Russian forces shell 5 communities in Sumy Oblast

2:36 PM  (Updated:  February 25, 2025 10:35 am)

Updated: Boris Johnson backs Trump's deal on Ukraine's natural resources.

"The deal should be signed," Boris Johnson said, speaking at the YES conference event held in Kyiv by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation on Feb. 24, the third anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion. "It commits the U.S. to a free and sovereign Ukraine. A continued American support is well worth the price for Ukraine."

10:15 AM

US, Ukraine close to signing deal on minerals worth 'hundreds of billions of dollars,' Axios reports.

According to the draft obtained by Axios, the U.S. would express its desire to keep Ukraine "free, sovereign and secure."

8:20 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 869,530 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.

This number includes 1,300 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

6:21 AM

Reclaiming occupied territories possible but 'not easy' for Ukraine, Trump claims.

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.

4:41 AM

Russia's Ryazan oil refinery halts operations following drone strike, Reuters reports.

Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery suspended operations after a Ukrainian drone attack set its main crude distillation unit, CDU-6, on fire, Reuters reported on Feb. 24.

3:16 AM

2 killed, 6 injured in Russian attacks on Sumy Oblast.

Two people were killed, and six have been injured in Russian aerial attacks on Sumy Oblast on Feb. 24.

2:15 AM

'Peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine,' Macron says following Trump visit.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Feb. 24 called for a long-lasting peace in Ukraine that would not mean a "surrender of Ukraine."

12:57 AM

Ukraine, Russia reach a deal to evacuate Kursk Oblast residents, Russian official claims.

Ukraine and Russia have agreed to evacuate residents of Kursk Oblast through Belarus to other regions of the country, a Russian official claimed on Feb. 24.

11:54 PM

Trump refuses to label Putin a dictator.

"I don't use those words lightly... I think we're going to see how it all works out," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 24 when asked if he would call Vladimir Putin a dictator the same way he labeled President Volodymyr Zelensky.

11:30 PM

'Nobody can demand anything from Russia' — Putin talks about renewed US-Russia contacts, rare earth metals.

The Kremlin leader said Russia has significantly larger reserves of rare earth metals than Ukraine and is open to working with foreign partners on developing rare earth deposits, including in the occupied parts of Ukraine, which Putin called "newly controlled regions."

11:16 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: War in Ukraine could end 'within weeks,' Putin open to peacekeepers, Trump claims

10:55 PM

War

Amid growing Russian, US pressure, world rallies in support of Ukraine

9:25 PM

War in Ukraine could end 'within weeks,' Putin open to peacekeepers, Trump claims.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington supported sending European troops to monitor a ceasefire and that he had discussed the proposal with Putin, who “would accept it.”

9:16 PM

Trump says Ukraine minerals deal to 'be signed very soon,' plans meeting Zelensky.

Trump reiterated his push for a deal between the U.S. and Ukraine, arguing that it would help Kyiv's economy while ensuring that Washington "recoups the tens of billions of dollars and military equipment sent to Ukraine."

8:00 PM

UN adopts Ukraine's resolution condemning Russia's invasion — US, Russia, Belarus vote against.

The UN General Assembly approved a Ukrainian resolution on Feb. 24 condemning Russia's full-scale invasion, with 93 countries voting in favor and 18 against. The U.S., Israel, Hungary, Russia, and Belarus have voted against the resolution.

7:47 PM

How Ukraine has pushed back and held the line against Russia for 3 years

7:25 PM

EU imports of Russian fossil fuels exceeded aid to Ukraine in third year of the Russian invasion, report says.

The EU paid 21.9 billion euros ($22.9 billion) for Russian fossil fuel imports in the third year of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, exceeding the 18.8 billion euros ($19.6 billion) in financial aid sent to Ukraine that year, according to a new report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air published on Feb. 24.

6:51 PM

Opinion

Trump’s Ukraine rare earths deal: 'The art of the steal'

6:46 PM

Zelensky, Trump have 'good' conversation during G7 meeting.

"As for Donald Trump... We have just had a conversation. It was a very good conversation within the framework of the G7 meeting led by Canada," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

6:42 PM

Opinion

In 3 years of war, Ukraine's mothers have been forced underground

6:40 PM

Women account for 21% of applicants at Ukraine's army recruitment centers.

Since the army recruitment centers began operation, 42,366 Ukrainians have applied, with the highest number of female candidates coming from western Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil oblasts.

5:52 PM

Lithuania's Nauseda proposes 2030 as Ukraine's EU accession date.

Speaking at the Support Ukraine summit in Kyiv, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called for decisive leadership to accelerate Ukraine's integration.

5:42 PM

Video

Three years of Russia's full-scale war: a conversation with Rob Lee.

The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell sits down with Rob Lee, former U.S. marine infantry officer and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program. They discuss the evolving battlefield realities as Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its 4th year and why peace negotiations are unlikely to bring results any time soon.

5:33 PM

Opinion

‘It’s not the end’ — Kyiv Independent staff on what they’d tell themselves right before Russia's invasion

5:03 PM

Around 165,000 Russian troops killed in Ukraine, media reports.

Using open-source research and statistical analysis, a report by independent Russian media outlets Meduza and Mediazona suggests that Russian losses have increased each year.