More than 2.5 years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, as Moscow continued to make rapid advances in the east and launch relentless missile attacks across Ukraine, Kyiv seemed to be facing a stark choice: make territorial concessions for an unjust peace or prepare for a prolonged war, sacrificing more
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on Sept. 20 to discuss Ukraine's energy needs ahead of the coming winter.
The number of Russian troops pulled over to Kursk Oblast, announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky in early September, was higher — 60,000.
"The leaders will discuss the state of the war between Russia and Ukraine, including Ukraine’s strategic planning and U.S. support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The meeting comes less than 50 days before the U.S. presidential election, a race that has been characterized by dramatic upheavals and sharply contrasting views on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Foreign leaders, including Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda, are convening in New York City over the next few days for the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations.
"The most important thing now is the determination to implement it," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Sept. 18.
"We have seen President Zelensky's peace plan. We think it lays out a strategy and a plan that can work," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Sept. 17.
"(Freezing of the conflict) will not lead to the end of the war," Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Presidential Office, told Current Time on Sept. 17.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said "those who want to talk to us now could have done so before the war started."
Zelensky said on Aug. 27 that he would present U.S. President Joe Biden with a plan for victory during a meeting in September.
Estonian President Alar Karis is very diplomatic. His country of 1.3 million people borders Russia, while the ongoing messy election campaign in Washington, D.C. forces European diplomats to question whether the U.S. will help countries like Estonia in case of a direct confrontation with Moscow. Despite that,
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 16 signed a bill on the formation of a separate branch of Ukraine's Armed Forces dedicated to unmanned systems.
"It's good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Key developments on Sept. 14, 15: * 103 Ukrainian POWs returned from Russian captivity, including 23 Azov fighters * At least 1 killed, 42 injured in Russian strike on apartment building in Kharkiv * Western aid not enough to equip 'even 4 out of 14' underarmed brigades needed on the front, Zelensky says
Ukraine hadn't received enough military aid from the foreign partners to equip "even four out of 14" Ukrainian army brigades that the country "needs to be ready," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CNN on Sept. 15.
At least 42 people, including three children, were injured when a Russian air strike hit a high-rise building in Kharkiv city and caused a fire, authorities reported on Sept. 15.
An advisor for President Volodymyr Zelensky denied a news report suggesting Zelensky's peace plan will include a partial ceasefire, calling it a "fake."
ATACMS restrictions are "the subject of intense consultation among allies and partners, and will be (discussed) between President (Biden) and President Zelensky," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
"My position is that the election period and election messages are election messages. Sometimes they are not very real," Zelensky said during a clip of the CNN interview, which is set to be fully published on Sept. 15.
Key developments on Sept. 13: * 49 Ukrainians released from Russian captivity * Finland announces $130 million aid package for Ukraine * Russia's 'rapid' offensive in Kursk Oblast hasn't yet achieved 'serious' success, Zelensky says * Russia buys Western aircraft parts via intermediaries despite sanctions * ATACMS 'pointless' without ability to strike inside Russia, Zelensky
"In the Kursk direction, the Russians have started their rapid offensive, and they want to use about 60,000-70,000 people there. We know about 40,000 people who are there," Zelensky said.
A six-point peace plan jointly proposed by China and Brazil sparked a furious outburst from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week, who described it as "destructive." China and Brazil first put forward the plan in May, setting it up as an alternative to Ukraine's own efforts of initiating peace negotiations
More than a month after Ukraine launched an unprecedented incursion into Russian territory, Russian forces have begun counterattacking in Kursk Oblast, aiming to eventually drive Ukrainian troops out of the partially occupied border region. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed reports about the Kursk counteroffensive at a press conference on Sept. 12,
If the West plans to lift the restrictions only for a range that Russia has already adapted to, then "this is a purely political decision to relieve pressure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized a peace initiative put forward by Brazil and China as "destructive" in an interview with Brazilian outlet Metropoles published on Sept. 12.
It remains unclear whether the decision on the long-range strikes will be taken during the meeting between U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Joe Biden this Friday or later in September during a U.N. assembly in New York, the source said.
Russia has committed 137,000 war crimes in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the United for Justice conference in Kyiv on Sept. 11.
Two hundred and twenty people remain hospitalized following the Russian attack on Poltava on Sept. 3, with some in critical condition, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address.
The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur explains the top stories of the week, from the resignation of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to the "stalled" Russian advance near Pokrovsk.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed his speechwriter Dmytro Lytvyn and former Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin as his new advisors as part of a major government reshuffle, according to presidential decrees published online.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders on the sidelines of the Cernobbio Forum in Italy on Sept. 7.
Volodymyr Zelensky has been president of Ukraine since 2019. Born in Kryvyi Rih, an industrial city in central Ukraine, Zelensky was known as a media personality and actor before becoming Ukraine’s sixth president.
The 46-year-old’s transformation into a wartime leader saw his approval ratings rise from 37% before the full-scale invasion, to 90% in May 2022. His approval rating fell to 62% by the end of 2023.
Zelensky's five-year term officially ended in May 2024 but he remains president while martial law, enacted after the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, is in place. A February 2024 poll indicated that almost 70% of Ukrainians agree that Zelensky should remain in office and elections should be postponed until martial law is lifted.
(Updated: )
