Vladimir Putin has welcomed world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to Moscow’s biggest Victory Day parade in years. Meanwhile, European allies have backed a special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders. Follow the latest below.
Friday 9 May 2025 15:32, UK
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Here is a summary of today’s main events:
By Katy Scholes, security and defence producer
Germany’s new chancellor says this weekend presents an opportunity to extend the existing three-day ceasefire unilaterally announced by Vladimir Putin to mark Russia’s Victory Day.
During a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friedrich Merz told reporters he was „grateful“ for a call with Donald Trump, who informed him about Washington’s proposal for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
That suggestion is yet to be accepted by Putin, whose brief ceasefire is due to elapse at 10pm UK time tomorrow.
Following his call with the US president, the German leader said there is an „opportunity to go beyond this weekend“ and have a 30-day ceasefire.
„Ukraine is in favour, it agrees to that,“ he said. „America has made this proposal. The big European countries explicitly agree. So the ball is exclusively in Moscow’s court to decide to make room for talks about permanent peace in Ukraine.“
He added: „It’s another test case about how serious the Russian president is about reaching peace.“
Hungary has expelled two spies from Ukraine’s embassy in the country, its foreign minister has said.
Peter Szijjarto said in a video posted on social media: „Today we have expelled two spies from Hungary working under diplomatic cover at Ukraine’s embassy in Budapest.“
Earlier (8.55am post) we reported that Ukraine’s security agency said it had discovered a Hungarian spy network seeking intelligence on Kyiv’s defences.
The SBU said it had detained two suspected agents who, it claimed, were being run by Hungary.
The SBU said the suspects were former members of the Ukrainian military who were recruited by a handler in Hungarian military intelligence.
The Ukrainian military has reported 80 attacks by Russian troops along the frontline so far on Friday.
That is despite a three-day ceasefire declared by Moscow to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe.
Europe and the US are on „the same page“ over a „full ceasefire“ in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
His country is ready for a cessation that is „solid and lasting, for at least 30 days“, he added.
The Ukrainian president said he spoke to Donald Trump yesterday, as did „our European friends“.
He continued: „We’re all on the same page: there must be a full ceasefire.
„And if Russia continues to drag out the war, we will need stronger sanctions – especially if they violate the ceasefire once it is in place.
„Moscow should accept the ceasefire, because that is the only way real peace can begin.“
He went on: „We are uniting as many countries as possible to ensure this pressure – pressure for the sake of peace – is effective.“
Zelenskyy will host a meeting of the „coalition of the willing“ tomorrow – as we report below.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine will host a meeting of the „coalition of the willing“ tomorrow.
„We need this coalition, and it should be strong enough to guarantee security in line with our common vision,“ the Ukrainian president said in a video address issued by his office.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have reportedly congratulated each other on the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
It happened via their aides, according to Russian state news agency TASS, which cited Kremlin assistant Yuri Ushakov.
As we have been reporting, Russia marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in the Second World War earlier with a military parade in Moscow’s Red Square attended by dozens of world leaders.
China’s Xi Jinping was among them.
TASS has also reported that Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, was not at the Moscow event.
Security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke has said Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow to attend Victory Day commemorations amounts to an official „coming off the fence“ on the Ukraine War.
In a Q&A with Sky News readers, he said it was a big „plus“ for Vladimir Putin to get the Chinese president in Moscow.
„They’ve met many times, but this is only Xi Jinping’s second visit to the country,“ he said.
„And to go for the victory parade is a very big symbolic moment.“
He noted that Xi Jinping said he was „neutral“ at the start of the war.
But he added: „Nobody in the rest of the world has really believed that, and now he’s making it pretty clear.“
Clarke also said Donald Trump’s plan to peel Russia away from China is unlikely to succeed.
He added that China’s economy would inevitably overtake America’s but the US could still maintain a lead through cooperation and alliances.
You can go back and watch our Ukraine war Q&A with Clarke below.
In Russia, Victory Day – what we know in the UK as VE Day – is celebrated with much fanfare.
It is Moscow’s most important secular holiday, reflecting its wartime sacrifice – but it’s also used by the Kremlin to bolster patriotism.
And following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin used the celebrations to justify his war.
In the past, the Russian leader has spoken of stories from his parents, Vladimir and Maria, in the war, and the death of his two-year-old brother, Viktor, during the Nazi siege of his home of Leningrad, now called St Petersburg.
His emphasis on what happened during the Second World War reflects not only his desire to showcase Russia’s military might but also his effort to rally the country behind his agenda.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin declared it was aimed at the „demilitarisation“ and „denazification“ of the country – falsely alleging that neo-Nazi groups were shaping Ukraine’s politics.
The claims were dismissed by Kyiv and its Western allies.
Foreign ministers meeting in Lviv – including UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy – have signed a document supporting the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials over the war in Ukraine.
As we reported earlier (9.09am post) the intention is to pursue Moscow over a „crime of aggression“.
Lammy joined his Ukrainian counterpart and 17 other foreign ministers in the western Ukrainian city, where they welcomed the completion of the technical work required to set the tribunal up.
It will operate within the framework of the Council of Europe.
That is the continent’s leading human rights watchdog, formed after the Second World War.
The tribunal could begin operating next year.
It will „ensure that those most responsible for the aggression against Ukraine are held accountable“, the EU’s head of foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, told reporters.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address to the meeting that the initiative could deter future aggression.
„A strong tribunal for the crime of aggression can – and must – make any potential aggressor think twice,“ he commented.
Lammy said ministers were „sending a powerful message to Putin and his cronies and those that stand with him that freedom will prevail“.
An EU official said the tribunal would need to respect the immunity of Putin and his officials while in office, but that a prosecutor would be able to prepare a proposed indictment for when that immunity dropped.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin over the deportation of Ukrainian children.
But Moscow has described that as „null and void“.
The ICC cannot prosecute Russian officials for the crime of aggression in Ukraine because Russia is not a member of the Rome Statute, which created the court, and Ukraine was not a full member at the time of the invasion.
Ukraine says Russian troops have committed many thousands of war crimes – something Moscow denies.
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Ukraine war latest: Putin welcomes Xi Jinping at biggest Victory Day parade in years – as Ukraine says it has uncovered 'spy ring' – Sky News
