"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.
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi (R), commander of Ukraine's Land Forces, shakes hands with a Ukrainian serviceman during his visit to the frontline positions in Donetsk Oblast's Bakhmut on April 9, 2023. (Ukraine's Defense Ministry media center/Telegram)
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's Land Forces and Eastern Operational Command, visited Ukrainian positions on the Bakhmut front line in Donetsk Oblast on April 9, according to the Defense Ministry media center.
After the visit, Syrskyi said Russia was forced to involve special forces and airborne assault units in the battle for Bakhmut as Ukraine's military has "exhausted" Wagner Group mercenaries in the fighting.
"The enemy switched to the so-called Syrian scorched earth tactics. It destroys buildings and (military) positions with air strikes and artillery fire," the Ukrainian commander added, cited by the media center. "Bakhmut's defense continues. The situation is difficult but under control."
During the Bakhmut visit, Syrskyi assessed the state of units fighting in the area and listened to problems and requests raised by their commanders that "require immediate resolution," the media center wrote.
Land Forces chief made some operational decisions regarding the defense of the city, assigned tasks to unit commanders as well as presented "the best soldiers" with awards, valuable gifts, and cash incentives, reads the report.
The Kremlin-controlled mercenary Wagner Group has been assisting Russia's military in trying to capture Bakhmut for almost eight months as Moscow tries to consolidate its grip over the entirety of Donetsk Oblast.
The U.K. Defense Ministry reported in its April 7 assessment that Russian forces had "regained some momentum" in the battle for Ukraine's eastern city of Bakhmut after a delay in their advance since late March.
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Anastasiia Lapatina
