Russian forces targeted nine of Ukraine's oblasts – Chernihiv, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter three regions.
The comments indicated a change of heart from Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who said in November 2023 that the "time is not yet ripe" for ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that drones had struck vehicles transporting workers to a factory near the village of Berezovka, and that six people died on the spot.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries singled out Republican congresswoman and conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene, who he characterized as leading the faction.
Russian forces attacked six communities in Sumy Oblast, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on May 5. More than 22 explosions were recorded.
Russian forces launched a drone attack in Sumy Oblast overnight on May 6, targeting the region's energy infrastructure, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported.
China wants to work with France and the rest of the international community to end the war in Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly told French media outlet Le Figaro on May 5.
The EU executive body is proposing that the Voice of Europe media outlet be added to the upcoming 14th round of EU sanctions against Russia, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Vera Jourova, said on May 5, as reported by European Pravda.
The German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall will supply Ukraine with "hundreds of thousands" of shells in 2024, including prototypes of artillery shells with a range of 100 kilometers, CEO Armin Papperger said.
Key developments on May 4-5:
* Zelensky: Ukraine open to all-for-all POW exchange
* 150,000 Russian soldiers killed during full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Paris says
* FT: US aid to Ukraine will help Ukraine launch counteroffensive in 2025, Sullivan says
* Russian glide bomb attack injures 15 in downtown Kharkiv
* Russia lures Cubans
Switzerland has invited Pope Francis to attend the upcoming global peace summit dedicated to ending the war in Ukraine, Swiss President Viola Amherd said on May 5.
Shelling in the village of Monachynivka in Kharkiv Oblast's Kupiansk district caused a fire at a house, killing an 88-year-old woman and injuring a 34-year-old man. A resident of the village of Kivsharivka was also injured in an attack.
Russian forces struck the Sloviansk Thermal Power Plant in Donetsk Oblast with five heavy artillery rockets, damaging several sites at the power plant, deputy head of Mykolaivka City Military Administration Volodymyr Proskunin said on May 5.
Representatives of Czechia and Estonia will not be in attendance for Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming presidential inauguration, the foreign ministers of the respective countries confirmed on May 5.
Russian forces attacked the village of Mykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast's Pokrovsk district on May 5, injuring three people, the regional prosecutor's office reported.
Members of the Military Medical Examination Commission can no longer use their own discretion when determining a person's eligibility for the military, the Defense Ministry said on May 4.
Russian forces targeted nine of Ukraine's oblasts – Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Odesa, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter four regions.
Leaked documents reveal that Russia has been coercing Cuban citizens into the Russian Armed Forces with salaries of approximately $2,000 per month, in addition to offers of a Russian passports within months of signing up, a BBC investigation revealed on May 4.
Ukraine will look to launch a counteroffensive in 2025 with the support of the approved $61 billion aid package from the United States, as well as additional aid funding, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the Financial Times on May 4.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not reckless enough to attack a NATO country, Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said in an interview with BBC World, as reported by the Polish outlet RMF24 on May 4.
Russia launched a drone attack on Kharkiv Oblast during the early hours of May 5, setting fire to at least eight residential homes in the city of Kharkiv and injuring six people, local authorities reported.
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The authorities are "closely monitoring" the northern direction, as Russian troops have resumed active assault operations east of Kharkiv after military units' rotation, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
EU ambassadors agreed in principle on a measure using profits from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine's recovery and military needs, the Belgian Presidency of the EU said on May 8.
Four people were arrested in India on suspicions of tricking Indian men into traveling to Russia for lucrative jobs only to be forced to serve in the military, the country's law enforcement agency said on May 7.
Ukraine has caught up with Russia in the production of domestically-made kamikaze drones similar to Iranian-designed Shahed-131/136, Herman Smetanin, the head of the state-owned Ukrainian Defense Industry company, said in an interview with ArmyInform published on May 8.
According to MediaZona, Serhiy Hulko was first arrested on April 3 and detained for 10 days. After his release he was detained again for writing "Glory to Ukraine!" on social media.
Jailed Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky is suspected of ordering the murder of the head of a law firm more than 20 years ago in Crimea, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on May 8.
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed in the second and final reading on May 8 a bill permitting military service of citizens convicted of minor offenses, said lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko, one of the bill's authors.
The U.K. is to expel a Russian defense attache, saying they are an "undeclared military intelligence officer," British Home Secretary James Cleverly said on May 8.
An oil depot in the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk was heavily damaged in a fire that Russian proxies claim was the result of a Ukrainian strike, Luhansk Oblast Governor Artem Lysohor said on May 8.
Under martial law, Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60, with some exceptions, are not allowed to leave the country as they may be called up for military service.
The Polish media outlet RMF24 later added that the man was not in uniform and unarmed, but that military documents were found indicating he had fought in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law in 2023 officially changing the date of Ukraine's World War II commemoration to May 8, aligning it with most of Europe and indicating a full break from the Soviet-era holiday.
Ukraine intercepted 33 Kh-101/Kh-505 cruise missiles, four Kalibr cruise missiles, two Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles, and 20 Shahed-type drones launched by Russia, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke with Cape Verdean Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva on the phone and "thanked him for his support for the peace formula and his personal principled position on the Russian invasion."
An oil depot in occupied Luhansk was struck by ATACMS missiles, causing a mass fire at the facility, the Moscow-installed head of the occupied region, Leonid Pasechnik, claimed on May 8. At least five employees were reportedly injured and hospitalized.
The U.K., U.S., and Australia announced sanctions on the Russian leader of the cyber-crime gang, LockBit, the U.K.'s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced on May 7.
With their song "Teresa & Maria," Ukraine's Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil qualified for the Eurovision finals in Sweden's Malmo, successfully passing the semi-finals on May 7.
"Russia is dominating us on TikTok due to the scale" of its operation, said Andrii Kovalenko, the head of a department countering disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council.