Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
The visit marks Merz’s first trip to Ukraine, and the first time all four leaders have travelled there together.
"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.
"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.
The sanctions list includes 58 individuals and 74 companies, with 67 Russian enterprises related to military technology.
Ukraine dismisses Russian claims of clashes with Ukrainian 'saboteurs' as provocation
Governor of Russia's Bryansk Oblast Alexander Bogomaz said a Ukrainian "sabotage and reconnaissance group" had entered the region's territory on March 2, allegedly taking people hostage and inflicting civilian casualties. He didn't provide any proof of the group's existence.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine's Presidential Office, called the claim a provocation, saying that Russia "wants to scare its people to justify the attack on another country and the growing poverty after the year of the war" against Ukraine.
Podolyak added, though, that "the partisan movement in Russia is getting stronger and more aggressive" and urged Moscow to "fear" its partisans.
Russia's Federal Security Service reported clashes with "saboteurs," while Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said the alleged incident was a "terrorist act," as cited by Russian independent news outlet Meduza.
On the same day, a video appeared where people in military uniform who call themselves representatives of the Russian Volunteer Corps allegedly fighting in the ranks of Ukraine's International Legion claim responsibility for the incident.
However, it is impossible to verify the legitimacy of this video as well as where and when it was filmed.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate spokesperson Andrii Yusov called the incident "a continuation of Russia's transformation, its purification, and liberation from Putin's dictatorship," mentioning the statement of the Russian Volunteer Corps in his comment for Hromadske.
"These are people who, with weapons in their hands, are fighting against Putin's regime and those who support him... Maybe Russians are starting to wake up, realize something and take some concrete measures," Yusov told Hromadske.
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