadership of military units are tasked to prohibit military personnel from accessing gambling facilities and online casinos.
In early April, the Parliamentary Finance Committee supported a bill that included the liquidation of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries and passing its responsibilities to the Digital Transformation Ministry.
Gambling was officially banned in Ukraine in 2009 until its legalization in 2020.
In the first two months of 2024, the gambling business in Ukraine paid Hr 2.2 billion ($56 million) in taxes, and Hr 10.4 billion ($267 million) in 2023, according to Danylo Hetmantsev, the chairman of the parliamentary Finance Committee.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Martin Fornusek
