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.
Despite the Kremlin’s announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the day.
Ukraine names pro-Russian collaborators suspected of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children

Several Russia-installed proxy officials in occupied Donetsk Oblast have been declared suspected of forcibly deporting a group of 31 Ukrainian children to Russia, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office announced on Oct. 1.
The Prosecutor General's Office named Denys Pushylin, the Russia-installed proxy head of Donetsk Oblast, and two of his officials, Eleanora Fedorenko and Svitlana Maiboroda, as suspects in the case.
Maiboroda was identified by the Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigations Unit in their documentary "Uprooted." The team passed on the evidence collected during the making of the film to the prosecutors.
The Prosecutor General's Office expressed gratitude to Ukrainian investigative journalists, including the Kyiv Independent, who conducted investigations into the deportations and passed on their materials.
Russian authorities and their collaborators have illegally deported thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia and placed them in foster families, where they are raised as Russians.
This particular case concerns the deportation of 19 orphans from Mariupol and nine children from the cities of Shakhtarsk and Khartsyzk in Donetsk Oblast. Another three children from Mariupol were taken away from their father at a filtration camp.
The suspects facilitated the deportation of the group of children, the youngest of whom was six years old at the time, from Ukrainian territory.
The transfer of the children "did not meet the requirements of international humanitarian law, as it was not justified by security or health reasons," the Prosecutor General's Office noted.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the children were first taken by bus to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and later taken by plane to Moscow.
Ukrainian investigators found that the plane used to organize the flight belongs to a particular unit that is subordinate to Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration.
Despite being Ukrainian, the children were issued Russian passports and given to Russian adoptive families.
Among the group was a 17-year-old from Mariupol who was effectively adopted by Maria Lvova-Belova, Putin's Commissioner for Children's Rights and the Kremlin official who allegedly oversees the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for their roles in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
The three children from Mariupol managed to reunite with their father on their own, while three teenagers were returned to Ukraine by the Ukrainian authorities. The other 25 children remain in Russia.
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