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.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration "cannot say conclusively" who was responsible for the breach of the Kakhovka dam, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told the media on June 6.
"We've seen the reports that Russia was responsible for the explosion at the dam, which I would remind, Russian forces took over illegally last year, and have been occupying since then. We're doing the best we can to assess those reports," Bloomberg cited Kirby.
While it is too soon to know how the event will affect Ukraine's planned counteroffensive, it is clear that it will cause significant damage to the Ukrainian people and the region, Kirby said.
Ukraine's Southern Operational Command reported early in the morning of June 6 that Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine's Kherson Oblast, causing massive flooding of villages downstream of the Dnipro River.
Martin Fornusek
The Russia-installed proxy in Nova Kakhovka first denied that the dam was destroyed, only to claim later that it was targeted by Ukrainian shelling.
National Security and Defense Council chief Oleksii Danilov called Russia's claims of Ukraine's complicity in the dam's destruction "nonsense."
According to Danilov, Russia prepared plans for the sabotage of the dam already in the fall of 2022. The Kremlin decided to execute them now in order to hinder Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive, he added.
