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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.

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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.

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Putin: Journalist Gershkovich could be returned under 'mutually acceptable' conditions

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Putin: Journalist Gershkovich could be returned under 'mutually acceptable' conditions
U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, stands inside a defendant's cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest at the Moscow City Court in Moscow on April 18, 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 14 that he would be open to returning jailed U.S. citizens, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained since March.

"We have contacts on this matter with our American partners, there’s a dialogue on this issue, Putin said during his live televised press conference. "But, I repeat, the American side must hear us and make a decision that will satisfy the Russian side as well.”

Putin's comments came on the same day as a Moscow court ruled to extend Gershkovich's pre-trial detention for another six weeks.

Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg in late March while working on a story about the Wagner mercenary group recruiting locals, as well as Russian citizens' views on the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russia accused him of espionage, which both the U.S. government and the Wall Street Journal vehemently deny. Espionage in Russia carries a maximum prison term of up to 20 years.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Dec. 5 that Russia had rejected a substantial deal aimed at freeing Gershkovich and another imprisoned U.S. citizen, Paul Whelan.

Russia has also jailed Alsu Kurmasheva, an RFE/RL journalist with dual Russian and U.S. citizenship, on charges of failing to identify as a foreign agent.

Kurmasheva's pre-trial detention has also been extended several times.

Her arrest and extended pre-trial detention have been widely condemned by RFE/RL, the European Union, Western nations, and a wide variety of NGOs, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Amnesty International, and others.

EU determined to persuade Hungary to support Ukraine aid, accession talks
The 26 European Union member states are determined to overcome Hungary’s objections and move forward with several key priorities for Ukraine in one of the most “complex, complicated, and difficult European Councils.”