Key developments on May 19: * After call with Trump, Putin still refuses full ceasefire, again cites Russia's 'root causes' of war in Ukraine * Zelensky dismisses Putin's demand to withdraw troops from 4 Ukrainian regions * Commander of Ukraine's 59th Brigade replaced, media reports * Ukrainian drones destroy Russian radar, supply depots on
As Ukraine's liberating forces advanced in the fall of 2022, several trucks stopped near the rear yard of the Kherson Local History Museum. Inside the building itself, dozens of people moved back and forth like ants through the corridors. These people didn't work there — they were employees from museums in
More than 1,000 Russian government entities and 1,200 private companies are involved in the economy of occupied Mariupol, a major southeastern city occupied by Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, according to a research paper published on May 14.
Editor’s Note: The identities of Yellow Ribbon activists who live in Russian-occupied territory have been withheld for security reasons. "When my child hears about May 9 they almost scream, and so do I," an activist with the Ukrainian Yellow Ribbon civil resistance group currently living in the Russian-occupied town
The survey, conducted between April 24 and May 4, shows that 56.9% of respondents would not be willing to compromise on either territorial integrity or Ukraine’s pro-Western direction in any potential talks with Moscow.
New Western intelligence suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have shifted his immediate war objectives towards holding occupied Ukrainian territories as well as growing his country's struggling economy, CNN reported on May 1, citing Western officials familiar with the matter.
U.S. President Donald Trump has once again sent ripples of concern around Ukraine, this time by saying he "thinks" President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to give up occupied Crimea as part of a peace deal to end Russia's full-scale invasion. Trump's comments, if taken at face value, suggest Zelensky
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Lavrov listed other conditions for Russia to enter into peace talks, namely a ban on Ukraine's entry into NATO, the country's demilitarization, and changes to Ukraine's legislation that would restore the position of the Russian language, culture, and religious organization.
Comments from Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko that Ukraine may be forced to temporarily give up some territories to Russia have been met with dismay by Ukrainian lawmakers who spoke to the Kyiv Independent. "No politician in Ukraine is authorized to change Ukraine's borders — this is the sovereign right of the
"It's not fair. But for peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
“It has to be a compromise,” he said. “De facto this peace should come down to the fact that neither side will be able to say it won this war. Ukraine will also have to step down in some sense, because that’s what will probably happen.”
A Russian court in occupied Zaporizhia sentenced two residents to 14 years in a general regime penal colony, for alleged “treason” over fund transfers to the Ukrainian military, Russian state media TASS reported on April 22.
Vladislav Ruchka, Andriy Yaroshinsky, and Dmytro Ihnatenko have been sentenced to up to 24 years in prison by Russian proxies in Donetsk.
President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has clarified his comments in an interview with the Times on April 11, where he seemingly suggested that Ukraine could be partitioned into separate zones as part of a peace deal with Russia.
In an interview with the Telegraph published on April 7, Victoria Spartz said Ukraine is not in a position to demand the return of all occupied territories.
"These are Ukrainian territories ... this is one of the main red lines for us, in any case, this is a temporary occupation of territories," Zelensky said.
As the U.S. tries to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree that appears to present Ukrainians living in occupied territories with a choice — submit to Russian law by Sept. 10 or face punishment. The decree, published by the Kremlin
The "referendums ... were completely fraudulent and at gunpoint," European Commission spokesperson Anita Hipper said on March 24.
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce refused to say whether the Trump administration believes Russia has a legitimate claim to occupied Ukrainian lands. "There's a lot of conversations happening," she said.
The decree mandated that Ukrainian citizens "illegally" staying in Russia must obtain Russian documents of leave before Sept. 10. The intelligence added that Russia "erroneously and illegally" defines both occupied and unoccupied Ukrainian territory in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia oblasts, as well as Crimea, as part of Russia.
According to President Vladimir Putin's decree, Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories must leave by Sept. 10 or "regulate their legal status."
Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia and Russian-occupied territories must leave by Sept. 10 or "regulate their legal status," according to an official decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and published on March 20.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stressed that Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are non-negotiable, reaffirming that Kyiv will never recognize Russian-occupied territories as part of Russia.
"It is not reasonable to demand that, for example, Zaporizhzhia or Kherson be fully handed over — that sounds like a f*** off to us," a high-level Ukrainian official said.
"Yeah, we’ve had conversations," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said when asked about potential discussions regarding Ukraine ceding territory.
A Russian woman, Olga Dorokhina, took a 4-year-old girl from the occupied part of Kherson Oblast and plans to adopt her, according to an investigation by Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne published on March 10.
"We have not received such proposals," spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said during a press briefing, downplaying the significance of "certain formulations that could be heard in the media."
For Viktoriia Hrinienkova, life came to a standstill in June 2023. Three of her family members — her mother, father, and grandmother — died in their own home in Hola Prystan, a Ukrainian town in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast. They were killed in the aftermath of Russia’s destruction of
Key developments on Feb. 25: * Ukraine, US reach agreement on minerals deal * Russia's war objectives 'not yet achieved,' Kremlin's ambassador says * Reclaiming occupied territories possible but 'not easy' for Ukraine, Trump claims * Ukraine needs $524 billion for recovery, reconstruction after 3 years of Russia's full-scale war * Russia's Ryazan oil
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 24 that he believes Ukraine might be able to reclaim some of its territories occupied by Russia, but it would be challenging.
Elon Musk on Feb. 21 questioned why Ukraine was still actively defending itself amid the ongoing Russian full-scale invasion, suggesting the country's fight against the Kremlin's imperialist ambitions was, in fact, a giant money-making scam. "What are they dying for? What exactly are they dying for? The line of engagement
Yulia Svyrydenko's comment comes as Kyiv and Washington negotiate a deal for Ukraine’s natural resources in return for support and security guarantees.
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