Key developments on Feb. 6: * First French Mirage fighter jets reportedly arrive in Ukraine * Ukraine launches new offensive in Kursk Oblast, Russian media claims, Kyiv yet to confirm * Ukraine strikes Russian drone launch site in Krasnodar Krai, military claims * U.S. won't present plan to end Russia's war at Munich
"There is no official plan yet. What is in certain publications... I am sure that this is not President Trump's official plan," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 6.
Keith Kellogg, special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, is expected to present Donald Trump's plan at the Munich Security Conference.
Join our exclusive KI Insights Monthly Briefing to gain critical perspectives on the prospects of a peace process in Ukraine under the new US administration. We will analyze the various involved stakeholders and their negotiation stances and discuss potential dynamics given existing leverage and pressure points. Event details: Topic: Shifting
His remarks come amid ongoing discussions among Western countries about the possible deployment of peacekeeping forces if a ceasefire is negotiated.
While the specifics of a potential agreement under U.S. President Donald Trump remain unclear, Zelensky emphasized that Vladimir Putin has no interest in ending the war.
"It can’t be without the United States," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Bloomberg on Jan. 22. "Even if some European friends think it can be, no it can’t be. Nobody will risk without the United States."
"We're the largest NATO partner in Europe. We'll obviously have a role to play," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Jan. 18 when asked about the possibility of sending troops to monitor a ceasefire in Ukraine.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had discussed the possibility of deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelensky during their meeting in Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation on the front line and the possibility of sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in a phone call on Jan. 13.
"The whole [Trump] team is obsessed with strength and looking strong, so they’re recalibrating the Ukraine approach," one European official told the Financial Times.
"President (Vladimir) Putin last outlined our conditions for ending the conflict on Dec. 19. So far, nothing from the incoming U.S. administration suggests anything of interest to us," Russia's envoy to the U.N., Vasily Nebenzya, said.
Germany should not rule out deploying Bundeswehr troops to Ukraine after the war ends, Roderich Kiesewetter, a lawmaker from the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said on Jan. 3, Schwäbische Zeitung reported.
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell sat down with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze to look back at 2024 and discuss the country’s support for Ukraine amid political uncertainty before the inauguration of Donald Trump in the U.S. and Russia’s gains on the frontline.
Editor's note: We asked members of the Kyiv Independent community to share the questions they have about the war. Here's what they asked and how we answered. Join our community to ask a question in the next round. Our community funds our journalism. Question: I know it's a big question,
"We continued to work on the initiative of President Macron regarding the presence in Ukraine of forces that can contribute to stabilization on the path to peace," Zelensky said after meeting with the French President on Dec. 18.
Editor's note: This article is based on a publicly available research report on scenarios for the end of Russia’s war on Ukraine by KI Insights, the Kyiv Independent’s research unit. Read Francis Farrell's full report here. After nearly three years of heavy battles and mass strikes, Russia’s
Key developments on Dec. 9: * Zelensky 'may consider' deployment of foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine to ensure ceasefire * Ex-chief of Russian-run Olenivka prison allegedly killed in car bombing in occupied Donetsk * Trump 'formulating a concept' to end Russia-Ukraine war * Russia claims bodies of Il-76 crash victims given to Ukraine, Kyiv says
Turkey won't support a peace plan that involves freezing the war in Ukraine and Kyiv making territorial concessions to Moscow, Ukrinform reported on Nov. 29, citing Ukrainian lawmaker Ahtem Chiygoz.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stressed that “decisions on the war in Ukraine can neither be made over the heads of Ukrainians nor over ours." Europe will have to bear more responsibility for its security, he added.
In a remarkable comeback that saw Donald Trump win the electoral college and popular vote in the Nov. 5 election, the 78-year-old conservative will take office on Jan. 20 more powerful than ever, with Republican control of the Senate and possibly the House of Representatives. While Trump’s pre-election campaign
Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6, after months of repeatedly claiming he could end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a day. To do that, he will have to do what he claims he does best — negotiate a deal. Ambassador Kurt Volker is one person
Trump has repeatedly said he could end Russia's war "in 24 hours." What is his plan?
Following the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of the Peace Formula in Montreal, over 45 countries signed a pledge on Oct. 31 in support of facilitating the return of all Ukrainian captives and deportees.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva touted his peace plan jointly developed with China in New York, despite the proposal already being dismissed as "destructive" by Ukraine.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva touted his peace plan jointly developed with China at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 24, despite the proposal already being dismissed as "destructive" by Ukraine. Condemning the "invasion of Ukrainian territory," Lula said it was now "crucial" to create the conditions
President Volodymyr Zelensky told the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 24 that peace cannot be achieved through negotiations alone, but that Russia must be forced to end the war. Zelensky has been rallying support from Western leaders for his "victory plan" to bring an end to the war, which
The two discussed trade, economic and defense cooperation, India's involvement in Ukraine's post-war reconstruction, and collaboration in educational, scientific, and cultural initiatives, according to Zelensky's office.
More than 2.5 years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, as Moscow continued to make rapid advances in the east and launch relentless missile attacks across Ukraine, Kyiv seemed to be facing a stark choice: make territorial concessions for an unjust peace or prepare for a prolonged war, sacrificing more
"The most important thing now is the determination to implement it," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Sept. 18.
Key developments on Sept. 17: * Around 1 million killed, wounded in Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, WSJ reports * Ukraine destroys Russian ammunition depots near occupied Mariupol, Navy says * None of Ukraine's plans to end the war envisages ceasefire, ceding territory, Podolyak says * Russia reportedly executes POW with sword, Kyiv appeals
"(Freezing of the conflict) will not lead to the end of the war," Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Presidential Office, told Current Time on Sept. 17.
