"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.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery on September 28, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Kazakhstan will "definitely comply" with the sanctions regime against Russia, the country's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a press briefing on Sept. 28 after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Tokayev also urged a swift end to "hostilities in Ukraine" and peace talks in accordance with the U.N. Charter.
"We need to stop mutual accusations and negotiate to find options that will suit both sides," he said, adding that it is time for "wise and rational diplomacy."
Tokayev had arrived in Germany earlier today to hold talks with Scholz and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
After his meeting with Scholz, Tokayev added that Kazakhstan is ready to increase oil supplies to Germany "and make them long-term."
Russia has been using third-party countries to circumvent sanctions applied against it by the Western nations in response to Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Some countries have been re-exporting sanctioned goods from the West to Russia, namely dual-use technologies that Moscow utilizes for weapons production.
The EU said it is leading active talks with such third-party states to prevent circumvention of sanctions. However, the European Commission also threatened to ban the sales of certain products to these countries if diplomatic efforts prove insufficient.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Glib Kanievskyi
