Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"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.
Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov in a Moscow court on April 24, 2024, in relation to suspected bribery charges. (Moscow's Basmanny District Court/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who was detained the previous day on suspicion of receiving a bribe, was ordered to be dismissed from his position and had his assets seized, the state-run media outlet TASS reported on April 25.
Ivanov, Russia's top official in charge of the country's construction of military facilities, was initially detained under part six of Article 290 of Russia's criminal code. According to TASS, the specific provision under the criminal code pertains to bribes over 1 million rubles (~$10,000).
Russia's Investigative Committee noted that an investigation is ongoing and did not provide any details on the allegations.
Law enforcement agencies told TASS that "everything that is registered to (Ivanov) and his wife, as well as to his ex-wives and five children, including adopted ones, (and) all this property has already been seized" for the purpose of interim measures should Ivanov be convicted.
Separately, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu signed an order to remove Ivanov from his position.
Various Western countries have sanctioned Ivanov due to his role in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and he was previously the target of a December 2022 investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The investigation alleged that Ivanov profited from construction projects in occupied Mariupol.
Some independent Russian media suggested that Ivanov was actually suspected of treason, and that the bribery charges were a cover for a more scandalous crime.
"A bribe is for the public. So far, they don’t want to talk publicly about treason," a source in law enforcement told the IStories media outlet.
"No one would have detained him for corruption. Everyone there (in the Kremlin) knew about this for a long time," another source said.
The Kremlin has denied the veracity of such suggestions.
"All these discussions are nothing more than speculation around this case," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Nate Ostiller
