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.
Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe gathered in Lviv as EU officials prepare to approve both new defense aid and steps toward establishing a tribunal for Russian leadership.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
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.
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.
Two women walk past a school destroyed by a Russian attack in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, on April 13, 2024. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Russian forces and Kremlin propagandists are conducting a combined effort to destroy the city of Kharkiv and cause a mass exodus of civilians, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on April 22.
Moscow has recently intensified attacks against Kharkiv using missiles, glide bombs, and drones to destroy infrastructure and kill civilians.
These are being combined with information operations designed to sow "outsized panic" among the population while fuelling rumors of an impending Russian ground offensive to take the city, the ISW said.
"The Kremlin is conducting a concerted air and information operation to destroy Kharkiv city, convince Ukrainians to flee, and internally displace millions of Ukrainians ahead of a possible future Russian offensive operation against the city or elsewhere in Ukraine," it added.
Kharkiv is at particular risk because of its proximity to Russia, lying less than 30 kilometers from the border.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on April 19 that the city "plays an important role" in President Vladimir Putin’s idea of establishing a demilitarized "sanitary zone" in Ukraine, ostensibly to protect Russian border areas from Ukrainian strikes and incursions.
However, the ISW also assessed the likelihood of a successful Russian ground offensive against Kharkiv as "very low," provided Ukraine receives renewed US military aid swiftly.
In the latest attack on Kharkiv, Russian forces struck the city’s television broadcasting tower on April 22, causing the top half of the mast to collapse.
"There are interruptions in the digital TV signal at the moment," the governor said. The State Special Communications Service reported that the tower's structure was "partially damaged," with work underway to restore broadcasting signals.
The attack may have been intended to invoke memories of a similar strike on a TV tower in Kyiv in March 2022 and to "create panic among Ukrainians during another challenging moment of the war," the ISW said.
It added reports that Russian military bloggers heavily amplified the attack, framing it as a sign residents should leave the city "while they still can."
At the end of March, Russia destroyed all the electrical substations in Kharkiv, leaving Ukraine's second-largest city without a stable power supply.
"The Russian military command may attempt to destroy Kharkiv City with air, missile, and drone strikes and prompt a large-scale internal displacement of Ukrainian civilians if the Russian military determines that it cannot successfully seize the city with ground operations," the ISW concluded.
"Continued timely US and Western military assistance, particularly the provision of air defense systems and missiles, will be critical to Ukraine’s defense of Kharkiv City," it added.
Western officials do not believe that Russia has the capability to launch a new attack on Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv "without a major replenishment of Russian troops," Bloomberg reported on April 16.
In late March, President Volodymyr Zelensky said another major Russian offensive may come at the end of May or in June but added that "Kharkiv is protected."
Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said earlier in April that news of a potential attack on Kharkiv was "part of a Russian psychological operation," adding that there were no signs of Moscow preparing new attack formations to carry out a ground offensive.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Elsa Court
