Ukraine updates in English

[US7IGN]

I learned that many people don't want to deal with Amazon, so I put my first book on Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/war-diaries-a-radio-amateur-in-kyiv?sId=ab35e4e7-932a-45aa-870c-8b918aa49dfc

Ukraine uses aviation mainly for air defense, but even then it sometimes loses planes. Recently, the Air Force lost a Su-27 fighter jet while repelling a russian attack with strike drones. Some say it was "friendly fire." https://expres.online/podrobitsi/zsu-vtratili-vinishchuvach-su-27-yak-tse-moglo-statisya

At the "coalition of the willing" discussions, Britain has proposed assembling 64,000 peacekeepers for Ukraine, but other countries consider even a 25,000-strong contingent a difficult task, The Times writes. Poland, Spain and Italy are refusing to send their soldiers at all. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/europe-uk-peacekeeping-troops-ukraine-6tp2cfgg5

However, in Ukraine, too, there are few people willing to serve in the army.

The Ukrainian Parliament extended the possibility of voluntary return of servicemen who left a military unit for the first time - until August 30, 2025. For the first time, the law on "decriminalization of unauthorized abandonment of a military unit" came into force at the end of November 2024. It was then that servicemen who left a unit without permission were allowed to return to service under a simplified procedure - without trial and with the restoration of benefits. Then the return period was limited to January 1, 2025, but after some time it was extended to March 1.
In January-March 2025 alone, 44.5 thousand servicemen left the unit without permission, and another seven thousand deserted.

For the entire year of 2024, the Prosecutor General's Office opened 62.5 thousand cases of unauthorized abandonment of a military unit and 22.3 thousand cases of desertion. The number of voluntary desertions from a military unit in 2024 increased almost threefold compared to 2023. Conflict with the command, missing service terms, fatigue (those who voluntarily went to defend Ukraine in 2022, for example, have been at the front for 38 months), and difficulty transferring to another unit are among the common reasons for voluntary desertion from a military unit.
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c9345nv7lgko

[US7IGN]

Ukraine and the US have signed a much-anticipated natural resources deal, after months of tense negotiations. The White House says the the "partnership represents the United States taking an economic stake in securing a free, peaceful and sovereign future for Ukraine". Ukraine minerals deal is largely symbolic – but that’s enough for Donald Trump. The symbolism was, however, largely the point. Trump needed to feel America was getting something back from Kyiv. Ukraine needed to show its relationship with this White House was functional and improving. Ukraine’s allies needed this done and dusted to remove a distraction from the complex talk of military aid and real peace that must now become their focus.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/01/world/ukraine-minerals-deal-us-trump-analysis-intl
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yg456mzn8o
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypw7pn9q3o

Previously, Donald Trump spoke about a deal where Ukraine would repay all the billions of dollars in aid and military support it has received over the last three years. That's not the case with this deal. Instead, it will set up a joint investment fund to help Ukraine pay for future military and humanitarian aid, as well as reconstruction efforts once the war is over. This isn’t a peace deal - there aren’t any explicit security guarantees from the Americans for Ukraine in this agreement.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c20zj5l4jpdt?post=asset%3Af06554f3-9b38-498a-ba57-42a940765fad

There are millions of opinions of commentators of varying levels of incompetence on the Internet, and I don’t want to be one of them. There is a lot of interesting information in the text of the agreement, which the Cabinet of Ministers very quickly published in Ukrainian https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K1owc3G2fP0UZRhDR0z7yLaWf9jZCJsO/view?pli=1 , but it seems to me that the most interesting is contained in the additional protocols that were not shown to us. In any case, I did not see joy and sincere smiles on the faces of the representatives of Ukraine who signed the agreement, which suggests that everything is not as good as the official propaganda is trying to show. Well, time will tell what real consequences will follow.

There is a chasm between the positions of Ukraine and the russian Federation, we will be negotiating peace for the next 100 days, said US Vice President Vance in the  interview with Fox News Digital. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vance-previews-trump-plans-juice-economy-end-russia-ukraine-war-next-100-days

As peace talks slow, the Trump White House approved its first $50M arms exports to Ukraine through direct commercial sales to Kyiv. The permission – the first of its kind since Trump returned to the White House over 100 days ago – comes just weeks after the administration paused all Ukraine-related military aid for review, emphasizing a new priority: leveraging US influence to end the conflict through diplomacy rather than prolonged military support.

Congress, in its last aid package for Ukraine, had approved over $1 billion worth of arms for Ukraine under the previous US administration of President Joe Biden. https://www.kyivpost.com/post/51800

After another drone attack on Kyiv, there were reports that they could be dropping explosives in the form of cluster munitions that explode later. I'm just wondering why russian terrorists haven't used such insidious tactics for so long. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c2ew0kxl371o

[N0TZU]

All I can say about the US-Ukraine deal, as published to date, is that it could have been worse. More devils will be in the details.

 I expect it will take many years to extract commercially significant amounts of minerals under the agreement assuming peace comes soon. This allows a lot of time for Trump to change his mind about helping Ukraine, even if it was only in a transactional way. I could see him claim that Ukraine isn’t delivering so there’s no point in supporting her any more. Putin will be playing many tricks and dangling many appealing carrots in front of him.

Sure, Trump is a “great” negotiator when the other party has little choice. Time will tell how he and his amateur boys fare against Russia’s well seasoned team when Putin has only modest motivation to agree to anything (and when Trump likes Putin and wants to do more “business” with Russia).

By setting a schedule of 100 days, Trump has effectively allowed further Russian aggression until at least then. Exactly what has been achieved in months of discussions already? Apparently not much, which is unsurprising.

As for the $50 million direct purchase by Ukraine from suppliers: That sum is a drop in the bucket for major items like air defense systems or even replacement missiles. My guess is that it was only a modest amount of small arms and ammunition. Apparently the Arsenal of Democracy has been replaced by a little hardware store that accepts only cash transactions.

Cynical? Yes - and I would be very pleased to be proven wrong.

[US7IGN]

The funny thing is that it seems that even the deputies will not know the content of the entire text of the agreement and its annexes during the vote for its ratification. But in a country where the legitimacy of all power has long been in question, this is not important.
Sometimes I get the impression that the legal profession and lawyers remain the last defenders of people's rights and freedoms, but there are almost no tools left for this.

In the Odessa region, on April 29, an accident occurred involving a police officer who hit a 7-year-old girl at a pedestrian crossing. After the accident, the child's father came to the district police station to find out the details, but he was mobilized there. Then the man was taken to a mobilization center, where he had a hypertensive crisis. https://sud.ua/uk/news/ukraine/330019-v-odesskoy-oblasti-politseyskaya-sbila-rebenka-a-ottsa-zabrali-v-ttsk-gde-u-nego-proizoshel-gipertonicheskiy-kriz

The Kyiv City Mobilization Center commented on the video and information shared online, which shows a conscript in ties chained to various objects.
"At the assembly point, he began to behave inappropriately and aggressively towards other mobilized people. The Kyiv Municipal Guard, which is involved in maintaining order, was forced to put restraints on this mobilized person to protect others from his actions and called a police squad," the mobilization center said. https://sud.ua/uk/news/ukraine/330010-voennoobyazan-byl-v-styazhkakh-i-prikovan-k-raznym-predmetam-kievskiy-ttsk-obyasnil-intsident

In both cases, it is impossible to hear the other side for obvious reasons. But those who work poorly for the system are also dealt with quickly.

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation have completed a pre-trial investigation into the head of the Cherkasy Mobilization Center. The investigation believes that the official is subject to punishment for failure to fulfill the mobilization plan. https://sud.ua/uk/news/ukraine/330020-rukovoditelya-cherkasskogo-ttsk-budut-sudit-za-nevypolnenie-mobilizatsionnogo-plana

The Supreme Court of Ukraine has decided not to apply the ECHR case law in the context of conscientious objection to military service, according to which under no circumstances can a conscientious objector be forced to carry or use weapons, even for the self-defense of the country. The Supreme Court noted that Ukraine has introduced alternatives to military service in peacetime, and Ukrainian citizens can freely use them, but in wartime the duty to protect Ukraine falls on all Ukrainian citizens, regardless of their religion. https://sud.ua/uk/news/publication/329899-verkhovnyy-sud-vyskazalsya-ob-otkaze-ot-voennoy-sluzhby-po-religioznym-ubezhdeniyam-obyazannost-zaschischat-ukrainu-vozlagaetsya-na-vsekh-grazhdan-nezavisimo-ot-veroispovedaniya

[US7IGN]

Another tough week and the usual way to switch off from work on Saturday is to turn on the radio and chat on Zoom with Colin and others. Today we had a Japanese and an Italian joined us, which delayed the meeting by 2.5 hours.

I definitely need to slow down, because I'm feeling bad due to the heavy workload and the weather changes again. But there's so much I want to do...

Leaders from 19 countries have confirmed their participation in the parade in Moscow on May 9, when russians celebrate the day they believe they won World War II:
President of the self-proclaimed Abkhazia, Badra Gunba;
President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Heydar Aliyev;
Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan;
Self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko;
President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva;
President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré;
Unrecognized President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro;
Former President of Vietnam, Tho Lam;
President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev;
President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov;
President of China, Xi Jinping;
President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel;
President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas;
President of Serbia, Aleksandr Vučić;
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik;
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico;
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon;
Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov;
Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev;
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh;
South African Defense Minister Angelina Mochekga.
Israeli Ambassador to the russian Federation Simone Halperin.
https://glavcom.ua/world/world-politics/parad-na-9-travnja-opriljudneno-povnij-spisok-krajin-jaki-prijidut-do-putina-1056613.html

Well, at least Trump won't be there.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called russian President Vladimir putin's initiative for a three-day ceasefire until May 9 a theatrical production and rejected putin's proposal. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cvgpr1xe1pro

Mohammad Zahoor is known as a British-Ukrainian investor of Pakistani origin, the founder and main owner of the ISTIL Group (International Steel & Tube Industries Limited), who has devoted more than 30 years to doing business in Ukraine, stating that "When a foreigner enters Ukraine with money, he has no problems. They appear after he has already invested."
"It turned out that there is no justice in Ukraine. If you win in the Supreme Court, it does not mean that you have won. After a while, all the harassment resumes. Moreover, it is not some criminal elements who start all this, but the state itself."
https://mind.ua/publications/20288495-mohammad-zahur-koli-inozemec-zahodit-v-ukrayinu-z-groshima-vin-ne-mae-zhodnih-problem-voni-zyavlya

The Ukrainian military has shot down a russian Su-30 fighter jet over the Black Sea with a drone. "This is the world's first destruction of a combat aircraft by a naval drone," the Main Intelligence Directorate said. The strike on the aircraft was carried out with a missile from a Magura unmanned maritime platform. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c62gyg57e2do

[N0TZU]

Yes the law, lawyers and the courts are always the last bulwark of freedom in a democracy. It’s awful that the legislature and/or executive have acted so unconstitutionally. But most tragically, the courts have allowed it by degrees. I hope that when the war is over, or a least an armistice, there will be a return to a more normal and rights based rule of law. It will be difficult.

The situation of the father being detained for military service after rushing to see his daughter is awful. It reminds me a little of when a criminal goes to the police to complain about another criminal and is arrested himself, but in the father’s case the morality is reversed.

Is there not a provision for a conscientious objector to serve in the military but in a non-combat role? (I realize that a legal or regulatory provision and actual practice are probably two very different things now.)

I was relieved that nobody from the Trump administration was listed among the dignitaries to attend the Russian victory day celebrations. That I was concerned about it at all would have been unthinkable in the past.

[US7IGN]

Yes the law, lawyers and the courts are always the last bulwark of freedom in a democracy. It’s awful that the legislature and/or executive have acted so unconstitutionally. But most tragically, the courts have allowed it by degrees. I hope that when the war is over, or a least an armistice, there will be a return to a more normal and rights based rule of law. It will be difficult.

The situation of the father being detained for military service after rushing to see his daughter is awful. It reminds me a little of when a criminal goes to the police to complain about another criminal and is arrested himself, but in the father’s case the morality is reversed.

Is there not a provision for a conscientious objector to serve in the military but in a non-combat role? (I realize that a legal or regulatory provision and actual practice are probably two very different things now.)

In Ukraine, even if someone is mobilized to a position in the rear or to shoot down drones, this does not mean that tomorrow they will not be transferred to storm enemy trenches.

As for those who were forcibly mobilized, even the military admits that they are of no use. If possible, they run away, and sometimes they even do harm.
Perhaps because of this, the russians quickly abandoned such "volunteers."

In total, almost 123,000 cases of desertion and unauthorized abandonment of military units have been registered in Ukraine. Some of them told their stories to Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/pl/ukraina-dlaczego-dezerterzy-wracaj%C4%85-na-front/a-72282865

The russian army shelled Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kharkiv region and other regions of Ukraine on the night of May 3-4.

In the capital, 11 people were injured, including 2 children, the State Emergency Service reported. There is damage in four districts of Kyiv.
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cm253pqy92eo

Fortunately, nothing was damaged in my district, and I didn’t even pay attention to the explosions because I thought it was thunder.

russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine could have been stopped early if the United States and its allies had provided Ukraine with the weapons it needed from the start. Instead, former CIA director Ralph Goff told The Times, a deliberate strategy was employed to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needed to fight — but not enough to defeat Putin’s army.

“If we had provided the Ukrainians with the right weapons at the time, they could have driven the russians out of the country. That didn’t happen. It set the stage for this longer, more drawn-out, more exhausting war that we’re witnessing today,” Goff said.

He said President Biden and his allies allowed putin to dictate the terms of the conflict and were nervous about sending Ukraine the equipment it needed at the right time, fearing that the russian leader would use nuclear weapons if he was close to defeat. https://www.thetimes.com/article/4b1c8caf-a2b7-408d-a603-3f55233e4ab6

[KD8ZM-Brady]

My recollection is that Biden was public about doing exactly that, for exactly that reason. So whether a good decision or a bad one, he wasn't hiding anything. Not risking nuclear war over Ukraine seems to be a bipartisan consensus over here.

[N0TZU]

My recollection is that Biden was public about doing exactly that, for exactly that reason. So whether a good decision or a bad one, he wasn't hiding anything. Not risking nuclear war over Ukraine seems to be a bipartisan consensus over here.

That’s true. IMO Biden made the wrong decision. Putin is not insane and surely wants to continue to enjoy his position and billions of $.

It was reported at the time that NATO and the US had warned Putin that if he used a tactical nuke, Russian forces inside Ukraine and also the Black Sea fleet would be destroyed using conventional means. That would not have been…healthy…for Putin.

[US7IGN]

Anyway, we have what we have.

"Chaos in the Trump administration." How Hegseth canceled arms deliveries to Ukraine without the president's knowledge, Reuters wrote in an article. According to the publication, around February 2, the US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) ordered three cargo carriers operating from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and Al Udeid Air Base in the United Arab Emirates to cancel 11 scheduled flights carrying artillery shells and weapons to Ukraine. According to TRANSCOM records reviewed by Reuters, the order was a verbal directive from the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/order-by-hegseth-cancel-ukraine-weapons-caught-white-house-off-guard-2025-05-06/

Twice in the past two days, Ukrainian drones have threatened Moscow, but it is unlikely they will disrupt the Kremlin’s showcase Victory Day celebration. A senior representative of Ukraine’s defense forces, however, said an attempt was unlikely because of a low chance of success.

“As you can see, they’ve moved all of russia’s air defense systems to protect Moscow. Even if there is an attempt, it won’t be successful,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. “Maybe there might be Ukrainian attacks on other regions but not on Moscow.”

Another defense official added that an attack on the Red Square event, which Chinese, Indian and even European officials are set to attend, would risk russian retaliation and could anger Washington. The official described suggestions that Ukraine is planning an attack as “hype.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/06/russia-ukraine-victory-day-drones-attack/

Hunting for people has long been a common thing in Ukraine, but criticism of forced mobilization from the one who was supposed to carry it out caused surprise. Military Commissar from Rivne region Yuriy Kovaluk was dismissed from his post and sent to the front after he criticized the mobilization. He told how some commanders allegedly "thoughtlessly" lost soldiers and said that he would not send his 22-year-old son to serve.
The official said that he condemns forced mobilization and forbids his subordinates to engage in "busification".

In an interview with "Chetverta Vlada" he said that he refuses young men who want to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the "Contract 18-24".

"Well, I dissuade children from that. I dissuade them, I say: guys, you will have to serve in meat brigades, the survivability of the personnel there is very low," Kovaluk said in an interview. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c2kvlpg0y9vo

The Zhytomyr Regional Mobilization Center commented on a video that went viral from an office meeting where they gave advice on how to search for potential mobilizers. In the video, the head gave instructions to his subordinates on how to search for conscripts, in particular, he asked them to check students who are not eligible for a deferral, the number of those on remand who are wanted, check employees of enterprises, etc.

The Zhytomyr Regional Mobilization Center noted that this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H89-hJrfSZo was distributed with the aim of discrediting and manipulating public opinion. https://sud.ua/uk/news/ukraine/330236-v-zhitomirskom-ttsk-prokommentirovali-slitoe-video-soveschaniya-gde-obsuzhdalos-kak-iskat-potentsialnykh-mobilizovannykh

Today, 205 Ukrainian prisoners were returned to Ukraine. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c4g3nn215z2o

[KD8ZM-Brady]

Moving a majority of air defenses to cover Moscow sounds like an open invitation for Ukraine to drone some of the places that had their air defenses taken away.
I'm sure not hearing much over here about peace negotiations. Either it is being overshadowed by other news items (the outbreak of war between two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, or tariffs, or...) or there are no peace talks going on at all. I don't know what Zelensky's thinking is on how to end this war. ??

[N0TZU]

Putin is the key to achieving a peace. Although the Russian economy is suffering and their loss of men and material is staggering, they don’t seem to be nearing collapse and there isn’t enough dissension to directly threaten him. Even if Zelensky agreed today to give up Crimea and the occupied East, I don’t think Putin would immediately agree to peace. It’s to his advantage to grab as much territory as possible while he still can while he has a friendly US President in office.

[US7IGN]

Even the election of the Pope and the extremely dangerous armed clash between Pakistan and India cannot distract attention from the war in Ukraine, which once again shows that war is very easy to start, but very difficult to stop.

The intensity of drone attacks has increased significantly recently. Hundreds of drones are flying deep into both Ukraine and russia.
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c9858g4r8y3o

In Kyiv tonight, drone debris caused the destruction of residential buildings and two people died. One of the downed drones hit the house next to the one where Sergiy lives. Yesterday we went to the store on its first floor to buy food. Today there is a big black hole two floors high and a pile of debris lying around. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cx2520qwxe4o

Ukraine wants to freeze the war that russia is waging against Ukraine along the current front line. This statement was made on Fox News by US President Donald Trump's special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. He also stated that Kyiv wants to "create a 30-kilometer demilitarized zone." This means withdrawing troops 15 kilometers on each side. The US President's special representative added that if russia agrees to a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine, Trump will be able to ensure its observance. https://www.unian.ua/world/viyna-v-ukrajini-u-trampa-zrobili-zayavu-pro-zamorozhennya-frontu-ta-demilitarizovanu-zonu-13000767.html?utm_source=ukrnet_news

[US7IGN]

The Cabinet of Ministers has allocated UAH 1.6 billion from the state budget reserve fund to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the construction of training grounds and shooting ranges. According to the government's decision, out of the total amount of UAH 1.6 billion, UAH 806.6 million will be allocated to the State Border Guard Administration, UAH 553.1 million to the National Guard, and UAH 242 million to the National Police. https://censor.net/n3550931
Well, the authorities are allocating less and less money for protection from russians and more and more for protection from Ukrainians.

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Oleksandr Zavitnevych, commented on the question of whether the mobilization age should be lowered, given that the war may continue next year.

“Some military commanders say that it is necessary. Because this is a different human resource. With us, everything happens, I repeat, depending on the situation at the front. Now there is one situation and there is a task of the General Staff for all components of the defense forces - a specific figure for mobilization, which is provided and it is being fulfilled.

If there is any deterioration at the front - we will, of course, study the proposal of the General Staff, look, study the figures that are available. What is the number of mobilized, what is the situation, losses, including injuries - these are also losses,” noted Oleksandr Zavitnevych. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cd9l9q741l0o.amp

It seems to me that the probability of lowering the mobilization age will be even higher in the event of a truce. Then the authorities can say that there is no immediate threat and the army can be replenished at the expense of young people. How it will actually be, time will tell.

The Verkhovna Rada has ratified an agreement between Ukraine and the United States on joint mining. This is the final step for the agreement to enter into force.

338 deputies voted for the draft law out of the 226 required. The agreement was actually supported by all factions and groups of the Rada with an absolute majority of votes, even the opposition, which criticized it a little.

In order to develop this agreement, Ukraine and the United States are to sign two more technical documents, the drafts of which are closed and have not even been seen by the deputies.

The agreement on resources was signed on April 30 by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko and the US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

Officially, it is called the "Agreement between the Governments of Ukraine and the United States on the Establishment of the American-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund."

However, the agreement does not contain any mention of security guarantees, which the Ukrainian side has long insisted on.

Also, some of the agreements, namely regarding the management of the fund, the distribution of profits, or the selection of investment projects, have not been made public.
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c3wd6qgn61go

The United States is separating the mineral agreement with Ukraine from negotiations to end the war unleashed by the aggressor country russia, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said during a May 8 briefing, a video of which the department posted on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npPvbKdNI-k

putin is so afraid of an attack on himself or on participants in the May 9 parade that unprecedented restrictions are being introduced in the russian capital. On Victory Day in Moscow, they plan to completely turn off not only mobile internet, but also calls and SMS messages. https://news.telegraf.com.ua/ukr/novosti-rossii/2025-05-08/5908163-paranoya-zamist-paradu-u-moskvi-gotuyut-nebacheni-obmezhennya-na-9-travnya

[US7IGN]

This night was quiet. Due to work, I simply don’t have time to reflect on this or that during the day, and in the evening I am so tired that I perceive information about Ukraine and the war as if I were reading news about another country and it doesn’t concern me. Although I am still a little worried about the conflict between India and Pakistan. This is another point of confrontation between China and the USA as allies of Pakistan and India, respectively. I hope a full-fledged war doesn’t start there.

putin calmly held his military parade in Moscow, dedicated to the victory of the USSR in World War II. According to the russians, this is solely their merit, although it is unknown what fate would have awaited them without all the Ukrainians who fought on their side, and allies, as well as the enormous material assistance of the United States.

Now putin is comparing the war in Ukraine to World War II and saying that "Truth and justice are on our side," insisting that "the "entire country, society and people support the participants" of the Ukraine war. russia said 27 world leaders were attending the event, but it was the presence of China's leader, alongside putin and more than 100 Chinese soldiers marching on Red Square, that stood out.

China's Xi Jinping had pride of place, sporting an orange and black St George ribbon, which russia sees as a symbol of military glory but which has been banned by several neighbouring countries.

Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro were among the assembled guests, along with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Robert Fico, Slovakia's prime minister, who is the only European Union leader to travel to Moscow.

For putin, the attendance of China's Xi on Victory Day is seen as a significant achievement, and he praised the "courageous people of China" as he paid tribute to Russia's allies in World War Two.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly3807exyno

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his russian counterpart Vladimir putin make it look like they're the best of friends. Hours earlier, Xi described the bond between the two countries as "unbreakable" and added that russia and China should be "friends of steel".

Both leaders are keen to present their vision of an alternative world order in the face of what they believe is US hegemony.

But Xi will be aware that while China is a superpower – russia's power is now limited. This is no longer a partnership of equals. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c753ng233nvo

Meanwhile, Ukraine decided to spoil relations with yet another neighbor.

Ukraine said Friday it had exposed a network of Hungarian spies trying to obtain defense secrets in a border region of Ukraine. The Security Services of Ukraine (SBU) said it had detained two Hungarian special services agents, whom it claims were reporting to a handler in Hungarian military intelligence and were looking for ground and air defense vulnerabilities in the southwestern Zakarpattia region, which borders Hungary.

“Comprehensive measures are currently underway to bring all members of the Hungarian intelligence network to justice,” said the statement.

Hungary responded to the arrests by expelling two of the staff at the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on his Facebook page that two spies who had been working “under diplomatic cover” at the embassy were ordered to leave.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/09/world/ukraine-hungary-spy-network-intl

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is expelling two Hungarian diplomats in response to Hungary's actions. The officials must leave the country within 48 hours.

This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andriy Sybiga. https://babel.ua/news/117847-ukrajina-visilaye-dvoh-ugorskih-diplomativ-ce-vidpovid-na-analogichni-diji-budapeshtu

The Zakarpattia region stayed part of Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The region was once part of the former Kingdom of Hungary and later Czechoslovakia. I lived in this region for three years and besides ethnic Hungarians, many other nationalities live there - russians, Romanians, Gypsies, many of whom do not understand the Ukrainian language at all. Even on state and local government bodies in the border areas hung Hungarian flags. Hungary really always considered and considers these lands to be its own and its politicians exploited this issue. Surprisingly, no radical actions were taken, and ordinary people never demonstrated national or religious hostility, living peacefully together. On the contrary, they were rather united by their rejection of the central government, which tried to establish its own rules despite the interests of local residents who were accustomed to European traditions of self-government. I managed to make friends with many people there and I was surprisingly comfortable communicating with them. Perhaps this was the only region in Ukraine where I would have liked to stay forever. But now everything can change again. I pray that peace will remain in this wonderful land.