Kurt Volker said that now "there is more alignment" between Ukraine and the U.S. under the Trump Administration than at the beginning of 2025.
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Friday, May 9
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
The approval marks a key step in international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for what is considered the gravest violation of international law committed against Ukraine.
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.
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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.
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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.
(Updated: )Victory Day
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.
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Authorities search monasteries of Russia-affiliated orthodox church in Ukraine
• 2 min read
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on Dec. 7 that it was conducting searches in 13 Moscow-linked churches, monasteries, and adjoining facilities, such as libraries, in Cherkasy, Volyn, and Kherson oblasts to counter the possible "subversive activities of the Russian special services in Ukraine."
"Taking Russia's armed aggression into account, these measures are carried out for preventing the use of religious communities as a center of the so-called 'Russian world' and protecting the population from provocations and terrorist attacks," SBU said in a statement.
The raids come shortly after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Dec. 2 to approve a proposal by the National Security and Defense Council to ban Russian-affiliated religious groups and impose sanctions on some pro-Moscow bishops.
The primary target of these measures is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, an affiliate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
9 months into the war, Moscow-backed churches in Ukraine get in trouble
The National Security and Defense Council instructed the Cabinet on Dec. 1 to draft a bill on such a ban. The bill will then have to be considered by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.
On Dec. 2, the SBU reported that it was conducting searches at Moscow Patriarchate churches and monasteries in Zhytomyr, Rivne, and Zakarpattia oblasts.
During previous raids, the SBU said it found Russian propaganda and xenophobic literature, Russian passports belonging to senior clergy, and documents with pro-Russian ideological messages at the premises of the Russian-backed church.
In May, the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian church said it would have "full independence" from the Russian Orthodox Church, reacting to criticism of Russian-backed church leaders amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Also, the Ukrainian branch said that it "condemns the war" and "disagrees with the position of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on the war in Ukraine."
However, skeptics said it was just a ploy to appease critics since the Ukrainian branch effectively remained part of the Russian church and did not declare "autocephaly" – the Orthodox term for genuine independence. Under Orthodox rules, only one independent - or "autocephalous" - church can exist in a specific country.
The Russian-backed church's complete independence under Orthodox rules would imply its merger with the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, but the Moscow-affiliated church has opposed such a unification.
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