"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.
The aftermath of a Russian attack on the city of Kherson, Ukraine, on March 27, 2025. (State Emergency Service)
Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in the city of Kherson on March 27, violating the terms of the U.S.-brokered limited ceasefire, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Russian attack killed two people and injured at least five others, according to the State Emergency Service.
Russia and Ukraine announced a partial ceasefire on strikes against energy facilities following technical consultations with the U.S. in Riyadh earlier this week.
Moscow has claimed that its side of the energy ceasefire has been in effect since March 18, when Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly declared a halt on such attacks following a call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Russian troops shelled downtown Kherson with artillery for more than an hour, said Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. The attack damaged the railway station, apartment buildings as well as the power grid.
The aftermath of a Russian attack on the city of Kherson, Ukraine, on March 27, 2025. (State Emergency Service)
"The city of Kherson is a civilian city, it is not a battlefield. I believe that there should be a reaction from the United States, in actions," Zelensky said at a press conference in Paris.
The president tasked Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to pass on to the American side evidence of Russia's attack on Ukraine's energy sector.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi had said that there have been no strikes on either Russian or Ukrainian energy facilities since a partial ceasefire was reportedly agreed upon on March 25.
Throughout the full-scale war, Russia has consistently used targeted missile and drone strikes to knock out Ukraine's power grid, while Kyiv has hit oil and gas facilities inside Russian territory with long-range drones.
Ukraine and the U.S. previously agreed on a full 30-day truce during their talks in Jeddah on March 11. Russia had rejected this proposal unless it included conditions undermining Kyiv's ability to defend itself, such as a full halt on foreign military aid.
Kateryna Denisova
