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.
Despite the Kremlin’s announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the day.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on April 16 the closure of the State Department’s office responsible for countering foreign disinformation, citing concerns about free speech and the rights of American citizens.
The office started as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to fight terrorist messaging online. It was first called the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. In 2016, it changed its focus to fighting lies and propaganda from foreign governments like Russia and China, and got a new name — the Global Engagement Center (GEC).
In December 2024, the GEC was reorganized into the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub (R/FIMI).
In a post on X, Rubio said the center had overstepped its mission and worked to “silence and censor” Americans.
“I am announcing the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, formerly the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year and actively silenced and censored the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” Rubio wrote.
The move follows years of Republican criticism of the center. Billionaire Elon Musk, now an advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), in early 2023 called the GEC “the worst offender in U.S. government censorship (and) media manipulation.”
GEC leaders and defenders have rejected such claims. Special Envoy James Rubin, who led the center until December 2024, said its mission was focused exclusively on foreign disinformation campaigns. The center ran projects in Latin America, Africa, and Moldova during his time in the office.
One project focused on a major Russian disinformation campaign in Africa called the “African Initiative,” which aimed at undermining trust in a U.S.-funded health program in the region. Russia recruited journalists, bloggers, and public figures to spread conspiracy theories across social media, websites, and Telegram channels.
“Many, many thousands, if not more, of people might have believed (the disinformation) and not received life-saving medical care,” had the campaign not been noticed sooner, Rubin told Politico in October 2024.
In June 2024, the GEC helped launch the Ukraine Communications Group, a multinational initiative to counter Russian disinformation on the war in Ukraine, based in Warsaw and backed by more than 20 governments, NATO, and the European External Action Service.
According to the National Endowment for Democracy, Russia spends an estimated $1.5 billion annually on foreign influence campaigns. In Europe alone, Moscow is believed to be behind 80% of such operations, according to Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský.
During the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the Kremlin was also leveraging unsuspecting Americans and Russian public relations firms to spread disinformation, U.S. intelligence officials told the Associated Press in July 2024.
Sonya Bandouil
