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.
A recently bombed residential area is seen amid artillery shelling on Dec. 31, 2023, in Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast. (Pierre Crom/Getty Images)
Russian attacks have destroyed and damaged at least 116,000 residential buildings, including over 7,000 high-rise apartment blocks, in Donetsk Oblast since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, the regional governor, Vadym Filashkin, told the Kyiv Independent in an interview published on April 19.
"Marinka is completely destroyed, Vuhledar barely exists. There are many such places along the front line. Bakhmut and Avdiivka are almost gone. Lyman, Toretsk, Niu-Iork, and the Ocheretyne community are 80% destroyed, Krasnohorivka is 70-80% destroyed," Filashkin said in the interview in late March.
The scale of destruction and damage is unclear, as the Ukrainian government has no full access to some territories in the embattled region. Russia controls around 60% of Donetsk Oblast and illegally annexed it along with Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts in the fall of 2022.
According to the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration's previous data, between 2014 and 2022, 14,656 residential buildings, including 1,140 high-rise blocks, were damaged or destroyed in Ukraine-control parts of the region that Russia first invaded a decade ago.
A thorough assessment of the damage to the region's heavy industry, which previously accounted for about 20% of Ukraine's industrial output, has yet to be conducted.
"No big business left in Donetsk Oblast, unfortunately. Large enterprises have been almost completely destroyed. There is little left of the coal industry. Only small and medium-sized businesses remain," said Filashkin.
Meanwhile, the situation on Ukraine's eastern front has "significantly deteriorated in recent days," as Russia intensifies its offensive efforts, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said earlier.
Alexander Khrebet is a reporter with the Kyiv Independent. He covers Ukraine’s foreign policy, alleged abuse of power in the country’s military leadership, and reports on the Russian-occupied territories. Alexander is the European Press Prize 2023 winner, the #AllForJan Award 2023 winner and Ukraine's 2022 National Investigative Journalism Award finalist. His was published in the Washington Times and Atlantic Council.
Alexander Khrebet
