"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.
A visitor walks past a guide missile ground target KEPD 350 manufactured by the Swedish-German company Taurus at the International Defence and Security fair of Madrid, on May 17, 2023. (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian troops would need around three months to learn how to operate Germany's Taurus long-range missiles, Bild reported on Sept. 24, citing the weaponry's manufacturer MBDA.
The German government has so far refused to provide Kyiv with the much-desired missiles with a range of up to 500 kilometers, despite requests from both Ukraine and German lawmakers.
This hesitancy was criticized by lawmaker for the Free Democratic Party (FDP) Marcus Faber, who pointed out that Ukraine first sent the request for the missiles four months ago, a time that could have been used to complete the training.
According to Bild, any potential transfer of these missiles to Kyiv would be further delayed by the necessity to program their targeting on Ukrainian territory.
Since the German military is unlikely to send its own personnel for this task to Ukraine for political reasons, it makes speedy delivery of Taurus missiles even less likely, the outlet concluded.
Media reports emerged over the summer that Germany has been stalling the transfer of Taurus missiles out of fear they might be used to strike targets in Russian territory. However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba assured the German government that the missiles would be used only within Ukraine's borders.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's office also said that Berlin is waiting for Washington's decision to provide Ukraine with its ATACMS missiles before greenlighting the transfer of Taurus.
Recent media reports however said that U.S. President Joe Biden promised a "small amount" of ATACMS missiles to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during their meeting in Washington.
This would make ATACMS the latest addition to Ukraine's long-range missiles arsenal, also including British Storm Shadow and French SCALP.
Berlin has not categorically refused to provide its own long-range missiles. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Le Monde on Sept. 21 that the German government is currently "examining the request and its consequences."
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Dinara Khalilova
