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.
The shooting occurred around 3:22 p.m. local time in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, a residential area in Bucha district, according to the Kyiv regional police.
Lawmakers urged the EU and its member states to step up efforts to hold Moscow accountable through international courts and support for Ukraine’s campaign to bring its children home.
The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sat down with author, historian, and Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which mark the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II, are one of the country’s biggest public events of the year. President of the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland Andrej Lushnycky who sheds some light on the things Putin would rather you didn’t know about World War II.
Washington’s involvement may also help mitigate political opposition in Europe, while giving the U.S. strategic visibility over future Russian energy flows, sources told Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to journalists during his annual press conference in Moscow on Dec. 23, 2021. (kremlin.ru)
Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly addressed tensions surrounding Ukraine for the first time since December as he accused the U.S. of using Kyiv as a “tool” to pull Russia into an armed conflict over its neighboring country.
Putin said the U.S. and its allies have “ignored” Moscow’s top security demands while speaking at a joint news conference following a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow on Feb. 1.
Russian president said that the West had not satisfied his demand for an uncontested sphere of influence in eastern Europe but said he was ready to continue dialogue on Ukraine.
Russia has amassed nearly 130,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, according to Ukraine's envoy to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya. Russian troops and combat vehicles have also been moving to Ukraine’s neighbor Belarus for joint military drills, stirring up Western fears that Moscow could be planning an all-out invasion of Ukraine.
The February drills will take place near Ukraine and NATO members Poland and Lithuania.
As tensions rise on the border, Putin said the Kremlin is studying the U.S. and NATO’s replies to Russia’s security demands that they received last week.
Putin’s comment comes after Russia made a list of security demands in December, which included its main demand – to halt any further eastward expansion of NATO and ban Ukraine from ever joining the alliance.
The U.S. and its allies have dismissed those demands as “non-starters,” urging Moscow to pull back its troops from Ukraine’s border. U.S. President Joe Biden, in a Jan. 31 White House speech, threatened Russia with “swift and severe consequences” if it chooses to further invade Ukraine.
The contents of the Western responses were not released, but U.S. and NATO leaders made it clear that they did not make any concessions on core Russian demands. The officials are also working out ways to display a united front over ways to punish Russia in the event of a full-scale military action.
Putin said that Moscow is still working on its “main answer” to the U.S. letter.
Putin claimed that the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO poses "a major threat" to both his country and world peace. He argued that Western-allied Ukraine strengthened with NATO weapons could potentially launch a war against Russia to recapture Russian-occupied Crimea, which the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014.
Putin said that it could lead to war between Russia and NATO.
None such plans were ever discussed by Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying on multiple occasions that Ukraine is set to find a diplomatic solution to end Russian ongoing occupation of Crimea and eastern Donbas.
Meanwhile, leaders from Britain, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Turkey have visited Ukraine or are planning to visit the country this week. Western leaders have been engaged in a flurry of diplomatic efforts to avert further Russian invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Feb. 1, but he said afterward that his Russian counterpart did not give an indication to ratchet down tensions on the Ukrainian border.
A day prior, U.S. and Russia traded accusations during the UN Security Council meeting held in New York. The meeting on threats to international peace and security turned into a sharp confrontation with little result, as Russia actively denied responsibility for its war against Ukraine.
Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.
