"(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.
Photo for illutrative purposes: A local bus rides past sign read as "Kursk, the city of military glory" outside the Russian city of Kursk, the main city of Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, on May 28, 2023. (Olga Maltseva /AFP via Getty Images)
Prominent Russian propagandist and pro-Kremlin TV reporter Yevgeny Poddubny was severely injured during a drone attack on Russia's Kursk Oblast on Aug. 7, Russian state media agency Rossiya 24 claimed.
Poddubny, 40, is one of Russia's leading pro-Kremlin propagandists having covered Russian conflicts in Syria, Georgia, and Ukraine. Poddubny previously filmed footage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including fighting at the Hostomel airport in Kyiv Oblast in the first days of the war, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Russia's Health Ministry said Poddubny was conscious and "in intensive care" in a local hospital following the alleged Ukrainian drone strike.
The Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify the claims and Ukraine's military has not commented on the alleged attack.
The alleged drone strike occurred as Poddubny was reporting on Ukrainian forces' incursion into Kursk Oblast. According to Russian state-run news agency TASS, Poddubny filed his last piece on the incursion hours before being injured.
The incursion, which began on Aug. 6, has thus far has resulted in clashes on Russian soil that were described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as "a large-scale provocation." Kyiv has not yet commented on the fighting in the area.
The Kursk region lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily attacks since Russian troops were pushed out of the oblast and back across the border in April 2022.
The Kursk region has a population of around 1 million people, 440,000 of whom live in the city of Kursk, the region's administrative center.
Russia's Investigative Committee said it would investigate the circumstances of the alleged attack, and that Poddubny would be presented with an award.
At least 17 Ukrainian journalists have been killed covering the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Francis Farrell
