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.
The new documentary by the Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigations Unit, "Destroy, in Whole or in Part," debuted on YouTube on March 22.
"Genocide is the crime of crimes. So, is Russia committing one in Ukraine?"
The documentary follows Kyiv Independent war crimes reporter Danylo Mokryk as he examines whether Russia's actions amid its war in Ukraine constitute genocide.
Although Russian atrocities and war crimes have shocked the world, the legal battle is still ongoing to qualify these crimes. Is Russia really trying to destroy the Ukrainian nation?
Despite the well-documented and widespread destruction of Ukrainian cities, deportations of Ukrainian cities and villages, and massacres, Mokryk discovers that the answer is not as straightforward as it might appear.
Mokryk engages with renowned genocide experts, delving into Russia's massacres in Bucha and Izium, the abduction of children from Ukraine, the intricacies of the term's legal definition, and Russian officials' and propagandists' rhetoric toward Ukraine.
He also talks to witnesses of Russia's atrocities in Ukraine: the widow of a man killed in Bucha; the twin sister of a woman murdered in Skadovsk; a child who had been deported to Russian-occupied Crimea; and two people who had been detained during the occupation of Kherson.
“It’s not surprising that some Western politicians and officials not only avoid using the term to describe Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine today but also outright deny that it is taking place,” Mokryk wrote in an op-ed to accompany the documentary.
“The term is often extremely undesirable for politicians as it imposes a certain pressure to act.”
"Destroy, in Whole or in Part" is the fourth documentary by the Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigations Unit.
"Uprooted" investigates Russia's mass abduction of Ukrainian children,"Bullet Holes" looks into the killing of Ukrainian children by the Russian military, and "Faces of Torture" explores the torture inflicted on Ukrainian prisoners of war by guards in the Russian-controlled Olenivka POW camp.
