The approval marks a key step in international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for what is considered the gravest violation of international law committed against Ukraine.
Although Moscow declared on April 28 that it would halt all military actions from May 8 to midnight on May 11 to mark Victory Day, strikes on civilian areas have continued.
Under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's rule, millions of Ukrainians died during the Holodomor, a man-made famine in 1932–1933. The dictator also oversaw mass deportations, purges of Ukrainian intellectuals and leaders, and the suppression of the Ukrainian language and culture.
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.
Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe gathered in Lviv as EU officials prepare to approve both new defense aid and steps toward establishing a tribunal for Russian leadership.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
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.
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."
People hold portraits of Ukrainian journalist Victoriia Roshchyna during a commemoration for Roshchyna who died in Russian captivity, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 11, 2024. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
The body of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died and underwent torture in Russian captivity, was missing some internal organs, according to an investigation by the Forbidden Stories journalism network published on April 29.
An international forensic pathologist said that the missing organs may have been deliberately removed to obscure signs of suffocation or strangulation, reported Ukrainska Pravda, which took part in the investigation.
More than 40 journalists from 13 international media outlets participated in the investigation, conducting over 50 interviews with former prisoners, ex-prison guards, and human rights activists.
Roshchyna's body was handed over in late February, reportedly tagged with the number 757 and falsely identified in Russian documents as an "unidentified male."
A forensic examination in Ukraine later confirmed the body was female. Soon after, the DNA testing identified it as Roshchyna’s with 99% certainty.
Yurii Belousov, head of the war crimes department at the Prosecutor General's Office, said last week that numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the journalist's body. Experts also saw signs that Roshchyna could've been tortured with electric shocks.
According to investigators, her body showed evidence of an autopsy conducted in Russia before it was returned to Ukraine.
During the examination in Ukraine, it turned out that Roshchyna's brain, eyes, and part of the trachea had been removed, the investigation said.
A bruise on Roshchyna’s neck, along with a suspected fracture of the hyoid bone — a common indicator of strangulation — further supports this suggestion.
The journalist's body was also marked with the Russian abbreviation "SPAS" during the exchange. Journalists suggest this "total failure of the arteries of the heart," a designation that may have been used by Russian authorities to fabricate an official cause of death.
So far, the condition of the journalist's body has made it impossible to determine the exact cause of death.
Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories, with Moscow admitting her detention the following year.
Ukrainian officials confirmed Roshchyna's death on Oct. 10, 2024, but said that the circumstances were still under investigation. Russia did not hand over her body for about five months.
According to Russia, Roshchyna died on Sept. 19, 2024.
The Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian NGO, reported that Roshchyna had been held in at least two notorious Russian prisons: the penal colony n. 77 in Berdiansk in occupied Ukraine and the detention center n. 2 in Russia's Taganrog.
Previously, in March 2022, Roshchyna was detained for 10 days by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers while leaving Berdiansk in the direction of Mariupol. As a condition of her release, she was forced to record a video saying Russian forces had saved her life.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Olga Rudenko
