Russian attacks have damaged or destroyed over 800 heating facilities across Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on May 8. Moscow has recently intensified its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's critical infrastructure, launching large-scale attacks on energy facilities across the country on March 22, March 29, April 11, April 27, and May 8. Ukraine's power generation capacity has decreased by up to 8 gigawatt hours (GWh) and needs nearly $1 billion to compensate, Shmyhal said during a meeting dedicated to preparin...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron is expected to say NATO needs to adopt a harder edge for a tougher world during a speech at the National Cyber Security Centre on May 9. In his first big-picture policy speech as foreign secretary outside parliament, Cameron is to warn that the West is not learning the lesson of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and that authoritarian adversaries will only be spurred on if western leaders show hesitation or caution, according to the Guardian. Cameron will stress that there has been insufficient engagement from allies in facing the realities of an inc...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
The leaders of Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, along with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, confirmed their participation in the upcoming global peace summit following phone calls with President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 8. The peace summit will be held in Switzerland on June 15-16, and will focus on peace in Ukraine under the terms of Zelensky's 10-point peace formula, a plan that calls for a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied Ukrainian lands. Zelensky spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about continued defense cooperation between Ukraine and Germany...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
North Macedonia's conservative opposition party won a decisive victory in the country's dual parliamentary and presidential elections on May 8, according to preliminary results. Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, a law professor supported by the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, won the presidency by a wide margin, ousting incumbent Social Democrat Stevo Pendarovski. Siljanovska-Davkova is the first woman to be elected president of North Macedonia. A coalition led by VMRO-DPMNE also won the majority of the nation's 120 parliamentary seats, though the exact distribution of seats will be determined in ta...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
Gilat SkyEdge satellite systems manufactured in Ukraine are being imported to Russia in large quantities and likely being used by the Russian military in the war against Ukraine, investigative journalists from the outlet Slidstvo.Info reported May 8. About 22,000 Gilat SkyEdge internet communications systems, valued at $5 million, were imported to Russia in 2023, according to customs data reviewed by investigators. The systems were manufactured at a facility in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. The Uzhhorod plant is run by a U.S. outsourcing company, Jabil Circuit, for the Israeli corporation Gilat Satellite...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
Warning: This article contains graphic images. The slogan "Never again" emerged in response to the Holocaust and other atrocities of World War II as a vow of humanity to prevent such horrific events from being repeated. On May 8, the world marks Victory in Europe Day, celebrating 79 years since the unconditional defeat of Nazi Germany, and with it, the end to its crimes against humanity. But for the third year in a row now, this day – meant to remind the public about the horrors and lessons of the past – is taking place as events strikingly similar unfold in Europe. During Operation Barbarossa...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
Editor's note: This story is being updated. Small Russian assault groups broke into the town of Krasnohorivka in Donetsk Oblast, but their advance was blocked at a local plant, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, told Army TV on May 8. Krasnohorivka lies roughly 30 kilometers west of the occupied city of Donetsk, and Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to break into the settlement after the fall of Avdiivka in late February. Ukrainian soldiers stopped Russian assault groups on the territory of the Krasnohorivka refractory plant, according to Voloshyn. The ci...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
The parliament voted on May 8 to summon the head of the Bureau of Economic Security in connection to recent searches at a Kyiv-based business association and alleged pressure on the business sector, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said. CEO Club Ukraine said on May 6 that last month, the bureau's officials searched the association's premises. Although the officers found nothing out of order, anonymous Telegram channels began spreading false claims that the searches uncovered illicit establishments operating under the guise of the CEO Club, its founder said. The bureau announced on April 30 that i...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
Armenia will not partake in the financing of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Yerevan announced on May 8. This comes as the latest in a series of steps the country has taken to distance itself from the Russian-led security alliance. Speaking to Factor.am, the country's Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed Armenia would not contribute to the CSTO's 2024 budget, which was adopted in November of last year. The CSTO, which was established in 2002, includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Russia is by far the most powerful member of the allian...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini called for peace between Russia and Ukraine and said that if necessary, Bratislava could host possible talks, Aktuality reported on May 8. The Slovak president is an ally of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has been a vocal critic of military aid for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Speaking on the occasion of the Victory in Europe Day in the city of Banska Bystrica, the recently-elected head of state said that European leaders have a responsibility to ensure peace in Ukraine to avert "tragic scenarios." "Let's talk about a ceasefire, about peace scenarios...
Kyiv Independent (UK)
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