"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.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob (R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) during a news conference at Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv on March 31, 2023. (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Slovenia will participate in the upcoming global peace summit for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 17 after speaking with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob.
Zelensky also said the two leaders discussed defense cooperation and a potential future bilateral security agreement, which he said they would "sign at the earliest opportunity."
The summit will be held in Switzerland on June 15-16 and will focus on peace in Ukraine under the terms of President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point peace formula, a plan that calls for a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied Ukrainian lands.
Slovenia previously joined the Group of Seven's (G7) declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine in August 2023.
Some 160 national delegations were invited to the peace summit, and at least 50 countries have confirmed their participation.
Participants of the global peace summit will formulate a common negotiating position on the outcome of the war and submit it to Russia, presidential spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov said on May 3, according to Deutsche Welle.
Kateryna Denisova
