"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 seal of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seen outside of a headquarters building in Washington, DC on April 7, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine has received $880 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on March 26.
The IMF announced on March 21 that it had approved a third review of Ukraine's $15.6 billion loan program, enabling the release of the $880 million earmarked for budgetary support. The disbursal was the third such tranche of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), bringing the total distributed so far to $5.4 billion.
"The funds will help cover priority budget expenditures and maintain macro-financial stability," Shmyhal said.
Ukraine mission chief Gavin Gray said earlier in March that Ukraine has maintained astrong performance on the IMF program throughout its initial year, meeting all but one of the quantitative performance criteria.
Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, emphasized that Ukraine's macroeconomic and financial stability has been preserved despite "enormous social and economic costs" due to Russia's full-scale invasion.
Shmyhal expressed his gratitude to the IMF for its "support and cooperation."
Kateryna Hodunova
