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.
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.
A former student of Chernihiv school No. 21 in the yard of his school destroyed by Russian bombs, is filmed in a video clip about the life of children in war conditions on June 21, 2023 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Zinchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
As a result of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, 504 children have been killed and 1,123 injured, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Sept. 15, citing juvenile prosecutors.
The report stressed that these figures are not final as work to collect data in the areas of hostilities and in both occupied and liberated territories continues.
The majority of casualties among children, both in terms of killed and wounded, have been recorded in Donetsk Oblast (487), followed by Kharkiv Oblast (300), Kyiv Oblast (129), Kherson Oblast (124), Zaporizhzhia Oblast (99), Mykolaiv Oblast (97), Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (96), Chernihiv Oblast (71), and Luhansk Oblast (67), the prosecutors said.
Thousands of Ukrainian children have become victims of the Russian invasion, suffering deportations, separation from families, injuries, and death.
According to the Children of War database run by the Ukrainian state, 1,236 children have gone missing, 13 have been subjected to sexual abuse, and at least 19,546 have been deported by the Russian authorities. Some 386 children have been rescued from the Russian captivity.
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.
