"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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 1, 2024. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 28 that his team is "preparing several important personnel decisions" that will be "announced soon."
Zelensky's comments followed meetings with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
"We are preparing several important personnel decisions," Zelensky said via his official Telegram channel the evening of Dec. 28.
"The decrees will be announced soon."
Zelensky did not provide any further details on what departments or officials would be affected by the new decisions.
In February 2024, Zelensky also replaced Ukraine's top military leadership, dismissing former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi and appointing Oleksandr Syrskyi in his place.
Ukrainian media outlets reported in fall 2024 that Zelensky was considering dismissing Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov. The president has denied those reports.
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.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
