Politics

Exclusive: Trump's top envoy negotiating Ukraine's fate  displays 'shocking' lack of knowledge about war, politics
Politics

Exclusive: Trump's top envoy negotiating Ukraine's fate displays 'shocking' lack of knowledge about war, politics

by Tim Zadorozhnyy

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a response from the White House. A senior U.S. envoy involved in efforts to end Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has displayed a lack of basic understanding of Ukraine's political system and the war itself while speaking in a closed conversation with a small group of reporters, the Kyiv Independent has learned. The official is engaged in high-level negotiations with both Moscow and Kyiv as Ukraine, Russia, and the United States reenter an

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How to keep an elephant and a gorilla warm during Kyiv's coldest winter of the full-scale war

Life in Kyiv right now is difficult for any 51-year-old, but when you are also a western lowland gorilla more suited to the warmth of central Africa, the ongoing energy crisis is particularly tough. This is the current plight of Tony, one of the oldest residents of Kyiv Zoo, a popular attraction in the capital that is somehow managing to stay functioning even as Russia continues its relentless campaign to freeze Ukraine into submission. Zoo technician Anastasiia Larionova is one of the team of

Kyiv Zoo chief Kyrylo Trantin feeds 20-year-old elephant Horace at the Kyiv Zoo in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 27, 2026.

Ukraine war latest: Russian forces trying to 'bypass and infiltrate' Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, military says

This is Asami Terajima reporting from a very cold Kyiv on day 1,440 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Russian troops are trying to "bypass and infiltrate" the destroyed town of Vovchansk in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, and the situation is "frankly difficult," Viktor Tregubov, a spokesman for Ukraine's Joint Forces in charge of the area, said on Feb. 2. Speaking on national TV, Tregubov said Russian troops are pressing on Ukrainian positions on the outskirts of Vo

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