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 shooting occurred around 3:22 p.m. local time in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, a residential area in Bucha district, according to the Kyiv regional police.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron (L) wave as they visit the landmark Brandenburg Gate illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag in Berlin on May 9, 2022. Photo for illustrative purposes. (John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images)
Facing its own domestic budget issues, Germany has voiced opposition to proposed reforms to the European Peace Facility (EPF), the EU's funding mechanism for sustaining European military supplies to Ukraine, which may threaten the timely delivery of weapons to Ukraine, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Feb. 5, citing sources.
The EPF was designed to exist apart from the regular EU budget to reimburse member states for military aid they send Ukraine. It has largely been depleted, and the EU is discussing a new 5 billion euro ($5.4 billion) investment into the fund, which is currently being held up over disagreements on how the EPF should be run.
"Brussels says: 'pay first, get refunded later,'" one EU diplomat told FT, but Germany and other countries would like to see changes to the overall reimbursement model.
Larger EU countries contributing to the fund have complained that smaller countries with stockpiles of Soviet-era equipment sent outdated military gear to Ukraine and used the reimbursements to modernize their own arsenals.
Countries like France and Germany with existing military-industrial capacity would like to see a shift away from reimbursement to the EU directly funding arms contracts and are pushing for such a transition to occur quickly.
The current proposal is for the reimbursement model to be slowly phased out, possibly by the end of 2024, sources told FT.
The ongoing debate threatens to cause delays in the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and comes at an especially challenging time, given that security assistance from the U.S. has been mired in domestic political disputes and all but dried up.
While the EU managed to unanimously pass a 50 billion ($54 billion) fund for Ukraine last week, the package is more geared towards financial assistance to keep the Ukrainian state running, rather than military aid. Ukraine is increasingly facing a "critical" shortage of artillery shells, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reportedly said in January.
The EU had promised to deliver Ukraine 1 million shells by March 2024 but is far behind the target and unlikely to reach it within the next month.
Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said earlier in February that negotiations on the proposed EPF reforms were underway but cautioned that the EU must "reach an agreement as soon as possible, because there is no more time."
"In the next month we have to increase our military support to Ukraine . . . I don’t think we have the sense of urgency when we deal with that," Borrell added.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Dinara Khalilova
