Ukrainian officials involved in recent peace talks reportedly suggested that part of the Donbas could be renamed "Donnyland" in honor of U.S. President Donald Trump, the New York Times reported April 21.

Italy summoned Russia's ambassador on April 21 to protest "extremely serious and offensive" remarks about Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by pro-Kremlin TV host Vladimir Solovyov.

"Ukraine has completed repair work on the section of the Druzhba oil pipeline that was damaged by a Russian strike," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukrainian billionaire and oligarch Rinat Akhmetov purchased a luxury apartment in Monaco valued at $550 million in one of the most expensive residential property deals in history, Bloomberg reported April 21.

Dombrovskis reminded that the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan is structured so that Ukraine only repays if Russia pays Ukraine reparations. “(This), of course, invites a question: what happens if Russia does not pay reparations?” he said.

The site was used to bury residents who died during the Russian siege of the city in 2022, according to Ukraine’s Center for the Study of Occupation.

Key developments on April 20: * Druzhba pipeline ready to resume, Zelensky says, raising hopes of unblocking EU loan * Ukrainian drones hit key Russian oil hub in Samara Oblast, SBU says * Fearing Ukrainian troops landing in Crimea, Russia intensifies coastal mining * Draft officers arrested for kidnapping a man, demanding $30,000 bribe in Odesa; office chief suspended * Teen recruited by Russia caught while preparing terror attack in Ukraine, SBU says Oil flows through the Druzhba pipeli

"We are more concerned that money is increasing more rapidly than (weapons) production. It creates some kind of inflationary pressure," EU's Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius explained.

The SBU said it detained the suspect while he was planting the explosives.

"Where we (Europeans) have a problem, which is Ukraine, we are alone," Kaja Kallas said.

"The beaches will now become minefields," Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces, told the Kyiv Independent.

Editor's note: The names of the people with relatives left in the Russian-occupied territories have been changed for security reasons. Communication between residents of Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine and their relatives in Ukrainian-controlled territory is becoming increasingly difficult as Moscow tightens control over internet access and restricts messaging platforms. For many, Telegram remains the primary way to stay in touch. But connections have grown unreliable, with users reporting f

"Our Ukrainian friends need to understand that repeatedly portraying the Baltic states as Russia's possible next victim... does not create or reinforce a narrative that would help Ukraine itself or others in pushing back against Russian war-driven imperialism," Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the Estonian parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Kyiv Independent.

The question of NATO's future arises again and again whenever Donald Trump makes a statement about his European allies. Can NATO survive the disillusionment of the Trump administration or the progressive withdrawal of American military support for European security? And yet each time that question pops up, America's European allies insist that NATO will endure. They highlight the continuous close cooperation between military leadership across the Atlantic,  pointing to the obvious reality that

On April 21, the Kyiv Independent launches a new merchandise collection, "No News is Bad News," dedicated to protecting journalists covering Russia’s war against Ukraine. th

According to the Transport Ministry, the new bridge for cars and trucks will be the first of its kind linking Russia and North Korea by land.

Four draft officers were detained in Odesa after allegedly abducting a man, beating him, and demanding $30,000, as military authorities suspended two recruitment office chiefs.

The landslide victory of ex-President Rumen Radev's party in Bulgaria's April 19 parliamentary election is seen by many as a boost to Russia-friendly, Ukraine-skeptic voices within the European Union. Running on an anti-corruption platform, Radev's Progressive Bulgaria (PB) secured 44.6% of the vote, winning a majority and a chance to govern without a coalition partner. The result could strain Ukraine's relations with Bulgaria, a 6-million-strong NATO and EU member that has backed Kyiv since R

"Our far-reaching sanctions... ensure that (Russia) receives the necessary response," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukraine says drones struck a key oil distribution hub in Russia's Samara Oblast overnight, sparking a fire.

Russian attacks killed six people and injured 59 others across Ukraine over the past day, local authorities reported on April 21.

Russia’s book market finds itself under mounting strain as the government steadily expands its censorship regime.

At least six people were injured in a Russian drone attack on the city of Sumy overnight on April 21, local authorities reported.

The number includes 1,040 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Explosions were reported overnight in the Russian city of Novocherkassk in Rostov Oblast, according to Russian media and Telegram channels.

Two police officers in Kyiv have been formally notified of suspicion over their actions during the mass shooting in the city on April 18, Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation and Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced doubts about peace talks in an April 20 interview, as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet with Ukrainian officials amid stalled negotiations with Russia.

Russian drone attacks on Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv oblasts on April 20 killed three and injured 18 others, authorities reported.

A few days into the U.S.-Iran war, after Iran attacked many of its neighbors, my friend in Kyiv asked her 11-year-old son if he had heard about what was happening. Unworried, he replied they were firing "just Shaheds," and continued playing his game. Ukrainians by now have seen thousands of such attacks. Russia had been pounding Ukraine's energy infrastructure particularly hard lately, leaving precious little time for electricity to charge devices or for kids to play their video games. Iranian

Marta Kos, the European Union's commissioner for enlargement, on April 20 praised the speed of Ukraine’s reforms to align with European standards and called for stronger safeguards to prevent future backsliding. Kos’ assessment comes despite criticism that Ukrainian authorities are dragging their feet on the rule-of-law and economic reforms needed for European integration. In recent months, Ukraine’s parliament has passed some bills required for EU accession but has struggled with others. Kos

Key developments on April 20: * Ukraine pushing to produce home-grown ballistic defense system 'within a year,' Zelensky says * Russian preschools, schools, universities have spent over $213 million on 'educational' drones since 2022, media reports * Top Defense Ministry advisor injured in allegedly targeted Russian drone strike * Europol hackathon identifies 45 more Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia * Ukraine's long-range strikes inflicted billions of dollars in Russian oil r

Ukraine's defense ministry is testing a unified ground control station for fiber-optic drones, aiming to cut the number of incompatible systems troops carry to the front.