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.
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.
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.
Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. Presidents after signing the Trilateral Statement, Moscow, 1994. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Richard Grenell said on March 25 that the Soviet-era nuclear arsenal stationed in Ukraine after the Soviet Union's collapse belonged to Russia, calling it an "uncomfortable fact."
"Let’s be clear about the Budapest Memorandum: the nukes were Russia’s and were leftovers," Grenell said on X.
Ukraine agreed to relinquish its nuclear arms after signing the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which also saw the country join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
In exchange, Kyiv received security assurances from major powers, including the U.S., the U.K., and Russia. These guarantees failed to prevent Moscow's aggression in 2014 in Crimea and Donbas and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"Ukraine gave the nukes back to Russia. They weren’t Ukraine’s. This is an uncomfortable fact," Grenell said.
Responding to Trump's envoy, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer said that "Grenell is flat wrong."
"I helped negotiate Budapest Memorandum... Nuclear warheads in Ukraine were ex-Soviet, not Russian."
Stored warheads were in sole Ukrainian custody, while intercontinental ballistic missiles and bomber planes were eliminated, except for those sent to Russia for "debt relief," the former ambassador said.
Pifer reinforced his point by saying that conventional weapons capabilities left in Ukraine after the Soviet Union fell apart, including tanks, artillery, and warplanes, also belonged to Kyiv rather than Moscow.
"They were Soviet, you ignorant a** helmet. So they were as equally Ukraine's as Russia's. This is day one knowledge," said former Congressman Adam Kinziger, who has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine during the full-scale war.
Grenell's comments also found support. Mike Lee, a Republican senator who strongly opposed support for Kyiv and called for a U.S. exit from NATO, shared the envoy's post while saying, "The nukes didn’t belong to Ukraine. And there was never a treaty binding the U.S. to the Budapest Memorandum."
The Budapest Memorandum has been sharply criticized by today's Ukrainian leadership over its lack of strong security guarantees.
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.
Dominic Culverwell
