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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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Trump expects to sign minerals deal with Ukraine 'soon'

2 min read
Trump expects to sign minerals deal with Ukraine 'soon'
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, France's president, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 24 he expects to sign the U.S.-Ukraine agreement on critical minerals "soon," Reuters reported.

The two nations had previously planned to sign a minerals deal on Feb. 28, but the plan was derailed after a heated clash between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump also mentioned that the United States and Ukraine are negotiating the potential ownership of Ukrainian power plants by American firms, according to the news agency.

Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in focus of Ukraine peace talks. What’s at stake?
The White House on March 19 proposed Ukraine pass its nuclear facilities to the U.S. as part of the ongoing ceasefire talks. “The United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection

On March 19, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the U.S. had "moved beyond" the minerals deal with Ukraine and was focusing on achieving "a lasting ceasefire."

Leavitt clarified that she was not saying the deal was off the table.

The much-anticipated minerals agreement would establish a fund to which Ukraine would contribute 50% of proceeds from the future profits of the extraction of the state-owned resources, including oil, gas, and logistics infrastructure.

Ukraine rejected previous versions of the deal on the grounds that they lacked concrete security guarantees.

The final deal, which Kyiv approved, did not provide security assurances but did include a line that says the fund "will be reinvested at least annually in Ukraine to promote the safety, security and prosperity of Ukraine."

The White House has characterized the agreement as a way for the U.S. to "recoup" the financial aid it has directed to Kyiv since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Black Sea Initiative renewal central to US-Russia talks in Riyadh, Kremlin says
“The matter of the Black Sea Initiative and everything related to the initiative’s renewal are on the agenda today,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be immediately briefed on the results of the consultations.
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Kateryna Hodunova

News Editor

Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

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