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.
Ukrainian authorities have equipped 76% of educational institutions with bomb shelters ahead of the new academic year, Education Minister Oksen Lisovy told Suspilne media outlet.
The state has allocated Hr 1.5 billion (about $40 million) to finance the measure, according to Lisovy.
"But this is not enough. For schools, kindergartens, vocational schools, and higher education institutions to be equipped with shelters, local budgets have contributed to a large extent," the minister said in the interview.
Lisovy added that around 7,000 bomb shelters for educational institutions still needed to be built.
Dinara Khalilova
"Out of them, 2,000 shelters are in areas where we will not build today because we do not foresee the possibility of children going to school (there). These are educational institutions located from zero to 50 kilometers from the front line," the official explained to Suspilne.
Earlier, Lisovy said at a conference that about 500,000 Ukrainian children would return to offline schooling from Sept. 1. The process would vary from region to region depending on the security conditions.
Daria Shulzhenko
Education in Ukraine was first disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then the full-scale war. Schools shut on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia launched its invasion, and many have not reopened due to the threat of Russian attacks.
As a result, a third of Ukrainian schoolchildren learn online. One-third of children learn fully in person, and another third learn in a hybrid approach.
About half of Ukrainian teachers believe there has been a decline in their students' language, reading, and mathematics skills since then, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Since February 2022, over 3,500 educational institutions in Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed, UNICEF reported in July.
