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Morning Headlines

Reuters: Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Friday of violating a ‌two-day ceasefire announced by Moscow to cover the celebrations of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces launched an attack on critical Russian military-industrial sites overnight on May 8, striking an oil refinery as well as the branch of a defense technology center, Russian Telegram media channels reported.

BBC: About 2,300 North Korean soldiers have died fighting for Russia against Ukraine, according to a BBC investigation based on satellite images and official photos of a new memorial in Pyongyang.

ISW: Internal Russian Presidential Administration documents suggest that Russia remains unwilling to meaningfully compromise on an end-state to the war in Ukraine.

Reuters: Global perceptions of the U.S. have deteriorated for a second consecutive year and are now worse than views of Russia, an annual study on democracy published on Friday showed, as Trump's policies continue ‌to severely strain the NATO alliance.

More News

Reuters: Ukraine's top ​negotiator, Rustem Umerov, has arrived in Miami for a series of meetings with U.S. ‌representatives as peace talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine have stalled in recent months.

Politico: The Netherlands is seeking to restart talks on using up to €210 billion in frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine keep defending itself next year.

United24 Media: German defense contractor Rheinmetall has agreed to produce 100,000 long-range artillery shells per year for Ukraine.

The Moscow Times: Russia’s economy contracted at the beginning of the year as weak business activity and declining oil and gas revenues strained public finances.

The Guardian: Britain’s Royal Navy tracked and followed a Russian frigate every day last month as it sailed from the Atlantic to the North Sea, as Moscow steps up its maritime presence after UK threats to seize shadow fleet oil tankers.

The Kyiv Independent: A massive forest fire caused by Russian attacks is burning across northern Chernihiv Oblast near the Russian border, with firefighters unable to fully extinguish the blaze because of the constant threat from first-person view drones.

The International Olympic Committee on Thursday lifted all restrictions on Belarusian athletes, clearing the way for their ​return to international competitions, including qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Reuters: Ukraine's purchase of Saab-made Gripen fighter jets could be signed ​within months, the country's defence minister said on Thursday as he ‌visited his Swedish counterpart in Stockholm.

The Moscow Times: A young Russian woman who was part of a secretive online group calling for protests against government internet restrictions has fled the country after being held in police detention for two weeks and reportedly facing pressure from security services.

United24 Media: Ukrainian air defense intercepted nearly 6,000 Russian drones and missiles in April under record-level aerial pressure, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense on May 7.

Euromaidan Press: Argentine intelligence agents arrested 26-year-old Russian Dmitry Novikov they describe as a senior figure in "La Compañía"—the Kremlin-linked influence network that spent $283,000 in 2024 placing fabricated stories against President Javier Milei in retaliation for his support of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s MoD: Norway will allocate approximately $302 million to a new package under PURL (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List), which will include, among other items, missiles for Patriot systems.

Reuters: Italy's UniCredit said on Thursday it had struck a non-binding deal to sell parts of its Russian ‌bank to a "well-established private investor" in the United Arab Emirates and would only retain its payments business in Russia.

United24 Media: Ukrainian forces struck a Russian small missile warship near the naval base in Kaspiysk, Dagestan, during overnight operations, according to the Ukrainian General Staff on May 7.

Kyiv Post: Ukraine struck Russian oil refineries in Perm, around 1,500 km (932 miles) away from the border, overnight on Thursday.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on May 6 condemning the "severe humanitarian crisis" in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast that it said was caused by Russia's violation of international humanitarian law.

worth mentioning

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