"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."
"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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, on March 26, 2024. (Contributor/Getty Images)
The United States and the majority of European Union nations will not attend the Kremlin ceremony for Vladimir Putin's inauguration for another six-year presidential term on May 7.
France and several other EU states are anticipated to send representatives, despite a request from Kyiv. This diverse diplomatic reaction from Western powers highlights differences over how to handle the Russian leader more than two years after he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to evidence published by election experts, observers, and media, the March 15-17 presidential election, which Putin "won" with 87% support, was the most rigged in Russia's modern history.
Estimates of vote rigging range from at least 22 million votes to about 31.6 million votes, without taking into account the online voting and the election at gunpoint in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Russia also "brutally" violated the principles of international law when it organized the so-called voting in the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson oblasts, and Crimea, Ukraine's ministry said.
On May 6, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry urged other countries and international organizations not to recognize the results of Russia's most recent presidential election, as well as Putin's legitimacy ahead of the inauguration.
The U.K. and Canada said they would not send anyone to attend the ceremony. According to an EU spokesperson, the bloc's ambassador to Russia will refrain from attending the ceremony, aligning with the stance of the majority of member states.
U.S. representatives also will not attend Vladimir Putin's inauguration, but Washington recognizes him as Russia's president, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on May 6.
When asked at a press briefing whether the U.S. recognizes Putin as Russia's legitimate head of state, Miller said that Washington "certainly did not consider that election free and fair, but he (Putin) is the president of Russia and is going to continue in that capacity."
Close to 20 EU member states would boycott the event, while seven others were anticipated to send representatives, a European diplomat told Reuters. Besides France, Hungary, and Slovakia were reportedly set to attend, two diplomatic sources said.
Chris York
