"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 and Polish President Andrzej Duda after commemorating the victims of the Volyn tragedy at the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral in Lutsk, Ukraine on July 9, 2023. (Photo by Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Polish President Andrzej Duda sees no problem in providing Ukraine with older weapons from Poland's arsenal after they are replaced by modern arms, he said in an interview with Super Express on Sept. 25.
The president emphasized that donating new equipment that Poland is currently purchasing, such as South Korean K9 howitzers or K2 tanks, is off the table.
"This equipment must be used to strengthen the Polish military. We aren't spending billions to just hand it over," Duda said in the interview.
He added that this does not mean that Poland would not provide Kyiv with any arms at all: "When the old equipment is replaced with modern hardware, I see no problem in sending it to Ukraine."
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki sparked a controversy when he told Polsat News on Sept. 20 that Warsaw is not sending more weapons to Ukraine as it is shifting focus on restocking its own military arsenal.
Polish officials later clarified his statements by saying that Poland continues to supply arms and ammunition that are part of previously agreed deliveries and that the Rzeszow hub for Western supplies flowing to Ukraine will remain operational.
Duda warned against drawing "too far-reaching" conclusions from the prime minister's statements, adding that any division between the two countries can have "tragic" consequences.
Morawiecki's statement came amid escalating tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw, sparked by Poland's decision to extend the import ban on Ukrainian grain products past its expiration date set by the EU on Sept. 15.
In response, Kyiv sued Poland at the World Trade Organization and threatened its own trade embargos. President Volodymyr Zelensky also indirectly criticized Poland at the U.N. General Assembly by saying that countries prolonging the grain import ban are inadvertently aiding Russia.
Warsaw respondedby summoning Ukraine's ambassador in protest and Morawiecki called on Zelensky "never to insult Poles again."
Duda has previously urged de-escalation of the dispute, saying the disagreements should not overshadow cooperation between the two nations.
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.
Abbey Fenbert
