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The visit marks Merz’s first trip to Ukraine, and the first time all four leaders have travelled there together.
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Saturday, May 10
"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
The number includes 1,310 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
"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.
Saturday, May 10
"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.
(Updated: )Victory Day
The sanctions list includes 58 individuals and 74 companies, with 67 Russian enterprises related to military technology.
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.
Hungary prevented European Union member states from releasing a joint statement on the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bloomberg reported, citing sources privy to the information.
As a result, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell instead released a statement under his own name, mentioning the ICC’s decision.
“The EU sees the decision by the ICC as a beginning of the process of accountability and holding Russian leaders to account for the crimes and atrocities they are ordering, enabling, or committing in Ukraine,” Borrell said in the statement.
According to Bloomberg, Hungary “wasn’t immediately able to respond to a request for comment.”
BREAKING: ICC issues arrest warrants for Putin, Russian official tied to kidnapping of Ukrainian children
The ICC issued an arrest warrant on March 17 for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official allegedly overseeing the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia -- a move that President Volodymyr Zelensky called “historic.”
The arrest warrant was met with resistance in Russia.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened a missile strike against the Hague following the announcement. “It’s quite possible to envision a scenario where a Russian ship stationed in the North Sea could strategically strike the Hague courthouse with a hypersonic Onyx (cruise) missile,” he said.
On March 20, Russia’s Investigative Committee reported that it had opened a case against members of the ICC for issuing the arrest warrant against Putin.
Budapest has resisted several multilateral efforts at supporting Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale war. The Hungarian government has repeatedly criticized EU sanctions against Russia, citing their negative impact on the European economy.
In late February, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to veto the extension of EU sanctions against Russia, which must be renewed every six months. Hungary also reportedly opposed a proposal, backed by all other EU member states, to prolong the extension period from six to 12 months.
On Jan. 27, Orban told state radio that Budapest would veto any EU sanctions against Russia related to nuclear energy, saying such sanctions are “out of the question.”
In a controversial visit to Minsk on Feb. 13, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto met with his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik, saying the “channels of communication must be kept open.” The visit took place a few days after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would impose additional sanctions on Minsk for its role in supporting Russia’s full-scale war.
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