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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) talked with U.S. President Joe Biden (R) over the phone on Jan. 27. (Ukrainian President's Press Service/The White House)
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden late on Jan. 27, their second conversation in January and fourth overall.
"President Biden reaffirmed the readiness of the United States along with its allies and partners to respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine," said the White House readout published after the call.
"U.S. has provided Ukraine with over half a billion dollars in development and humanitarian assistance in the last year, and is exploring additional macroeconomic support to help Ukraine’s economy amidst pressure resulting from Russia’s military build-up," the statement said.
The State Department confirmed the allocation of a $200 military aid package to Ukraine during U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kyiv on Jan. 19. The package was approved in addition to the $300 million in military aid that the U.S. decided to provide in December.
According to Zelensky, the two presidents "discussed recent diplomatic efforts on de-escalation and agreed on joint actions for the future."
Biden expressed support for the revival of Normandy Format talks. Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany met on Jan. 26 in Paris for low-level talks amid Kremlin’s growing military buildup along the Ukrainian border.
“The fact that we restored the Normandy Format is a positive signal,” Zelensky's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said after the meeting in Paris.
Earlier, Zelensky's spokesperson Sergii Nykyforov said "topics such as peace, security, energy, defense cooperation, macroeconomic support and anti-oligarch reform" were to be discussed during the phone call.
The call came amid the growing uncertainty surrounding the ongoing Russian military buildup. This was the third phone conversation between Zelensky and Biden since the start of the most recent Russian escalation in late October.
According to the latest intelligence data, Moscow has concentrated over 120,000 troops in regions surrounding Ukraine and deployed a substantial number of combat-ready weaponry and military hardware near Ukrainian borders moved from Russia’s far east districts.
On Jan. 26, the U.S. gave Russia a written response to its security demands, saying that Washington "will uphold the principle of NATO’s open-door policy."
The Kremlin demanded a written response to its proposed security grantees on Jan. 14, which included banning Ukraine from NATO for life and pulling allied troops out of eastern Europe. The U.S. and its NATO allies said these demands are non-starters.
The White House said Kyiv saw the reply and approved of its contents prior to the response being delivered to Moscow, which the Ukrainian side confirmed.
U.S. Diplomat Victoria Nuland told reporters on Jan. 27 that Russia will need time to study it. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov already made a statement saying that Russia’s main demands went unaddressed.
Meanwhile, CNN has reported, citing its sources in the Ukrainian government, that Zelensky and Biden disagreed on the likelihood of a Russian full-scale invasion. The U.S. is confident Russia will further invade Ukraine, a notion Kyiv doesn't share, according to CNN.
The U.S. Defense Department came out with a statement on Jan. 27, saying that Russia has once again increased its military presence near Ukraine's border.
"We continue to see, including in the last 24 hours, more accumulation of credible combat forces arrayed by the Russians in, again, the western part of their country and in Belarus,” said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby.
Igor is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously covered conflict in the Middle East, investigated corruption in Ukraine and man-made environmental damage in Southeast Asia. He has a Master’s in Journalism from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and was published in the Kyiv Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, Daily Beast and Foreign Policy.
