Although Moscow declared on April 28 that it would halt all military actions from May 8 to midnight on May 11 to mark Victory Day, strikes on civilian areas have continued.
Under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's rule, millions of Ukrainians died during the Holodomor, a man-made famine in 1932–1933. The dictator also oversaw mass deportations, purges of Ukrainian intellectuals and leaders, and the suppression of the Ukrainian language and culture.
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.
Employees unload a plane carrying new U.S. security assistance provided to Ukraine, at Kyiv's Boryspil Airport on Jan. 25, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
Nearly 300 new FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank system launchers and missiles have been delivered to Kyiv on Jan. 25 as part of the United States' skyrocketing military support to Ukraine amid the looming threat of Russia's all-out invasion.
Besides, the new delivery included SMAW-D anti-fortification weapons, also provided by the U.S. to Ukraine for free.
The third aircraft delivery over the last few days arrived in the Boryspil International Airport containing nearly 80 tons of cargo, according to Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
As of Jan. 25 night, none of the official sources specified the exact quantity of Javelin launch pads and missiles, or SMAW-D bunker-busters delivered in the latest round. The previous two shipments were delivered on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23, respectively, also containing the same weapon types.
Pallets of ammunition, weapons and other equipment that is part of new U.S. security assistance provided to Ukraine get unloaded at Kyiv's Boryspil Airport. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
According to Defense Minister Reznikov, the fourth delivery of U.S. aid is expected to arrive in Kyiv in the nearest time.
The additional defense aid package worth $200 million was approved in late December as an emergency action to support Ukraine's defense against Russia's potential invasion. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken publicly announced it on Jan. 19 during his visit to Kyiv.
Apart from that, in the fiscal year 2022, the U.S. will provide $300 million in defense aid to Ukraine, including $75 million allocated on lethal weapons. In total, the U.S., since the outbreak of Russia's war in Donbas in 2014, has allocated nearly $2.7 billion on military assistance to Kyiv, including record-breaking $650 million in 2021 alone.
Employees unload a plane carrying new U.S. security assistance provided to Ukraine, at Kyiv's Boryspil Airport on Jan. 25, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
Moreover, amid the escalating Russian crisis, the U.S. government recently gave a go-ahead to the Baltic nations to provide Ukraine with American-made weapons from their own arsenals.
According to a joint statement of the three nations, aired on Jan. 21, Estonia pledged to send "dozens" of Javelin systems, while Latvia and Estonia vowed to transfer scores of FIM-92 Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft weapons, which have been repeatedly deemed most essential for repelling a Russian offensive by the Ukrainian defense expert community.
The drastic boom in foreign military support of Ukraine against Russian aggression followed the British decision to send nearly 2,000 advanced anti-tank grenade launchers NLAW to Kyiv, in a sharp expansion of its defense assistance of Kyiv.
In the following, some European nations, including the Netherlands, ceased opposing arms transfers to Ukraine. The Czech Republic on Jan. 21 said it fully supported Ukraine against Russia's aggressive action and said it contemplated providing Ukraine with 152-millimeter artillery rounds.
Nonetheless, Germany, which has demonstrated its fierce opposition to bolstering Ukraine's defenses in a looming big war, on Jan. 21 vetoed an Estonian initiative to transfer 122-millimeter D-30 field guns to Ukraine.
Illia Ponomarenko was a defense and security reporter at the Kyiv Independent in 2021-2023. He has reported about the war in eastern Ukraine since the conflict’s earliest days. He covers national security issues, as well as military technologies, production, and defense reforms in Ukraine. Besides, he gets deployed to the war zone of Donbas with Ukrainian combat formations. He has also had deployments to Palestine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an embedded reporter with UN peacekeeping forces. Illia won the Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellowship and was selected to work as USA Today's guest reporter at the U.S. Department of Defense.
