"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.
09 May 2025, Poland, Przemysl: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz walks across the platform to the special train to Kyiv in Przeymysl, Poland, on May 9, 2025. (Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images)
An agreement on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could be reached as early as this weekend, new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Brussels on May 9.
Merz's comments come amid Russia's so-called Victory Day "truce," a temporary ceasefire from May 8-11 that Moscow unilaterally declared and has already violated.
"I have great hope that an agreement for a ceasefire in Ukraine will be reached this weekend," Merz said, according to the German outlet Die Welt.
Merz believes there is a "great chance" that Russia's three-day truce will be extended to 30 days and that "negotiations on a peace treaty could then begin."
Shortly after these remarks, Merz, who was sworn in on May 6, traveled to Ukraine in his first visit as Germany's chancellor. Merz will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on May 10 alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The leaders' visit is meant to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine and advance a proposal for a complete 30-day ceasefire in Russia's full-scale war. The U.S. and Europe are reportedly in alignment on the 30-day truce and are in the final stages of completing their proposal, according to Reuters.
U.S. President Donald Trump, after speaking with Zelensky via telephone on May 8, called for an "unconditional" month-long ceasefire and threatened additional sanctions against Russia if it does not agree to a peace deal.
The U.S. has initiated a series of failed peace talks and broken ceasefires in recent months, as Russian attacks against Ukraine have only grown deadlier.
According to Merz, the European leaders' ceasefire proposal is "largely identical" to the U.S. version.
"We very much hope that this will also be accepted on the Russian side," Merz said.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Chris York
