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.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki addresses the potential Russian invasion of Ukraine during the White House press briefing on Jan. 18.
The White House has confirmed on Jan. 19 that Russia has embassy evacuation plans from Ukraine, amid Kremlin's ongoing military escalation.
“We have information indicating that the Russian authorities were preparing to evacuate family members of diplomats from their (Kyiv) embassy in late December and early January,” Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, told reporters.
She added that Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine “at any point,” underscoring the immediacy of the threat if Moscow decides to take action.
“Our view is this is an extremely dangerous situation,” Psaki said.
The New York Times previously reported that 18 people – mostly the children and wives of Russian diplomats – boarded buses for a 15-hour drive home to Moscow on Jan. 5, citing a senior Ukrainian security official.
About 30 more were evacuated in the next few days from Russia's Kyiv embassy and consulate in Lviv, western Ukraine, according to the newspaper.
Diplomats at two other Russian consulates have been told to prepare for evacuation from Ukraine, the unnamed security official told the New York Times. Besides the Kyiv embassy, Russia has three consulates in Ukraine, which are located in Kharkiv, Lviv and Odesa.
Following the report, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said hours before the White House briefing that its embassy in Kyiv was operating as usual, the Interfax news agency reported.
Ukrainian and U.S. officials say thinning out of the Russian Embassy could be either propaganda or preparation for a potential large-scale invasion. It can also be both.
Russia has now deployed more than 127,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s latest intelligent assessment shared exclusively with CNN.
Russia has also begun sending its troops and combat vehicles to Ukraine’s northern neighbor Belarus ahead of joint military drills scheduled for February. The exercise will be held near Belarus’s western rim, near Ukrainian borders as well as NATO’s eastern members Poland and Lithuania.
Russia said the tensions around Ukraine were rising and it's still waiting for a response to its sweeping demands for security guarantees from the West, which includes a halt to NATO's potential eastward expansion and a formal veto on Ukraine from ever joining the military alliance.
Meanwhile, the U.S. will be providing an additional $200 million in defensive military aid to Ukraine.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Kyiv on Jan. 19, where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Blinken will then travel to Berlin for talks with European allies before heading to Geneva to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Jan. 21.
Blinken warned that Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine at "very short notice."
“We know that there are plans in place to increase that force even more on very short notice, and that gives President Putin the capacity, also on very short notice, to take further aggressive action against Ukraine,” the Secretary said in his remarks to U.S. Embassy staff in Kyiv.
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.
