"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.
Archive photo for illustrative purposes: Kupiansk city administration building following a Russian airstrike on the city on Feb. 17, 2024. (Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A woman was found dead under the rubble of a four-story apartment building struck by a Russian aerial bomb in the city of Kupiansk in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, the State Emergency Service reported on April 7.
The victim lived on the last floor of the building, and the rescuers used a crane from a local utility company to retrieve the body, according to the report. Two floors of the building were destroyed, it added.
Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that the woman was 85 and that the attack occurred around 10:40 p.m. on April 6.
Russia continues to target civilian areas near the front line, forcing the local residents to live in danger and heavily damaging many cities, towns, and villages in Ukraine's east and south. Local authorities have installed mandatory evacuation protocols in several areas, trying to convince as many people to flee their war-torn homes.
While Ukrainian soldiers say that Russian offensive has slowed down over the past months, Russia has scaled up their use of KAB guided aerial bombs against civilians in the Kupiansk area.
A photo capturing the destruction of the attack site in Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, shared by the State Emergency Service on April 7, 2024. (State Emergency Service/Telegram)
Kupiansk underwent Russian occupation in 2022. Since then, heavy fighting has raged on near the city, severely damaged by the war, as Russian forces continue to attack the Kupiansk area.
Russian forces have the initiative on the Kupiansk front, launching several large-scale offensives over the past year in an apparent desperate bid to recapture the city.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
