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.
A combine harvester harvests wheat in a field in Ukraine. The country harvested a record 100 million tons in 2021, due to favorable climatic conditions. (stanvpetersen/Pixabay)
Ukraine harvested 106 million tons of cereals, legumes, and oilseeds in 2021 thanks to favorable weather conditions. It is the biggest harvest the country’s ever had since its independence in 1991, according to Roman Leshchenko, the minister of agriculture.
The record harvest included more than 84 million tons of cereals and legumes, as well as 22.6 million tons of oilseeds. According to Leshchenko the harvest exceeded the ministry’s preliminary forecast, estimated at 100 million tons for the year.
“This is the absolute maximum in the history of our state,” Leshchenko wrote on Telegram on Dec. 21.
According to Leshchenko, the successful harvest was also due to this year’s states loans to farmers, accounting for $1.1 billion in total to boost the industry. Ukrainians started buying and selling land this year, as the 20-year moratorium on land transactions was officially been lifted on July 1, 2021.
With 42 million hectares of farmland covering 70% of the country and about 25% of the world’s reserves of black soil, agriculture is Ukraine’s largest export industry.
Officially, large agro-corporations operate on 6 million hectares, small and medium agro-companies — on some 11 million hectares.
The harvest alone will bring 0.8% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the National Bank’s report released in October 2021. In 2020, Ukraine’s agriculture sector generated roughly 9% of its GDP.
Ukraine’s agribusiness sector remains the most promising sector of the economy.
Ukraine exported 17% more agricultural products between January and September 2021 than in the same period of 2020.
China was the largest importer of Ukrainian agricultural goods this year, accounting for roughly $3 billion of exports, a 36% increase compared to 2020. India imported $1.35 billion worth of agricultural goods, followed by the Netherlands with $1.2 billion.
Alexander Query is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He is the former business editor at the Kyiv Post. He worked as a TV correspondent and an anchorman at UATV in Ukraine, and received a BA in modern literature from La Sorbonne, in Paris.
