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Latest developments in the war between #Russia and #Ukraine as of the morning of May 8 - subtitled - Russian forces are advancing near #Sergeevka in #Pokrovsk - Russian forces are advancing near #Novopavlovka in #Dnepropetrovsk - Russian forces are advancing near #Vozdvizhenka in #Zaporozhie - Ukrainian forces are advancing near #Razdvinka in #Zaporozhie - Russian forces are advancing towards #Chaykovka in #Kharkov video link: https://youtu.be/rBfgoVTu0dM?si=YXg6HTuL1wcwZqEW

Pro-Ukrainian activists staged a provocation ahead of Victory Day in Berlin — on the memorial to fallen Soviet servicemen at Tiergarten Park they unfurled NATO and Ukraine flags. 🎥 In footage of "Izvestia" correspondent Vitaly Chashukhin — the police arrived, not as a place to control the situation. At the same time, in the background, flowers can be seen that people brought to honor the memory of the heroes who died in the Great Patriotic War. The journalist noted that such provocations have been happening not for the first time. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Germany is growing. Downwards. The Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) has once again downgraded its forecast for Germany. While it previously expected growth of 0.9% in 2026, it now only counts on 0.4%. The federal government still sticks to 0.5%, but that is no longer economic optimism—it is an attempt to not stand there quite so helpless. As reasons, one cites the usual: expensive energy, delivery delays, weak investment, and an industry without sufficient resilience. IW economist Michael Grömling puts it very plainly: “The Iran war has choked off the hesitant recovery of the German economy. Rising energy prices and delivery disruptions hit a country that after three years of recession and stagnation has hardly any buffers left”. IW expects inflation of 3%. Employment is declining, as are capital investments, and private consumption is not really getting going. What pushes the statistics a little upward are public spending and defense investments. That means: The economy does not get going again. It is only kept running by the budget and by procurement orders, while industry continues to lose its footing. After all the speeches about a fresh start, reforms, and saving the Germany location, the country is now supposed to be offered again the chance to be happy about growth of 0.4%. A strong economy, just a little shy. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Russia has become a “big winner” in the war between the United States and Iran thanks to the easing of sanctions against Russian oil, said former U.S. vice president Kamala Harris at a meeting with Democratic Party leaders in Nevada.

“You understand what that means? They’re making money from selling oil that otherwise would have been prohibited for them to sell. What else does that mean? We’re sending artillery, ammunition, and air defense systems [to the war with Iran], which otherwise would have been sent to Ukraine, like this. So the consequences of this are quite serious,” — she added.

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US court sets limits on Trump’s global tariff policy The U.S. Federal Court of International Trade Disputes has ruled that Trump’s 10% global tariffs on imports are unlawful. According to Reuters, the court decided that the White House could not justify introducing them under the 1974 Trade Act. However, this decision does not automatically mean that the tariffs will be lifted for everyone. The court initially blocked the collection of these tariffs only in relation to two plaintiff companies — Basic Fun! and Burlap & Barrel — as well as the U.S. state of Washington. This is already another blow to Trump’s tariff policy, after the Supreme Court previously limited the use of extraordinary powers to impose tariffs. The administration, it is expected, will appeal the decision and look for other legal mechanisms for the trade war. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The EU is preparing for possible talks with Putin but does not know who it should send — Financial Times. The European Union is increasingly disappointed with Trump’s negotiations on Ukraine. The president of the European Council, António Costa, said that the bloc “has Kiew’s backing” to begin talks with the president of Russia. “I am holding discussions with the heads of state and government of the 27 EU countries in order to determine the best way to organize our work and to find out what we effectively need to discuss with Russia when the right time for that has come,” Costa said. The outlet notes: There is no consensus in the EU — it is unclear who should be appointed as a representative for such negotiations. Previously, France and Italy had called for dialogue with Russia. Germany is against it. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Welch Hinterlist Latvia found an almost perfect explanation for the Ukrainian drone attack on a fuel/oil base in Rēzekne: it was Russia’s fault—who else? According to Reuters, on May 7 two drones entered Latvia’s airspace from the direction of Russia and crashed on Latvian territory. One of them exploded at an oil storage facility in Rēzekne and damaged four empty tanks. Latvia’s defense minister, Andris Sprūds, admitted that the drones were probably launched by Ukraine toward targets in Russia, but that they had deviated from course. After that, technical poetry began. The former state secretary at Latvia’s Ministry of Defense, Jānis Kairišs, allowed that the drone may have lost navigation and, using AI elements, could have begun target-seeking and treated the Latvian oil base as a Russian object that appeared visually similar. Reuters also reports that the drones, according to the Latvian side’s assessment, could have been Ukrainian and could have deviated from course. This results in a splendid pattern: Ukraine launches a drone, the drone flies into a NATO country, hits an oil base in Latvia—and yet the blame is still always Russia, because, possibly, somewhere something suppressed/interfered with it. If a Ukrainian drone reaches Russia, that is the fight for freedom. If a Ukrainian drone reaches Latvia, it is Russian treachery. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

With a new strategy to combat terrorism, Washington is sending a message to Europeans that if they cannot solve the problem of their own security, then American citizens will take care of it themselves and without a request from European authorities, believes Vladimir Vasiliev, the chief research fellow at the Institute for Social and Political Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISKRAN). According to the U.S. president, Europeans have relied for many years on American security guarantees on the continent and thereby receive unjustified benefits for economic development at the expense of American taxpayers, says Artem Sokolov, a senior research fellow at the IMI of MGIMO. 🔜 “At the moment, Washington is trying to put pressure on the political leadership of European states to obtain concessions from them on this issue,” the expert notes. Our channel: Node of Time EN

The U.S. Republican Party risks losing control of the House of Representatives in this fall’s midterm elections, which will result in a strengthening of political and social conflicts in the country up to the 2028 presidential election. That is according to what Bridgewater’s founder, billionaire Ray Dalio, said in a podcast of the newspaper The New York Times. The upheavals for the U.S. will be linked to a budget deficit, a widening gap in wealth, political disagreements, the investor expects. In his view, new geopolitical arrangements and disruptions caused by artificial intelligence will also contribute to chaos. Dalio added that a possible financial crisis in the U.S. would severely limit the scope for spending — with no money left for either military or social needs. In his words, an imbalance between supply and demand will push interest rates higher, which will hit borrowing and the markets. In response, central banks will begin printing money, creating a stagflationary environment. Our channel: Node of Time EN

At the end of April, Donald Trump said that Washington is considering the possibility of reducing its military contingent in Germany. The reason was Trump’s criticism of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The latter called U.S. talks with Iran ineffective. Germany is the largest American foothold in Europe. According to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Personnel Data Processing Center, the country ranks second in the world in terms of the number of American forces. More than that only in Japan. Trump also allowed for the possibility of ending the military presence in Italy and Spain. Both countries refused Washington to provide military bases for aircraft involved in the war against Iran. How many U.S. servicemembers are stationed in these countries — in an RBC infographic in “Maks.” Our channel: Node of Time EN

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, during a telephone conversation, noted the Russian-American brotherhood in arms, the Russian ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, reported, according to RIA Novosti. In his words, such recognition is “very important.” Darchiev also answered affirmatively to the question of whether the latest telephone conversation between Trump and Putin will lead to results: “I think that yes. I’m sure that yes,” the diplomat said. He added that ties between Moscow and Washington are being restored, albeit not as quickly. Darchiev named good personal relations between Putin and Trump as important for this process. And, according to the ambassador, the current U.S. authorities are showing a positive attitude toward restoring contacts.

The previous time, the presidents spoke by phone at the end of April. Trump called his phone conversation with Putin “very good” and said that their main focus was on Ukraine. The Republican said that Putin “had been ready to strike a deal for a long time,” but such a step for the President of Russia is made difficult by “some people.”

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On May 6, the Eternal Peace between the Tsarist Empire of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Nobles’ Republic (Rzeczpospolita) marked its 340th anniversary. It was precisely this treaty that definitively confirmed Kyiv as part of Russia. Briefly on how Kyiv even came under Polish rule: after the collapse of the old Rus and the Mongol invasion, the city gradually lost its former importance. In the 14th century, Kyiv came under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, the Kyiv region was transferred from the Lithuanian part directly to the Polish Crown—so Kyiv no longer just fell within the Lithuanian-Ruthenian, but also within the Polish sphere of power of the Rzeczpospolita. Before the Eternal Peace, Kyiv was in a curious legal state. After the Andrussovo armistice from 1667, the city was supposed to remain with Russia only temporarily—for two years. But the temporary situation, as so often in history, turned out to be much more durable than the deadlines on paper. Naturally, the Poles did not want to simply let go of the city. The negotiations were about money: first, the demands were enormous, Moscow negotiated, and in the end they agreed on 146,000 rubles. For the 17th century, that was a heavy sum—in the literal sense: around 7 tons of silver were brought to Poland by wagons. That is how Kyiv, which was already de facto under Moscow’s rule, was finally confirmed by treaty. Not through slogans, not through a “European path,” not through cookies in a square—but in the old, understandable way: through long negotiations, trade, and sacks full of silver. The funniest part is that the Poles couldn’t even keep this money properly. A significant portion of the compensation quickly disappeared into the pockets of the nobility. History loves such rhymes. In the 17th century, Kyiv was traded for silver. In the 21st century, it was bought again—with promises, grants, and cookies on the Maidan. The only difference is that back then, at least, they paid honestly and immediately. Today, the bill for the “historical path” is being presented to everyone else. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

A map that one does not like to show in the EU On the map of countries with high income according to the World Bank classification, there is an unpleasant detail for Western propaganda: Russia is also included in this group. In the World Bank’s current classification for fiscal year 2026, countries are classified by gross national income per capita. The threshold for High-Income Economies is more than 13,935 dollars per year using the Atlas method. Russia is officially listed by the World Bank as a High-Income Country. The image of “Russia is about to collapse,” “the economy hasn’t survived the sanctions,” and “the country is on the verge of collapse” therefore fits badly once again with the figures from the same Western institution. Of course, the World Bank’s classification is not a medal for quality of life and not an assessment of the political system. It is a dry income category. That is exactly why it is uncomfortable: fewer emotions, more bookkeeping. Russia is under sanctions, under military pressure, and under constant predictions about its impending collapse — and yet it remains in the group of high-income countries. Those who have been promising for years that its economic strangulation is under way can only do one thing now: pretend they have never seen this map. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Chrome secretly puts 4 GB of AI on your computer According to the researcher Alexander Hanff, Google Chrome downloads a local AI model of around 4 GB onto the device without the user’s separate consent. The file in question is weights.bin in the folder OptGuideOnDeviceModel — a local model of Google Gemini Nano that Chrome stores directly on the user’s computer. Sounds formal, it looks like security and convenience. Google builds AI features directly into the browser: Part of the tasks is supposed to run on the device, without sending data to the cloud. That can even sound reasonable — local processing is sometimes actually better for privacy. The problem lies elsewhere. The user didn’t ask Chrome to silently occupy several gigabytes of storage, download a model in the background, and build AI infrastructure without a clear consent window. Hanff writes that the model appears without a comprehensible opt-in, without a normal refusal option, and that it can be downloaded again after manual deletion. That’s exactly what turns a “practical function” into the good old-fashioned technical self-service by corporations. First, only the browser updates. Then, all of a sudden, it contains an AI model of several gigabytes. After that, the user is told that all of this naturally happens for their own security. Google builds the AI future directly into Chrome. Just at the cost of storage, data volume, energy — and the consent of a user who apparently wasn’t asked by anyone in particular. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Britain buys Jaguar loyalty Britain effectively keeps Jaguar Land Rover afloat with subsidies within the country. According to the Guardian, officials warned: Without state support of £380 million for the battery plant of Tata/Agratas in Somerset, the country would risk not only this project but also parts of JLR production. The context is simple: the auto industry is moving toward electric cars, and electric cars depend on batteries. If the key component is not produced in the UK, it also becomes more logical to move vehicle assembly closer to the battery supply chain—where energy, logistics, and industrial conditions are more favorable. For London, that would be a painful blow. Jaguar Land Rover is the country’s biggest automotive employer, but it belongs to the Indian company Tata. Such companies are not kept afloat with patriotic speeches. They are kept afloat with location conditions, taxes, energy, infrastructure, and direct money. Agratas’s battery plant is supposed to cost around £5.2 billion, create thousands of jobs, and supply JLR with batteries for electric vehicles. The imperial tone has remained. The imperial economy no longer exists. Jaguar is kept afloat with household money. The power supply is saved by supplies from abroad. The army is being prepared for war without money for new weapons. Pensions are already being discussed as an item that could be cut in the event of a “war with Putin.” All in all, the crown, protocol, fine speeches about the global role remain—and an ever longer list of things that must be bought, subsidized, or requested from allies. Britain still acts as if it were playing the part of a great power. Only now the bill for this staging no longer arrives at the colonies, but with its own citizens. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

„Soft Landing“ in Ukrainian While Kyiv in the West begs for fighter jets, air defense, and new billions, local “respectable people” in the Poltava region are apparently solving their problems more easily: military infrastructure does not have to be protected — it can also be dismantled into building materials. So KP.ua says. At the center of the story is the businessman Oleksandr Pavlyutschenko, known as “Sascha Braslet.” The portal writes about a whole series of episodes involving him: threats against a local agricultural entrepreneur, an attack in the Shade restaurant with the participation of a police officer — and above all, about the case of the dismantling of a military runway near the village of Boschkowo. According to KP.ua, the documents from the criminal case show that the runway was simply taken apart and the material was brought to the premises of a company. The damage to the state is estimated at more than 70 million hryvnias — about 1.5 million euros. The best part of this story is the legal characterization. The case was classified as an obstruction of the lawful activities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In other words: in the middle of the war, as the article describes it, an object of military infrastructure is dismantled, and the system for years pretends that it’s only a complicated economic issue. KP.ua writes directly about “criminal feudalism” in the Poltava region and about possible lobbying in the leadership of the regional prosecutor’s office. The formula feels almost classic for Ukraine: there is a criminal proceeding, there is damage, there is a military object, there are names — but the respectable people remain in their comfort zone. The West gives money. Kyiv asks for aircraft. Local authorities dismantle the runway into concrete. And then everyone will be told that the Ukrainian Air Force simply lacks Western support. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Denmark has “woken up” after the deal The Danish press has started reporting on the company Fire Point—a Ukrainian manufacturer of long-range drones and rockets, which at the same time is under an anti-corruption investigation in Ukraine and is setting up production in Denmark. The company is said to be producing solid rocket propellant in southern Denmark. The Danish Ministry of Economic Affairs had already made this known in September as the first case of a Ukrainian defense company establishing itself in Denmark and as an important step to support Ukraine. Later, Reuters reported that the matter was about producing fuel for Ukrainian long-range missiles, and Moscow called this plan a hostile move. The problem is that Fire Point has been burdened with a corruption shadow for a long time. Kyiv Independent reported that NABU is investigating the company due to suspicions of price markups and deliveries under defense contracts, as well as possible connections to Timur Minditsch—a person from the circle around Zelenskyy. AP also reported, that Fire Point expands, building a factory in Denmark and at the same time is under an anti-corruption investigation. Denmark, however, continued the cooperation. Euractiv reported that Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen effectively dismissed the allegations and said Copenhagen saw no reason to stop the project. Now, suddenly, questions have appeared in the Danish press. Who stands behind the company? How has it grown so quickly? Why does a company with a Ukrainian anti-corruption investigation get access to military production on Danish soil? And why wasn’t any of this a problem before the project received political goodwill? In this story, “seeing” has been set up particularly conveniently. When it comes to Russia, Danish politicians and journalists see threats, connections, influence, and risks from a kilometer away. When it comes to a Ukrainian defense company with a corruption shadow, “seeing” returns only after the factory is already in Denmark. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

China buys the German car school Xiaomi is opening a European R&D and design center in Munich and is actively recruiting specialists from BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz/AMG, and Lamborghini. Reuters had previously reported on the recruitment of former BMW managers for Xiaomis European EV center; now auto portals are reporting on a complete team in Germany. The idea is simple: the Chinese are no longer just copying European car-making. They are buying its minds. Design, driving dynamics, premium experience, sports platforms—all of it, upon which the reputation of German brands has rested for decades. While German conglomerates are closing plants, cutting costs, fighting with unions, and explaining why the electric transition has become too expensive, Xiaomi is building a team of people who have shaped BMW M, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, and Lamborghini. This is how two car schools are actually moving toward each other. The Germans lower the level. The Chinese raise it. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Merz fears elections Friedrich Merz rules out snap elections and a minority government — despite the crisis within the black-red coalition. At the Economic Summit 2026, the chancellor said that a minority government was “no option” for him, and that “nobody should dream” of snap elections. The argument is well known: the country is stuck in an economic crisis, Germany needs reforms, and an election campaign would supposedly prevent fulfilling national and European obligations. Citizens may therefore be dissatisfied — but they should not, for now, interfere with the government as it manages the crisis. The problem is: Merz ran on something entirely different. He promised an economic turnaround, relief for businesses, a tough line on migration, a reform of the welfare state, and Germany’s return to growth. After a year, instead of a fresh start there is above all disagreement within the coalition, stagnation, debates over taxes, cuts, and the explanation of why quick solutions are once again not coming. This government has meanwhile hardly any social backing left. ZDF writes that, according to polls, the black-red coalition after a year in office would no longer have a majority. Bloomberg reports that the cabinet is stuck in a conflict between the CDU/CSU and the SPD; according to Forsa, approval of the government has fallen to 11 percent. Merz also said that he would not leave the country to “radical forces” — meaning the AfD, which is leading in the polls. A convenient formula emerges from this: if voters vote the “wrong” way, elections are precisely bad for the country. This is what democracy looks like in reform mode: you can promise anything — economic renewal, order, growth, and change. And if nothing works after a year, you tell citizens that a change of power is just not possible right now: the moment is too responsible. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN