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.
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.
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.
Despite the Kremlin’s announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the day.
Money transfers from Russia to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Georgia were reported at record-breaking levels, several times the figures for 2021, according to the 2022 central banks’ numbers analyzed by the Russian news site RBC.RU.
Due to Western-imposed sanctions, popular foreign companies have left the Russian market, pushing Russian residents to order goods online from abroad. Meanwhile, Russians themselves left the country en masse amid the announcemnt of mobilization: 9,7 million people left Russia in July-September, 12% more than during the same period a year before.
The movement of funds took place via Russian money transfer tools Zolotaya Korona, Unistream, and Contact, since international payment systems Visa and Mastercard left the Russian market the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
Around $775,4 million moved from Russia to Kazakhstan in 2022, 6,8 times higher than in 2021 and the largest amount since at least 2014.
Around $2 billion came from Russia to Georgia last year. In 2021, this number was five times smaller and stood at $411,3 million.
The amount from Russia to Uzbekistan made $14,5 billion in 2022, 2,6 as much as the year before.
The central banks of Kyrgyzstan and Armenia have not yet published their figures for the year 2022. The data is only available for 11 months, RBC.RU reported.
In this timeframe, transfers from Russia to Armenia quadrupled to $3.1 billion compared to January-November 2021, a record number since 2004, while transfers from Russia to Kyrgyzstan rose only 6% to $2,6 billion.
