Ukraine invited top European Union officials to visit Kyiv on 9 May, setting up a diplomatic counterpoint to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military parade scheduled for the same day in Moscow.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha invited officials during a meeting with EU counterparts in Luxembourg on 14 April.
“Show our unity and resolve in the face of the biggest aggression in Europe since the Second World War,” Sybiha said, according to Politico.
The diplomatic initiative comes more than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and as US President Donald Trump attempts to broker a ceasefire between the warring nations.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately wants to host leaders from the “coalition of the willing” on 9 May to “determine security guarantees” for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire agreement with Russia, Sybiha said. The United States is not part of this coalition.
Two EU diplomats, speaking anonymously about the potential gathering, revealed that discussions are underway regarding a possible visit to Ukraine in early May by several heads of state, including incoming German chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Putin has invited leaders from Israel, China, Brazil, Slovakia and Serbia to attend Moscow’s celebration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, according to Russian media. Most EU member countries and the United States were not invited.
Western leaders have generally avoided the Red Square military pageant in recent years, though former US President George W. Bush and then-French President Jacques Chirac did attend in 2005.
The EU has explicitly instructed candidate countries not to attend the 9 May parade in Moscow or make visits to Russia, according to the report.
Despite this directive, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that he considered it his “personal duty” to travel to Moscow on 9 May 2025, and claims his decision is understood at home.
Russia’s 9 May military parade, known as the Victory Day Parade, is an annual event commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. This day, celebrated as “Victory Day,” marks the end of what Russians call the Great Patriotic War. The parade is a key part of these celebrations and takes place in Moscow’s Red Square, as well as in cities across the country.
Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine, most recently killing 40 people and injuring over 142 with a ballistic missile strike on Sumy and other Ukrainian cities. The attack on Sumy prompted widespread international condemnation, including from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
President Trump described the attack as “terrible” but claimed the Russian attack was a “mistake.”
Read also:
- Russian officials confirm deadly Sumy attack, justify it as targeting “military meeting”
- Trump: “at some point you just have to put up or shut up” when commenting Ukraine-Russia peace talks
- Ukraine’s foreign minister: Ukraine could strengthen NATO with battle-tested military
