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.
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.
The shooting occurred around 3:22 p.m. local time in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, a residential area in Bucha district, according to the Kyiv regional police.
Lawmakers urged the EU and its member states to step up efforts to hold Moscow accountable through international courts and support for Ukraine’s campaign to bring its children home.
The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sat down with author, historian, and Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which mark the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II, are one of the country’s biggest public events of the year. President of the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland Andrej Lushnycky who sheds some light on the things Putin would rather you didn’t know about World War II.
Washington’s involvement may also help mitigate political opposition in Europe, while giving the U.S. strategic visibility over future Russian energy flows, sources told Reuters.
A man throws her ballot into the polling box at the station during the parliamentary elections in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 21, 2019. (Sergii Kharchenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Over 130 Ukrainian civil society organizations said that Russia's war of aggression makes it impossible for Ukraine to hold presidential and parliamentary elections while martial law is in effect in a joint statement published on Feb. 20.
"The legitimacy of the Ukrainian government is the exclusive prerogative of the Ukrainian people," the statement of the Ukrainian NGOs read.
The news comes after U.S. President Donald Trump denounced Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "dictator" while lambasting the country for not holding elections under daily Russian strikes and with one-fifth of its territory occupied.
Trump's statement echoes Russian narratives attacking Zelensky's presidential legitimacy. Ukraine was set to hold the presidential election in the spring of 2024, but the vote was postponed as martial law, imposed after the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022, does not allow elections, according to Ukraine's constitution.
According to the NGO statement spearheaded by the Civil Network Opora, elections must be preceded by a stable ceasefire backed by security guarantees and proper preparations for the election process, including restoring relevant infrastructure.
The declaration names the lack of legal mechanisms for ensuring voter participation during wartime as the key obstacle.
Zelensky's administration pledged to hold elections "immediately" after the end of the war, thus allowing soldiers and refugees to safely take part in the vote as well.
"The Ukrainian consensus on elections no earlier than six months after the end of martial law is supported by the authorities, the opposition, and the society," the statement by the Ukrainian NGOs read.
According to a February survey, 69% of Ukrainians believe that Zelensky should remain in office until the next elections can be held after the end of martial law. Several opposition politicians also supported this position, warning against Russian attempts to use the elections to divide society.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Kateryna Denisova
