(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.
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Mediazona confirms identities of over 24,400 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine
• 1 min read
Using open sources, Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, established the names of 24,470 Russian soldiers who had been killed in the past 15 months of the full-scale war. The media carry out a name-by-name count of the dead.
Since the media's latest update on May 19, a total of 1,184 names have been added to the list of casualties. The journalists and volunteers now have also identified around 4,500 former prisoners and over 1,700 mercenaries who have been killed in Ukraine.
Mediazona explains that obituaries published in Russian newspapers and online rarely specify where exactly a fighter died. Moreover, a significant portion of the data comes not from public reports, but from cemeteries across Russia that volunteers visit. Nearly a dozen mass graves of Wagner fighters have been identified as of June 2.
BBC and Mediazona say that according to the most conservative estimates, Russia may have lost about 45,000 people. At the same time, Russia's total irretrievable losses, which include wounded, killed or missing, may amount to 203,000.
Fifteen months into the war, the number of Russian military casualties verified through open sources has long since surpassed the officially confirmed number of deaths of Soviet soldiers during the nine-year war in Afghanistan. Over 15,000 Soviet troops were killed in Afghanistan from 1979 until 1989.
ISW: Russia’s Ministry of Defense continues to respond disproportionately to minor incursions into Russian territory
The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a second update about the June 1 Shebekino, Belgorod Oblast border raid, largely fixating on the timeliness and scope of the Russian response to the raid.
Olena Goncharova
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