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.
Ukrainian law enforcement officers detain a suspected member of a pro-Russian disinformation group in Kyiv. Photo published on March 12, 2024. (Prosecutor General's Office)
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) neutralized a pro-Russian disinformation group in Kyiv whose members included a now-detained priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), the SBU's press service said on March 12.
The group of over 15 people, four of whom have already been detained, spread pro-Kremlin narratives in order to destabilize Ukraine and incite religious hatred on the instructions of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the SBU reported.
The UOC-MP is one of the two major Orthodox churches in Ukraine, along with the autocephalous (autonomous) Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The Moscow Patriarchate-linked church has been accused of aligning with the Russian government during the war, which the church's leadership denied.
The SBU called the suspected FSB network "one of the largest ones that have been operating in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion."
The detained priest, reportedly the leader of one of the churches in Kyiv and a "member of the Russian intelligence apparatus," coordinated the group's activities, the SBU said.
The Prosecutor General's Office said that the suspects also included heads of public organizations and employees of the UOC-MP's media department.
Law enforcement officials did not name any of the suspects.
The group's tasks included spreading pro-Kremlin content via social media and the church's official websites, which was later picked up and disseminated further by the Russian media, according to the SBU. The content focused on "distorting information" about the transition of the UOC-MP communities to the OCU.
These activities aimed not only to destabilize the socio-political situation within Ukraine but also to discredit the country in the West.
Depending on the scope of their involvement, the alleged members of the group face charges of treason, collaboration, creating a criminal group, inciting religious hatred, and distributing materials justifying Russian aggression.
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.
