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.
The shooting occurred around 3:22 p.m. local time in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, a residential area in Bucha district, according to the Kyiv regional police.
Lawmakers urged the EU and its member states to step up efforts to hold Moscow accountable through international courts and support for Ukraine’s campaign to bring its children home.
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.
Washington’s involvement may also help mitigate political opposition in Europe, while giving the U.S. strategic visibility over future Russian energy flows, sources told Reuters.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov attends an in-person Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, southwestern Germany, on Sept. 19, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)
Internal audits and investigations at Ukraine's Defense Ministry over the past four months have uncovered more than Hr 10 billion ($260 million) in violations committed previously, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced on Jan. 8.
Two major corruption scandals preceded the ousting of previous Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, one regarding inflated prices for food supplies and the other connected to low-quality winter jackets.
When introducing Umerov as Reznikov's successor in September 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky named increased transparency in defense procurement as one of the new minister's key tasks.
"One of the priorities of the Defense Ministry team is to clean the system from unscrupulous participants - inside the institution and outside. We are actively working on this in close collaboration with law enforcement agencies: we are eradicating corruption," Umerov said.
The ministry "reacts harshly" to cases of financial violations, he added.
Umerov said that the crackdown on corruption and changes to procurement processes have already produced "tangible results."
Over the past month, the ministry saved Hr 3.5 billion ($91 million) on all purchases of non-lethal equipment, Umerov said.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said in January 2023 that it had begun to investigate possible corruption in the Defense Ministry's food procurement before ZN.ua, a news site, published an investigation on the issue.
According to the report, the ministry sought to buy food at prices two to three times higher than it costs at Kyiv grocery stores.
Amid the corruption scandal, Defense Minister Reznikov resigned in September.
