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.
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.
View after an alleged drone attack on an oil refinery in Ryazan Oblast on March 13, 2024. (Screenshot / Telegram)
Russian forces struggle to successfully deploy air defense systems against Ukrainian drone strikes and have even failed to protect important targets in "well-defended areas" inside Russia, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its March 30 report.
"Russian forces appear to struggle with properly deploying short-range air defense systems along expected flight vectors for Ukrainian drones, and the Russian military appears to have even failed to cover important potential targets in reportedly well-defended areas within Russia," the ISW said.
Russia is now forming mobile fire groups to defend against Ukrainian drones, according to Russian state media.
According to the ISW, the Russian military "will likely struggle to field these groups at the required scale in the near term."
Ukraine began deploying tactical mobile fire groups at scale to mitigate Russia's Shahed drone attacks in spring of 2023, but Russia faces drone threats against a much larger territory, including targets in occupied Ukrainian territory and throughout Russia.
"(I)t is unclear if these mobile groups will be able to defend the extent of territory that Ukrainian drones target," analysts said.
The ISW predicted that the mobile groups would be more effective in occupied Ukrainian regions than within Russia. Analysts also said the creation of the groups may point to vulnerabilities in Russia's air defense.
"The formation of the mobile fire groups indicates that Russia may be unable to deploy conventional air defense systems, such as Pantsir-S1 or S-300 /400 systems, to all critical facilities within western Russia," the ISW said.
President Volodomyr Zelensky said in an interview with the Washington Post on March 29 that Ukrainian forces will continue to strike Russian oil refineries, which are legitimiate military targets, using Ukrainian weapons.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
