"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.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner delivers remarks during a Rules Committee hearing at the Russell Senate Office Building on Nov. 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Russia's interference in the upcoming U.K. election will likely "ramp up dramatically" ahead of voting day on July 4, U.S. Senator Mark Warner told reporters on June 18.
U.S. officials have said that Russia engaged in a widespread campaign of digital disinformation and hacking in the past two American presidential elections, with particular effort dedicated to the 2016 election.
Russia has also been accused of meddling in the U.K.'s 2016 Brexit referendum.
Warner, who serves as the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that Russia and its proxies are "sowing discontent or trying to pit groups against each other (to) further social division" in the U.K.
The U.S. is "closely monitoring" the situation in the U.K., said Warner, adding that the U.S. has seen evidence of Russia's"egregious efforts similar to what happened in 2016" to interfere in elections around the world.
"Clearly, Russia does not like the fact that the U.K. has been as stalwart as they have been in terms of defense on Ukraine," Warner said.
The U.K. said earlier in June that it has committed almost 12.7 billion pounds ($16.1 billion) to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.
U.S. intelligence services have so far not "seen much activity" indicating Russian interference in the U.K. election, said Warner, but "the chances are, as we saw in the past, this activity ramps up dramatically the closer it gets to the election."
"It clearly meets (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's plans if he can lessen the British or the Americans' resolve for supporting Ukraine, he can save some money on his tanks, guns, ships, and planes if he can diminish support."
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
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