Kurt Volker - The Kyiv Independent

War

'I don't think Putin will agree to a peace agreement ever' — Volker on peace talks between Ukraine, Russia

by Kateryna Hodunova May 9, 2025

Kurt Volker said that now "there is more alignment" between Ukraine and the U.S. under the Trump Administration than at the beginning of 2025.

Kurt Volker speaks in Odesa, Ukraine, on May 17, 2023.

Trump & Russia

Kurt Volker's guide to US-Russia Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia

by Chris York February 17, 2025

After years of political isolation sparked by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss how to bring an end to the war. Neither Ukraine nor Europe has been invited to the main discussion, setting off alarm bells in

Video

Expert guide to US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia

by Chris York, Nick Allard February 17, 2025

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York speaks with Kurt Volker, the former U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations, about the upcoming U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia and why he thinks Ukraine should not be overly concerned about U.S. President Donald Trump's first steps toward peace negotiations

Donald Trump

Trump's stance on Ukraine, Russia — what we know from his first week in office

by Chris York January 28, 2025

For those with a vested interest in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump's first week in office was a bit of a rollercoaster. His inauguration speech on Jan. 21 made no explicit mention of Ukraine or Russia's full-scale invasion, prompting some to question if either was anywhere near a priority

Video

How Trump plans to end Ukraine war, according to Volker

by Chris York, Nick Allard November 7, 2024

A few hours after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the U.S. presidential election, the Kyiv Independent sat down with Ambassador Kurt Volker, who served as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations in 2017-2019, and as U.S. ambassador to NATO in 2008-2009.

News Feed

Ukraine's Kursk incursion 'demonstrates that Russia is at the limit of its capabilities,' says former US NATO ambassador

by Nate Ostiller, Martin Fornusek August 31, 2024

"(Russia) can't attack Ukraine and defend Russia at the same time, it has had to make a choice," said Kurt Volker, former U.S. ambassador to NATO.

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Ukraine Compact is 'bit of window dressing,' says former Dutch defense minister

by Nate Ostiller, Martin Fornusek August 31, 2024

While the Ukraine Compact is a useful overarching framework, many countries had already signed bilateral security agreements, said former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.

Interview

Volker: West has made a lot of mistakes in Russia-Ukraine war

by Toma Istomina February 23, 2024

The West doesn’t spend enough time analyzing its miscalculations in the Russia-Ukraine war, Kurt Volker, a former U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations, said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent. “We have made many mistakes, from just before Russia's invasion and throughout. The biggest mistake was holding

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2:49 AM

'I don't know what the hell happened to Putin,' says Trump as Russia unleashes 3rd consecutive attack on Ukraine.

"I’ve always gotten along with him," Trump said of Putin to reporters at an airport in New Jersey on May 25. “But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all."

12:00 AM

'Putin is not interested in peace' — German FM calls for additional sanctions following large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine.

"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is not interested in peace, he wants to continue this war, and we must not allow this, which is why the European Union will agree on additional sanctions," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on May 25.

1:05 AM

(Updated: May 25, 2025 11:01 pm)

Russian missile, drone attack kills 12, injures 79.

Russia launched 69 missiles overnight and 298 drones, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

10:36 PM

Damage reported after train runs over explosive device in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, governor claims.

A rail line was damaged in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on May 25 after a cargo train ran over an explosive device planted underneath the tracks, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed.

9:51 PM

'Ceasefire now' — Trump's Ukraine envoy reacts to Russia's large-scale attack on Ukraine.

"The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents. These attacks are shameful," U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on X without explicitly naming Russia. "Stop the killing. Ceasefire now."

6:19 PM

(Updated: May 25, 2025 9:11 pm)

Largest-ever Ukrainian-Russian prisoner swap comes under fire for lacking Azov fighters, civilians.

As Kyiv completed its largest prisoner exchange of the war on May 25, exchanging 1,000 Ukrainian POWs for 1,000 Russians, some spoke out on social media to criticize authorities for failing to return certain captives.

8:47 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine concludes largest prisoner swap with Russia; Russian missile, drone attack kills 12, injures over 60

7:55 PM

Russian commander claims Putin's helicopter was 'at the epicenter' of Ukrainian drone attack.

"We were simultaneously engaged in an air defense battle and ensuring airspace security for the president’s helicopter flight," Yury Dashkin, commander of an air defense division, said, as cited by the Russian news agency on May 25.

7:49 PM

China supplying Russian military factories with chemicals, gunpowder, components, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence chief says.

Beijing is supplying "special chemicals, gunpowder, and components" to 20 Russian military-industrial manufacturing facilities, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service Oleh Ivashchenko said in an interview partially released on May 25.

2:19 PM

(Updated: May 25, 2025 7:30 pm)

KI Insights

Ukraine calendar: What will happen this week

7:04 PM

Ukraine destroys Russian fuel train in occupied territory, military intelligence says.

HUR released video of the strike on its official Telegram channel on May 25, showing a train engulfed in flames.

6:50 PM

Kyiv launches drone attack on Moscow, official claims, following Russia's large-scale attack on Ukraine overnight.

Several Ukrainian drones were downed by Russian air defenses on their approach to Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed on May 25. Sobyanin's report comes following Russia's large-scale missile and drone attack on multiple cities of Ukraine, which killed 12 people and injured 60.

6:09 PM

Russians 'mock' US and peace process with latest attacks on Ukraine, EU ambassador says.

"How will the world react to Putin’s terror and clear provocation? To his mockery of any ceasefire discussion? I must admit, I ask that myself," Mathernova wrote. "Putin is clearly after his stated goal, killing Ukrainians and forcing Ukraine into submission. Sadly, the only language he understands is the language of force."

5:16 PM

Russia 'categorically' rejected unconditional ceasefire in peace talks, Ukrainian official says.

"I do not think that (the Russian negotiating team's) directives had a position that allowed for the possibility of reaching an agreement with the Ukrainian side on a ceasefire," Kyslytsia said.

5:03 PM

Video

Russia advancing and ex-official assassination | Ukraine This Week.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur shares key takeaways from Monday’s phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Wednesday’s assassination of a controversial Ukrainian ex-official. Also, Russia is advancing in Sumy Oblast.

3:52 PM

Two women killed in Russian strike on residential building in Kupiansk.

"At this moment, two people are known to have died - women aged 85 and 56," Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.

5:07 PM

(Updated: May 25, 2025 2:41 pm)

Russia upgrades Iskander ballistic missiles, more difficult for Ukraine's Patriots to intercept, Air Force says.

"It complicates (the interception), but doesn’t make the interception impossible," Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said. "I think our partners are already working to improve the system's capabilities."

2:19 PM

US silence 'encourages Putin', Zelensky says after massive Russian attack.

"Without really strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will definitely help," Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram on May 25.

1:05 PM

Ukraine brings home 303 POWs in final phase of biggest prisoner swap with Russia.

The prisoner exchange took place in three phases carried out over three days, and was agreed on during peace talks held in Turkey on May 16, the first direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in three years.

12:12 PM

Russia claims it downed 110 Ukrainian drones overnight.

The drones were intercepted over several regions of Russia, including Moscow and Kursk oblasts, according to the ministry.

10:39 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 980,850 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022.

Russia has lost around 980,850 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on May 25.

6:00 AM

Russian attack in Kyiv Oblast kills 3, injures 10, including children.

The bodies of two victims were found when first responders extinguished a fire in the Obukhiv district. Another person was killed in the Bucha district, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said.

1:39 AM

(Updated: May 25, 2025 5:31 am)

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