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.
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.
Fire raging at an electrical substation in Lviv after it was hit by a Russian missile on May 3. (Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy)
Russia fired a barrage of missiles on several regions across Ukraine on the evening of May 3 as heavy fighting intensifies in the east.
Approximately 18 Russian missiles hit infrastructure sites across the country. Preliminary reports suggest that at least eight other missiles were downed by Ukraine's Air Defense, the military said.
Several deaths and injuries were reported. Russian forces hit six train stations in central and western Ukraine and caused delays, head of Ukraine’s state-owned railway Ukrzaliznytsia Oleksandr Kamyshin said. Other infrastructure sites such as pumping stations and electric substations also sustained damage.
The targeted regions include westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast, reportedly suffering its first direct Russian attack ever. The regional administration reported that an electrical substation was hit in the town of Volovets.
Zakarpattia Governor Viktor Mykyta said authorities are still clarifying the information regarding injuries and possible victims of the attack.
In neighboring Lviv Oblast, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said that Russia fired five missiles targeting the region and two of them were shot down by Ukraine's air defense. He informed residents that a Russian missile strike has damaged three electric substations in Lviv.
As a result, parts of the city of Lviv have been cut off from electricity and water supply, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said. He added that three pumping stations are also without power, and two people suffered shrapnel wounds and were hospitalized. The mayor said workers are restoring the water supply through alternative sources of electricity.
Russia also launched rocket attacks on railway infrastructure in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, injuring one person, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. The infrastructure site was badly damaged and the railway has temporarily ceased operations, according to the official.
In central Kirovohrad Oblast, two Russian missiles fired from the direction of the Caspian Sea hit a railway infrastructure in Dolinskaya community, Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported. There are deaths and injuries, according to the military’s report.
Three unspecified infrastructure sites were hit in Odesa Oblast, including in the city of Artsyz. Earlier in the day, Ukraine's air defense downed three other missiles flying toward Odesa Oblast.
Two missiles were shot down over the southwestern city of Vinnytsia, according to Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Interior Ministry. Two blasts heard by local residents were Ukraine’s air defenses, regional governor Serhiy Borzov said.
Gerashchenko also reported that another cruise missile was shot down “on its way to Kyiv.” That could have accounted for the explosion reportedly heard on the night of May 3 in Kyiv.
Ukrainian media reported that at least one blast was heard in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia but there have been no official statements about anything being hit in the city.
As Russian forces step up their missile attacks across Ukraine, heavy fighting and shelling continue in the eastern Donbas region. On May 3, Russian attacks killed at least 21 civilians and wounded 27 others in Donetsk Oblast, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported.
Kyrylenko emphasized that this was the largest number of casualties in one day since the Russian missiles hit Kramatorsk train station on April 8, killing over 50 people.
In response to Russia’s latest missile attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the strikes clearly show that the Russian military is "nervously reacting to Ukraine’s successes," such as pushing Russians back in Kharkiv Oblast.
"They (Russians) are trying to avenge their powerlessness because Ukraine is beyond their power," Zelensky said during his evening address.
Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.
