(Updated: )Victory Day
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Friday, May 9
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.
Friday, May 9
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.
(Updated: )
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.
Despite the Kremlin’s announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the day.
Despite the Defense Ministry limiting contracts with food suppliers to the army from 12 to three months and lowering prices, investigators at Schemes found that food suppliers are still purchasing products at two to three times cheaper than what they sell them for to the Defense Ministry.
Journalists with Schemes, a project of Radio Svoboda, gained access to eight contracts between the Defense Ministry and private firms from December 2022 and compared the updates that were made to the contracts following the January scandal around inflated food prices.
The investigators discovered that the discrepancy in food prices created a potential profit margin between 30-70% for the army's food suppliers on multi-billion hryvnia projects.
The budget set by the Defense Ministry for purchasing food for the army was set at Hr 43 billion ($1.7 billion), Schemes journalists said.
Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Bihus.Info finds another Defense Ministry contract with inflated food prices
The news outlet ZN.UA released an investigative report in January claiming that the Defense Ministry was purchasing food for soldiers at prices that were higher than usual.
The report alleged that the Defense Ministry agreed to purchase eggs at a rate of Hr 17 ($0.46) per egg, which was significantly higher than the price of eggs in grocery stores in Kyiv, where they were sold for approximately Hr 7 ($0.19) per egg.
Likewise, a kilogram of potatoes to be ordered for Ukrainian soldiers cost Hr 22 ($0.60), while the price in Kyiv grocery stores was about Hr 9 ($0.24), ZN.UA reported.
After the scandal broke, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) stated on Jan. 23 that it had begun investigating possible corruption in the Defense Ministry’s food procurement.
Several Defense Ministry officials were dismissed from their positions following the scandal and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov pledged to reform the food procurement system.
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