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 view of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. (Photo by Andrey Borodulin / AFP via Getty Images)
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been reconnected to its only available backup power line for the first time in four months, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on July 3.
Since early March, the plant has relied only on a single main power line for external electricity needed for reactor cooling and other critical nuclear safety functions. The backup line is now energized and ready to feed the station should the primary line become unavailable or damaged.
The 330 kilovolt (kV) backup power line was cut on March 1 due to damage on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River and restored on July 1, the IAEA wrote. Before Russia's full-scale war, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant had six backup lines and four main lines of 750 kV.
"While the reconnection of the backup power line is positive, the plant's external power situation remains highly vulnerable, underlining the precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the site," said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi.
Russian forces have occupied the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, since March 2022. Throughout the all-out war, the plant has been fully disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid seven times due to Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.
On June 20, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced, citing intelligence data, that Moscow was considering a terrorist attack on the nuclear power plant through radiation leakage.
Several days later, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told the New Stateman that Russia had completed preparations for the attack.
According to the exiled mayor of the satellite city of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, about 100 employees of the Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom as well as several Ukrainian collaborators, had left the occupied station as of July 2.
Dinara Khalilova is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a news editor. In the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she worked as a fixer and local producer for Sky News’ team in Ukraine. Dinara holds a BA in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master’s degree in media and communication from the U.K.’s Bournemouth University.
Dinara Khalilova
