"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 Russian LGBT rights activist shows a sign reading "Love is stronger than homophobia" from inside a Russian riot police van during an unauthorized LGBT rights rally in Moscow on May 25, 2013. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)
A hearing by Russia's Supreme Court on whether to designate the "international LGBT movement" as an extremist organization was closed to the public, including those representing the defendant, the Russian independent media outlet Mediazona reported on Nov. 30.
A Mediazona correspondent said that only representatives of Russia's Justice Ministry were allowed in the courtroom, although journalists will be able to view the proceedings when the judge announces the decision.
The ministry announced a motion on Nov. 19 to brand the "international LGBT movement" as an extremist organization and ban its activities.
The ministry accused the movement of causing "social and religious discord."
It is not clear whether the proposed ban covers the entire LGBT community or specific organizations. If the motion passes, any LGBT activist in Russia could be subject to criminal prosecution.
Russia has previously banned groups of people, ideologies, or ideas without strictly defined structure or membership. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law in 2018 banning so-called "Columbine communities" that allegedly promote school shootings.
The Kremlin's crackdown on gay rights intensified following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022. The government passed legislation banning the public expression of LGBT identity in Russia on Dec. 5, 2022.
The law criminalized what it calls "propaganda" related to "nontraditional sexual relations" in media.
The Russian State Duma targeted the transgender community the following year, banning gender-affirming care in July 2023.
Putin has rhetorically linked his anti-gay and anti-trans policies to the invasion of Ukraine. He included remarks against the LGBT community in a ceremony held on Sept. 30, 2022, to formally announce the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson oblasts.
"Do we really want perversions that lead to degradation and extinction to be imposed in our schools from the primary grades?" Putin said in his address.
Abbey Fenbert
