The visit marks Merz’s first trip to Ukraine, and the first time all four leaders have travelled there together.
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.
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.
Despite the Kremlin's announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the front line.
An additional $13.5 billion will be spent on defense, including military salaries and drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 13 in his nightly video address.
Zelensky also added that over 170,000 square kilometers of Ukraine's territory remain dangerous due to Russian mines and unexploded shells.
Emergency services have been conducting demining efforts throughout Ukraine on a daily basis.
As Zelensky noted during one of his nightly addresses in December 2022, "this is the form of Russian terror that will have to be countered for years to come."
There are repeated stories coming out of parts of liberated Kherson and Kharkiv oblasts about civilians getting injured or killed by mine explosions.
Two civilians were killed and two were injured on March 10 in the village of Ishchenka in Kherson Oblast. A 63-year-old resident of Snizhkivka village near Izium in Kharkiv Oblast was also injured on March 7 by a mine explosion.
According to Zelensky, there is also news "coming soon" about the fight to bring Russian war criminals to justice.
Zelensky also thanked Canada in his nightly address for expanding sanctions against Russian aluminum and steel imports.
"We must not only limit the terrorist state's ability to circumvent existing sanctions, but also introduce new ones so that Russia cannot adapt to global pressure," Zelensky said.

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