"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.
A ship in the Black Sea near Odesa, Ukraine, on Nov. 9, 2023. (Yulii Zozulia/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Ukraine believes that the ceasefire on military action in the Black Sea is in effect but will watch Russia's actions and whether Moscow will comply with the agreement, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told journalists on March 27.
The U.S., Russia, and Ukraine agreed to "eliminate the use of force" and prevent commercial vessels from being used for military purposes in the Black Sea, the White House announced on March 25, following two-day talks in Saudi Arabia.
According to Tykhyi, Kyiv understands that the Black Sea ceasefire applies to civilian shipping and Ukrainian ports, and does not apply to Russian warships.
Foreign vessels have previously been damaged in Russian attacks on the port. Over the past year, multiple ships had been damaged in separate attacks on the Odesa port in Ukraine's south.
"Russia's movement of warships beyond the eastern part of the Black Sea will be considered a violation of these agreements and will be regarded as a violation of the obligations to ensure free navigation in the Black Sea," the spokesperson added.
Separately, Tykhyi added that the Black Sea truce does not concern the Black Sea Initiative, which allowed Ukraine to ship out its grain and broke down in 2023 after Russia's withdrawal from the deal.
The spokesperson also said that Ukraine and the U.S. didn't agree on lifting any sanctions from Russia.
The Kremlin said the ceasefire would take effect only if Western sanctions on Russian food producers, exporters, and financial institutions — including Rosselkhozbank — are lifted and if Russia is reconnected to the SWIFT payment system.
Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is ready to take such a step if Russia also agrees to the terms. So far, Russia has refused, instead attempting to extract major concessions from the U.S. in exchange for partial ceasefire agreements.
Andrea Januta
