According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), this marks the first time Ukrainian authorities have exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network conducting activities harmful to Ukraine.
Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe gathered in Lviv as EU officials prepare to approve both new defense aid and steps toward establishing a tribunal for Russian leadership.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, a senior cardinal announced on May 8 to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican News.
George Simion, leader of Romania's far-right AUR party, who won the first round of the presidential election with nearly 40% of the vote, reiterated that if elected, he would oppose any further assistance to Ukraine and shift Romania’s focus inward.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed their countries' relationship on May 8, vowing to increase cooperation in all areas, including military ties.
"There is Turkey, which maintains channels of communication. And then, above all, there is the People's Republic of China, which, more than anyone else, has the means to make (Russian President Vladimir) Putin come to the negotiating table and soften his demands," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on May 8.
The United States will be ready to "walk away" from the negotiating table if it does not see Russia making progress in negotiation to end the war, U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on May 8.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived in Moscow on May 9 to celebrate Victory Day, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
US President Donald Trump on May 8 called for a "30-day unconditional ceasefire" between Ukraine and Russia. Writing on Truth Social, Trump expressed his hope for "an acceptable ceasefire," with both countries "held accountable for respecting the sanctity of... direct negotiations."
President Volodymyr Zelensky had a "constructive" phone call with United States President Donald Trump on May 8, discussing the war, continued pressure on Russia, and a potential ceasefire.
The survey, conducted between April 24 and May 4, shows that 56.9% of respondents would not be willing to compromise on either territorial integrity or Ukraine’s pro-Western direction in any potential talks with Moscow.
Russian law enforcement guard the Red Square near the Kremlin on June 24, 2023 in Moscow, Russia, amid the Wagner Group's ongoing armed rebellion in Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Some Russian billionaires have given up trying to keep their money in the West and are now resigned to bringing it back to Russia where it faces the ever-present risk of being seized by the Kremlin, Bloomberg reported on May 8.
Increasingly cut off from Western banking and financial services, Russia's wealthiest individuals are facing a dilemma when it comes to handing their fortunes to the next generation, according to Bloomberg. Most of the billionaires who were sanctioned have opted to move assets home, the news agency reported.
"The fate of this vast wealth has major implications for Russia as it remains largely cut off from much of the rest of the world," Bloomberg reported, adding that the 26 Russians on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index have about $350 billion combined.
"Their average age is 63, meaning how and where they choose to pass down their fortunes in the coming decades will reverberate in the economy and across business sectors."
Two such billionaires told Bloomberg anonymously that they could now only do business in Russia and were simply choosing not to think about potential asset confiscations.
Another sanctioned tycoon who moved assets back home said he hasn’t figured out how to handle his succession yet but that he and his family have resorted to building a new life in Russia.
The threat of asset seizure is very real – a U.K. Defense Ministry report last month said the Kremlin had taken control of around 180 companies worth about US$11.5 billion since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"Foreign-owned companies have almost certainly been prioritized, including companies owned by Russians who live abroad," the report said.
"The Russian state has been redistributing assets to Kremlin-aligned businesspeople who support the war in Ukraine," it added.
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In the latest move from the West on frozen Russian assets abroad, EU ambassadors agreed in principle on a measure for using profits from them to support Ukraine's recovery and military needs, the Belgian Presidency of the EU said on May 8.
Ukraine's Western partners and other allies froze around $300 billion in Russian assets at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Roughly two-thirds are held in the Belgium-based financial services company Euroclear.
"I welcome today's political agreement on our proposal to use the proceeds from immobilized Russian assets for Ukraine," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X.
"There could be no stronger symbol and no greater use for that money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live."
While the U.S. proposed seizing Russian assets outright in accordance with their recently passed REPO act, the EU has been more hesitant, fearing legal and fiscal pitfalls of confiscation.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Andrii Borovyk
