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.
Russia’s parliament voted on Feb. 15 to ask President Vladimir Putin to recognize Russian-occupied territories in Donbas as independent states.
Altogether, 351 of 450 lawmakers voted for the bill, which was tabled by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
Since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, the Kremlin has been insisting that the Russian-led militants in the region are independent of Moscow.
The proposal will now be submitted for Putin's approval. He is unlikely to accept it, as such a move would effectively void the Minsk peace agreements signed with Ukraine in 2014 and 2015.
Read More: Yermak travels to Paris, meets Normandy Format advisors amid Russian escalation
Russia has repeatedly demanded that the Donbas peace process be conducted through the Minsk accords. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of stalling the peace process, largely due to the unclear wording of certain points in the Minsk documents.
Russia has previously demanded a "special status" for the regions it had occupied, while Ukraine had been previously clear that it won't provide additional powers to a region that isn't currently controlled by Kyiv.
On Feb. 14, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz focused on the Minsk Agreements, saying that President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to present a plan to introduce “special status” for occupied Donbas.
The talks came after Zelensky's meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Feb. 7 in which the French president said he was seeking “a path to de-escalation,” and said he scheduled the meeting so “everyone’s intentions can be clarified.”
Altogether, the leaders of the Normandy Format countries – Ukraine, France, Germany, and Russia – have not met since 2019. The Normandy Format and the so-called Trilateral Contact Group are the two set of talks launched in 2014 to find a peaceful solution to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Both seek to implement the Minsk Agreements signed after a Russian military offensive in February 2015. Russia’s ongoing eight-year-long war has killed over 13,000 people.
