"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.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer greets Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street on Oct. 10, 2024, in London, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer about coordinating steps for Ukraine's security, including a future meeting about peacekeeping troops, in a phone call on March 31.
Starmer, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, has been leading Europe's efforts to provide security guarantees for Kyiv in anticipation of a future ceasefire deal with Russia.
In a phone call March 31, Zelensky and Starmer discussed plans to convene military representatives from the "coalition of the willing," a group of countries that have pledged to contribute peacekeeping troops and other security assurances, at a meeting in Ukraine later this week.
"We are preparing a meeting between our military representatives for the preparation of contingents," Zelensky said via his official Telegram channel.
Starmer also shared with Zelensky details about his recent conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. Starmer and Trump agreed to keep up "collective pressure"on Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call on March 30.
"We appreciate the U.K.'s position regarding pressure on Russia — pressure must be strong enough to prevent the Russians from expanding this war," Zelensky said.
"All the more so now, as Moscow blatantly makes a mockery of our partners' efforts to advance a peace agenda — with constant new drone attacks and relentless, brutal shelling."
Starmer has said that the coalition of the willing will include "planes in the air and boots on the ground" to reinforce the Ukrainian military following a ceasefire agreement. While Downing Street announced on March 17 that the plan had moved into the "operational phase," both U.K. and U.S. officials have criticized the idea as underdeveloped and unrealistic.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Martin Fornusek
