According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), this marks the first time Ukrainian authorities have exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network conducting activities harmful to Ukraine.
Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe gathered in Lviv as EU officials prepare to approve both new defense aid and steps toward establishing a tribunal for Russian leadership.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
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.
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.
Oleksiy Malovatsky, acting head of the High Council of Justice, (L) and Pavlo Grechkivsky, member of the High Council of Justice, resigned on Jan. 20, 2022 ahead of expected firing of tainted members of the judicial body under reform. (Couretsy)
The High Council of Justice, the judiciary’s highest governing body, accepted the resignation of two of the council’s most controversial members on Jan. 20.
The resignation of Oleksiy Malovatsky, acting head of the council, and Pavlo Grechkivsky will take effect on Jan. 26. They face numerous accusations of corruption and other wrongdoing, which they deny.
The council and the two officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The move comes ahead of the expected firing of tainted members of the High Council of Justice by the newly created Ethics Council.
Mykhaylo Zhernakov, head of legal think-tank DEJURE, wrote on Facebook that both Malovatsky and Grechkivsky “were the first in line to be fired by the Ethics Council.”
Judicial reform
The High Council of Justice is discredited because its members have been accused of corruption and because it has consistently protected tainted judges.
In November, the Ethics Council was created for hiring and firing members of the High Council of Justice. It comprises both foreign experts and Ukrainian judges. Foreign experts will have a decisive role if the vote is split to guarantee that the process is independent from corrupt actors in Ukraine.
The Ethics Council’s rules of procedure pushed back the assessment of incumbent High Council of Justice members to Feb. 8. Before that, the Ethics Council will assess new candidates for the High Council of Justice.
Grechkivsky
One of the council members, Grechkivsky, was charged in 2016 with extorting $500,000 for favorable court rulings with the help of Bohdan Lvov, who is now head of the Supreme Court’s commercial cases division. Both of them deny the accusations.
Oleg Shklyar, who was arrested with the money, testified that he had been planning to give it to Grechkivsky. The investigators also released a wiretapped phone conversation in which Grechkivsky instructs Shklyar to give him the bribe. However, in 2018 Grechkivsky was acquitted by a court.
Lawyer Roman Maselko argued that, despite the solid evidence of Grechkivsky’s guilt, the prosecutors had intentionally sabotaged the case by committing procedural violations and failing to catch Grechkivsky red-handed with the bribe.
Grechkivsky is also implicated in the corruption and obstruction of justice cases against Ukraine's most infamous judge Pavlo Vovk. In wiretapped conversations released by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Vovk mentioned the involvement of Grechkivsky and other council members in his alleged corruption schemes. The council members did not respond to requests for comment.
Malovatsky
Another council member who resigned, Malovatsky, was delegated by ex-President Petro Poroshenko’s party to the council and worked as a lawyer for Poroshenko in 2014, which prompted accusations of political bias.
Malovatsky was appointed to the High Council of Justice due to vote buying, according to alleged WhatsApp correspondence between fugitive lawmaker Oleksandr Onyshchenko and allies of Poroshenko published by the Slidstvo.info investigative show. Poroshenko and his allies deny the accusations of corruption.
In 2015, Poroshenko’s top ally and lawmaker Igor Kononenko asked Onyshchenko to talk to Batkivshchyna party leader Yulia Tymoshenko about voting for the appointment of Malovatsky to the High Council of Justice in exchange for money, according to the correspondence. Tymoshenko denied the accusations.
In 2019, Grechkivsky and Malovatsky were re-elected to the High Council of Justice for a second term despite the explicit legal ban on a second term.
Oleg Sukhov is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He is a former editor and reporter at the Moscow Times. He has a master's degree in history from the Moscow State University. He moved to Ukraine in 2014 due to the crackdown on independent media in Russia and covered war, corruption, reforms and law enforcement for the Kyiv Post.
