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.
In a recent interview with Sky News, President Zelensky told British journalist Kay Burley that Russia’s Vladimir Putin is “nobody” to him following the full-scale invasion and that he has no interest in meeting with him.
"It is not interesting for me," he said about a potential face-to-face meeting with Putin. "Not interesting to meet, not interesting to speak. Why? Because we had meeting with him in Normandy Format, it was before the full-scale invasion. I saw the man who said one thing and then did another."
Zelensky and Putin first met during the Normandy Format summit in December 2019, seven months after Zelensky became president. The Normandy Format was launched in 2014 to find a peaceful resolution to the War in Donbas and the Russian annexation of Crimea. Ending the war was also one of Zelensky’s main campaign promises during the presidential election in 2019. All parties agreed on the need for peace and the implementation of the political provisions of the Minsk agreements. However, Russia’s promises were short lived, as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia briefly took place at the start of the invasion but have stalled. The first meeting was held on Feb. 28 in Belarus and consecutive meetings were held in Turkey.
In December 2022, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for a peace summit at the United Nations on the condition of establishing an international war crimes tribunal for Russia. In January 2023, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there is currently “no prospect” for settling the war by diplomatic means.
Russia continues to occupy swathes of Ukrainian territory and launch mass missile attacks that have claimed numerous civilian lives and inflicted severe damage on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Intelligence points to a surge of Russian forces in southern and eastern Ukraine in the coming weeks.
Zelensky also told Sky News that Ukraine is keeping track of the massive number of Russian casualties on the battlefield. He added that as a father himself, he couldn’t understand how Russian families allowed their sons to be sent off to die fighting in an unjust war.
