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.
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.
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.
Despite the Kremlin’s announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the day.
Ukraine has successfully converted redundant U.S.-provided air-to-air AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles into surface-to-air missiles, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Oct. 24, citing an unnamed Ukrainian official.
"Those (AIM-9) missiles were out of operation," the official said. "We fixed them. We found a way of launching them from the ground. It's a kind of self-made air defense."
The scheme to repurpose the missiles with a new makeshift launcher, known in the Pentagon as the FrankenSAM project, was first reported by the Associated Press on Oct. 13.
The modified projectiles would help Ukraine to get through the winter when Russia is expected to target the country's energy infrastructure, but this is not a long-term solution, added the official cited by the FT.
Oleksiy Sorokin
According to the source, this was one of a number of similar initiatives involving the transformation of old materiel in U.S. stocks into essential weaponry.
"We have an agreed solution where we take something obsolete and make it something different."
The U.S. and Ukrainian engineers have also managed to modify a Soviet-era Buk air defense launcher so that it can fire U.S.-made RIM-7 missiles, an anonymous official told AP.
Francis Farrell
