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.
Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas speaks during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, (not pictured) at the Tapa Army Base on March 1, 2022, in Tallinn, Estonia. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Russian independent media outlet Mediazona reported on Feb. 13 that it has analyzed the Russian Internal Ministry's wanted persons list database and developed a search tool that reveals dozens of European politicians are listed, including Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
It was already known that Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Jamala, the Ukrainian singer who won Eurovision in 2016, Meta Spokesperson Andy Stone, and the heads of the International Criminal Court were included on the federal wanted list.
The list includes nearly 100,000 individuals who are sought in connection to criminal cases, Mediazona said.
The outlet found that Russia is actively seeking Kallas, the only head of state on the list, as well as "numerous high-ranking Ukrainian military officials and hundreds of individuals" marked as foreign fighters in Ukraine's military.
Many of the names relate to the work of a special department for "denazification," which was established in late 2020, Mediazona said.
After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, this department opened hundreds of cases since a key Russian propaganda narrative, and one of the Moscow-claimed pretexts for the invasion, was that Ukraine needed to be "denazified."
The wanted list then grew with names of "foreigners who are unlikely to ever visit Russia," Mediazona said.
These included Ukrainian journalists, military personnel, and European officials who decided to dismantle Soviet monuments, which Russia frames as "rehabilitating Nazism."
Kallas has publicly supported the demolition of Soviet monuments, but "the selection criteria for individuals targeted by Russian investigators for dismantling Soviet monuments remain unclear," Mediazona said.
The wanted list also includes six members of Vilnius city council and Culture Minister Simonas Kairys for the dismantling of a Soviet soldier monument. In total, 29 Lithuanian citizens are listed.
The list also names 100 Georgians, 93 British nationals, 61 Belarusians, 23 Israelis, and 21 Americans among a separate category of foreigners sought by the Russian authorities.
Nate Ostiller
