"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 Ukrainian-owned business in Toronto was vandalized early on Feb. 8 with anti-Ukrainian graffiti. (UCC)
A bakery in Toronto was vandalized with anti-Ukrainian, pro-Russian graffiti overnight on Feb. 8 while tensions remain high on Ukraine's border with Russia.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) released a statement later that day in regards to hate speech that was spray-painted overnight at Future Bakery, owned by Borys Wrzesnewskyj, a former member of Canada’s parliament. Wrzesnewskyj and the Ukrainian Canadian community have previously been the targets of Russian state-led disinformation campaigns.
The Ukrainian-owned business had a mural and a #StandWithUkraine banner on display that were defaced with derogatory comments. Among them the phrases “F*ck Ukrian (sic) and Canada” and "Russia is power" were spray-painted on the banner.
"This isn’t just graffiti, nor is it just an act of vandalism. This is an attempt to intimidate,” Wrzesnewskyj told local media. "It’s a hate crime."
Alexandra Chyczij, the President of the UCC, said they "will not be intimidated by cowards who hate our freedoms and our way of life."
"The Ukrainian Canadian Congress calls on law enforcement to promptly and thoroughly investigate this act of hate against the Ukrainian Canadian community. This craven attack shows the importance of effectively fighting disinformation campaigns led by the Russian state that target Canada, the Ukrainian Canadian and other Central and East European communities,” Chyczij was quoted as saying. The UCC has long advocated for the Canadian government to take seriously the influence of Russian state-led disinformation campaigns.
It is unknown if Toronto police will investigate the incident as a hate crime.
The vandalism comes as the Canadian government sends non-lethal military aid to Ukraine that includes personal protective and load carriage equipment, as well as surveillance and detection equipment. A team of Canadian Armed Forces is accompanying the equipment to assist with its integration.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
