"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.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev speaks at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan on October 02, 2023. (Photo by AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENCY/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has canceled plans to attend peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 4, citing local media.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is recognized as Azerbaijani under international law but was home to a predominantly Armenian population, surrendered on Sept. 20 after 24 hours of attacks by Azerbaijani forces.
The talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia were supposed to be held on Oct. 5 in Spain, on the sidelines of the meeting of the European Political Community in Granada.
However, Aliyev is refusing to attend due to what he believes is the "destructive position" of France and the absence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan was invited to Granada but canceled his plans on Oct. 4 due to his "busy schedule ahead of his ruling party’s convention on Saturday," Bloomberg said.
On Oct. 3, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that France was ready to provide military aid to Armenia.
"France has agreed to sign a contract with Armenia on the provision of military aid," Colonna said during a press conference in Yerevan with her Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan.
The same day, the state-owned Azerbaijani Press Agency (APA) reported that the country's security services had arrested four former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and are facing criminal charges in Azerbaijan.
APA didn't mention what accusations Baku had made against them.
Over 100,000 people have arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, who make up 80% of the entire ethnic Armenian population of the territory.
The territory declared independence in 1991 with Yerevan's military support. Until 2020, Armenia de facto controlled Nagorno-Karabakh together with the surrounding regions.
Francis Farrell
