Editor's note: This article is a special edition of the KI Insights' The Week Ahead newsletter, looking at challenges and opportunities facing Ukraine in 2025. 2025 is gearing up to be a decisive year for Ukraine. The country’s leadership will need to navigate a turbulent international landscape, as well
Trump's picks include Elbridge Colby, who opposes Ukraine's NATO membership but supports tougher sanctions on Moscow, and Michael Duffey, who froze military aid to Kyiv in 2019.
In a wide ranging interview with MSNBC on Dec. 19, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about prospects for a potential ceasefire in Ukraine as well as support for the embattled country ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in January.
The Trump administration's incoming Ukraine peace envoy, Keith Kellogg, plans to visit Kyiv and several European capitals in early January as part of the new administration’s effort to address the Russia-Ukraine war.
NATO has assumed responsibility for coordinating Western military aid to Ukraine through the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine center, Reuters reported on Dec. 17, citing its sources.
When asked whether the upcoming Trump administration plans to restrict how Ukraine can use U.S. arms, Mike Waltz said that a "blank check... just isn't a strategy... This just, kind of, forever war that we seem to be backing into."
Ukrainian authorities twice delayed signing the agreement, officials on both sides of the negotiations said. The delays offer the opportunity for Trump to claim an early victory at the start of his term.
"I truly believe this will be resolved in the next few months," Kellogg said in an interview on Fox Business. "The only person who can do this is President Donald Trump, and he will do it. They're tired of killing each other out there. This is time," Kellogg added.
Key developments on Dec. 12: * Trump hints he won't 'abandon' Kyiv but opposes Ukraine launching US missiles inside Russia * Drones attack Chechnya, hitting police building, Kadyrov claims * Poland 'dismisses speculation' on peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, PM says * US House passes 2025 defense spending bill without Ukraine lend-lease extension * Hungary did
Ukraine is exhausted. Low on manpower, ammunition, and, most importantly, morale, the country is slowly reckoning with the fact that the ongoing war may be unwinnable on the battlefield — at least for now. According to a Gallup survey published on Nov. 19, 52% of Ukrainians now say they want their
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take action toward negotiating a truce, saying on Dec. 8: "I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!"
In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, host Anna Belokur explains the recent meeting between U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky, the escalating protests in Georgia, U.S. commentator Tucker Carlson's surprise interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and the Johnny Harris controversy.
Trump reiterated that he is working to end the hostilities in Ukraine, reinforcing his earlier campaign claim that he could resolve the war within 24 hours if he were in charge.
The previously unannounced meeting comes ahead of Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. It also marks the first in-person encounter between Zelensky and Trump since Trump won re-election.
President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as well as French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris for a trilateral meeting on Dec. 7, amid world leaders' visit to France for the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed confidence in reaching an agreement with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on a joint strategy for Ukraine following their phone conversation.
Washington will send Kyiv hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, and hundreds of armored vehicles before mid-January. The U.S. also offered to train soldiers at sites beyond Ukrainian territory.
Polish Deputy Finance Minister Pawel Karbownik said on Dec. 4 that the European Union is prepared to compensate if the U.S. withdraws from a $50 billion multilateral loan agreement for Ukraine.
A Ukrainian delegation, led by Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak, met with top incoming government officials as well as aides to President-elect Donald Trump in Washington on Dec. 4, various media outlets reported.
Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak will lead a Ukrainian delegation in meetings with U.S. officials, particularly "people from the entourage of ... Donald Trump," sources said.
Hungarian government sources said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump sought Viktor Orban’s opinion on strategies to end the Ukraine war. Orban, known for his close ties with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump, has openly criticized EU aid for Ukraine and obstructed sanctions against Moscow.
According to Ukraine's former diplomacy chief, Ukraine is a "personal obsession for Putin" but also a way to "show to the world how the West is incapable of defending itself or what it stands for."
Joe Rogan lashed out at Ukraine on his latest podcast, expressing strong criticism of the United States for lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-supplied weapons to target Russian territory and launching an expletive-laden rant accusing President Volodymyr Zelensky of pushing to “start World War III.” Love
"You talk about sending American weapons to Ukraine, which you believe will lead to the Third World War. Putin’s Russia is in trouble, so Putin wants to scare you and people like you," Ukrainian former professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko said.
"We need to restore deterrence, restore peace, and get ahead of this escalation ladder, rather than responding to it," Mike Waltz, Trump's nominee for national security adviser, said on Nov. 24.
"As much as I would like to believe we can negotiate with a tyrant, I suspect we may be deceiving ourselves," Sen. Mike Rounds said. Rounds also said he wished the U.S. had sent more weapons to Kyiv.
Grenell has previously suggested a peace plan in Ukraine involving the creation of "autonomous zones" and has opposed Ukraine's membership in NATO.
Donald Trump’s re-election has sent political shockwaves across the Atlantic, pushing Germany — Ukraine’s second-largest donor — into a decisive moment. The election has intensified internal divides and sparked a reckoning over Germany’s role in European security. For years, German leaders deferred tough decisions on Ukraine, relying on U.
Key developments on Nov. 20: * Ukraine strikes Russia with Storm Shadows for the first time, Bloomberg reports * Biden approves delivery of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine in light of Russian gains in east * Ukrainian drones allegedly strike Russian factories, weapons arsenal * North Korean troops in Russia to be led by secrecy-shrouded
With Donald Trump back in office, Europe faces a new era of uncertainty. The once-reliable comfort of American support — a cornerstone of European security — is now more in question than ever. For decades, Europe has assumed the U.S. would always be there to pick up the slack. But those
President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that Ukraine risks losing the war if aid from the new U.S. administration is cut. "Of course, anyway, we will stay, and we will fight. We have production, but it's not enough to prevail. And I think it is not enough to survive."
Despite warnings from some analysts ahead of the U.S. elections that a win by the Republican nominee Donald Trump could become a “worst-case scenario” for Ukraine, the mood in Kyiv after his victory was far more mixed. Some Ukrainians are optimistic that the president-elect could improve Kyiv’s standing
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