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.
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.
The flag of the European Union flies in the wind in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France on May 29, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images)
European Union leaders are meeting in Brussels on Feb. 3 to address the continent’s defense strategy against Russia and to navigate the challenges posed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent tariff decisions targeting Canada, Mexico, and China.
The leaders of the EU’s 27 member states will convene at a former royal palace turned conference center, where they will be joined for lunch by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and later dine with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, according to Reuters.
Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, has framed the gathering as a "retreat" rather than a formal summit, aiming to foster open discussions without official declarations or binding decisions.
A key focus of the meeting is geopolitics and EU relations with the United States, with Trump’s sweeping tariffs expected to dominate the agenda. EU officials are increasingly concerned that similar measures could soon be imposed on European exports. Additionally, Trump’s demands for increased European defense spending and reduced reliance on NATO will be a major topic, particularly as he has called for EU member Denmark to relinquish Greenland to the U.S., further straining transatlantic relations.
Costa emphasized the need for Europe to enhance its defense capabilities, adding in a letter to EU leaders that "Europe needs to assume greater responsibility for its own defense. It needs to become more resilient, more efficient, more autonomous, and a more reliable security and defense actor."
While countries like France and the Baltic states support joint EU borrowing for defense spending, Germany and the Netherlands remain opposed. A potential compromise could involve borrowing to finance loans rather than direct grants for defense projects, Reuters reports.
European defense spending has risen significantly since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Last year, EU nations collectively spent an estimated 326 billion euros ($334.48 billion) on defense, an increase of 30% from 2021.
Despite this, Trump has pushed for NATO’s European members to allocate 5% of GDP to defense, a target that no member, including the U.S., currently meets.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Mika Aaltola
