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.
Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe gathered in Lviv as EU officials prepare to approve both new defense aid and steps toward establishing a tribunal for Russian leadership.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
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.
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.
Destroyed Russian tanks are lying in a field near the village of Bohorodychne in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 13, 2024. (Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Two years of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine has resulted in the deaths of 83,000 Russian soldiers, according to a joint study by independent Russian media outlets Meduza and Mediazona, published on Feb. 24.
Russia does not release data on military casualties arising from its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Meduza and Mediazona announced in July 2023 that journalists had accessed a restricted but non-classified database of inheritance cases, and compared trends to those in publicly available mortality data from Russia’s State Statistics Service, records from the Russian Probate Registry, and obituaries.
The resulting data gives an indication of how many Russian soldiers have been killed since February 24, 2022.
The report noted that though "the front line has virtually frozen in 2023, the rate of losses not only did not decrease, but increased significantly."
By the end of 2023, an estimated 75,000 Russian soldiers had been killed, making the average 120 deaths per day.
This is due to an increase of troops at the front line and "increased firepower of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which received Western weapons and ammunition."
The number of dead soldiers also began to accelerate in October 2023, when the Russian offensive on Avdiivka began.
Losses reached the highest peak between January and March 2023, during the battle for Bakhmut, the report said.
"According to our data, during this period up to 2,000 people died a week, and most of them were former prisoners."
With a prison population reaching over 400,000 inmates due to one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world, Russia’s Federal Penal Service provides a "unique human resource" for the Russian military, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported in January 2023.
Former prisoners make up the largest share of dead soldiers, followed by contracted soldiers, and in third place, those who were forcibly mobilized.
Meduza and Mediazona's calculations only apply to those who have been killed, not seriously wounded or discharged.
The U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Feb. 24 that according to its estimations, approximately 350,000 Russian personnel have been killed or wounded.
The latest Ukrainian military update said that Russia has lost over 409,010 troops in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.
"In two years of conflict, Russian losses match - and in many cases surpass - those that comprised its original force" of at least 100,000 personnel.
"Mobilization and recruitment, production and refurbishment of existing stockpiles mean that Russian forces in Ukraine are now larger in number than at the start of the war," the U.K. Defense Ministry said.
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv releases public information about troop losses, but the Russian military's culture of dishonest reporting means that Russian officials themselves likely have a "low level of understanding" about casualty figures, the ministry said in December 2023.
Abbey Fenbert
