US President Donald Trump has warned Iran it will face "a much higher level and intensity" of strikes if it fails to agree to a peace deal that the two sides are reportedly closing in on.

The absence of Mount Ararat from Armenia's new biometric passports is the latest effort from Yerevan to decouple Armenians from the iconic Turkish landmark that has long been used by Armenia as a national symbol.

Russian drones hit a kindergarten in Ukraine's Sumy region on May 6. The attack came during a May 5-6 cease-fire unilaterally declared by Kyiv. Russia has declared its own cease-fire to coincide with Victory Day celebrations on May 9, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Beijing has reiterated its call for a “comprehensive ceasefire” in the Iran-US conflict and for a return to normal passage through the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi kicked off his first visit to China since the conflict erupted at the end of February.

For retired four-star general Philip Breedlove, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the Iran crisis is exposing a West that is “more divided than its adversaries.”

Russian aerial bombs struck the center of Kramatorsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region on May 5, killing at least five people and wounding several others. The city of Zaporizhzhya also came under attack, with air strikes leaving at least 12 dead, while at least four others were reported killed in Dnipro.

Russian forces hit at least three cities across Ukraine, using "glide bombs" and drones, killing more than two dozen people and wounding dozens of others, in one of the bloodiest attack on Ukraine in months.

US President Donald Trump has announced that the operation called Project Freedom to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz will be “paused for a short period of time.”

Several countries have condemned Iran and called an attack on oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates a dangerous escalation. The UAE claimed IT was hit by an Iranian drone on May 4. This comes as both the US and Iran fired shots in the Strait of Hormuz amid a fragile cease-fire.

With tensions high in the Strait of Hormuz, retired US Navy Vice Admiral Robert Murrett spoke to RFE/RL about the challenges, concerns, and potential solutions. The US military posture “is important in creating leverage for a diplomatic solution that would allow free and open navigation,” he said.

In this week's briefing, RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak drills down on two issues: Montenegro edging closer to the European Union; and more sanctions on Russians for the deportation of Ukrainian children.

You are listening to the audio version of the Wider Europe newsletter, published on May 5, 2026, read by an AI-generated voice of RFE/RL's Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak.