"(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.
Ukrainian soldiers stands on a BMP during a training as Russian-Ukrainian war continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on April 07, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has approved returning Hr 30,000 ($800) bonuses for soldiers "regardless of the tasks assigned to them or the areas of service," the lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko said on April 10.
After Russia's full-scale invasion started in 2022, Ukrainian soldiers, the Territorial Defense fighters, and police received an extra Hr 100,000 ($2,700) per month if they served in a designated active combat zone and an extra Hr 30,000 ($800) if they were stationed outside active combat areas. But in February 2023, the bonus system was changed, resulting in personnel who served outside an active combat zone getting no bonus at all.
According to Honcharenko, the Hr 30,000 bonuses were returned not only to the military but also to the State Emergency Service employees and police. Ukraine will make these payments until the end of the martial law in the country, the Member of Parliament said.
Later the same day, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that according to the approved amendment, Ukraine plans to return the military bonuses by reducing salaries for civil servants and management of state-owned enterprises.
However, to return the allowances, the Ukrainian parliament will most likely need to change the state budget as reducing civil servants' pay to ten minimum salaries is "a tiny saving," according to Zhelezniak.
"Even 2% (cutback) of the planned expenses will not be enough. Let me remind you that we were spending Hr 2.7 billion daily on payments to the military. That's why I wouldn't say so unequivocally that it (the bonus) was returned," added the lawmaker.
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.
Igor Kossov
