Politics

Exclusive: 'Be careful' — European leaders warned Zelensky to assess Trump's real stance at Mar-a-Lago
Politics

Exclusive: 'Be careful' — European leaders warned Zelensky to assess Trump's real stance at Mar-a-Lago

by Tim Zadorozhnyy

A day before President Volodymyr Zelensky met U.S. President Donald Trump, European leaders privately warned the Ukrainian president that the talks could go badly and urged him to "be careful," according to detailed notes from the call shared with the Kyiv Independent by a senior diplomatic source. The caution came ahead of Zelensky's Dec. 28 meeting with Trump at the U.S. president's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago — a high-stakes encounter focused on Washington's latest push to broker a peace f

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Zelensky picks Military Intelligence Head Budanov as his new chief of staff

President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered Kyrylo Budanov, the military intelligence chief, to take charge of the President’s Office on Jan. 2. "Now, Ukraine needs more focus on security issues, the development of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the diplomatic track in negotiations, and the President's Office will serve primarily to fulfill such tasks," Zelensky said. Budanov accepted the offer. "For me, it is an honor and a responsibility to focus on critically import

Inside the fight for Ukraine's river islands

Along the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, the front line has remained largely static, but fighting continues every day. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko embedded with Ukraine’s forces in Kherson Oblast, following FPV drone and night bomber teams tasked with defending river islands.

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