(Updated: )Victory Day
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Friday, May 9
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.
Friday, May 9
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.
(Updated: )
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.
Despite the Kremlin’s announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the day.
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Report: Cooling pond at Zaporizhzhia plant at risk of rupturing surrounding dike following dam explosion
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The Kakhovka dam explosion and falling water levels of the Kakhovka reservoir could have a serious impact on the cooling pond at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN).
A drop in the Dnipro River's water level could cause the internal pressure of the water in the plant's cooling pond to rupture the surrounding dike, the Paris-based institute said in a report published on June 7.
The report said that in the event the dike is damaged, water could be brought in from other sources, such as pump trucks that could be used to replenish the plant's spray ponds, sprinkler systems that are used to cool a nuclear plant's reactors when they are in shutdown mode.
Since the Zaporizhzhia plant's six reactors have already been in shutdown mode for several months, less water than usual is needed to cool them, meaning that operations should be fine for "several weeks," the report said.
Director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi said on June 8 that the nuclear power plant has continued to pump water into the cooling pond from the Kakhovka reservoir, despite the water level reaching a level that was previously estimated as being inoperative.
The IAEA has already expressed its concerns with the cooling pond, saying that the preservation of the pond is "vital" to the plant's operations.
Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's dam on the Dnipro River on June 6, sparking a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine.
Following the dam breach, an estimated 600 square kilometers of Ukraine's Kherson Oblast have been flooded, affecting more than 20 settlements and over 2,000 homes in the oblast.
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