U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is heading to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump and convince him to continue playing a role in ensuring Ukraine's security amid Russian aggression.
"Without this (Russia's recognition of the downing of MH17), there can be no lasting peace with Russia," the letter read.
The measure, which will take effect on March 3, comes in response to cases in which men used their permits to stay abroad longer than permitted.
"We could find ourselves in a situation where whether Russia wants to improve its relations with the U.S. or not, they can’t because they’ve become completely dependent on the Chinese because we have cut them off," said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Editor’s note: This is issue 15 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from Feb. 17–Feb. 23, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Benchmarks
The following is the Feb. 25, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here. After weeks of back-and-forth, during which U.S. President Donald Trump lobbed insults at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy,
The Trump administration said on Feb. 26 that it is terminating over 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) foreign aid contracts, cutting $60 billion in foreign assistance, the U.S. media reported.
A total of 51 million euros ($53 million) has already been raised, said Ruslan Berehulia, the head of the mine action department.
Russia launched 166 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones against Ukraine overnight, the Air Force reported. Ninety drones were shot down over 11 oblasts, while 72 decoy drones were lost without causing damage, according to the statement.
Russian troops are actively pushing on the Novopavlivka sector in eastern Donetsk Oblast, trying to break through Ukraine's defense and capture three settlements, according to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The package builds upon 20 million Australian dollars ($12.6 million) that the Australia-based charity, founded by Andrew and Nicola Forrest, has already provided for demining, food and energy security, and the protection of children.
This number includes 1,150 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
North Korea has deployed additional troops to Russia, an official for South Korea's National Intelligence Agency claimed on Feb. 27.
"The products will be delivered to Ukraine as part of future material aid packages," the news release from Finland's Defense Ministry noted, without specifying a timeline.
The statement, proposed during Ukraine’s Trade Policy Review, emphasized members' concerns surrounding the "consequences of (the war's) destruction for Ukraine and for global trade," while explicitly naming Russia as the aggressor.
"To be clear, there are no political or security issues on the agenda. Ukraine is not on the agenda," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an email to Reuters. U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Istanbul on Feb. 27.
"I will meet with President Trump," Zelensky said in his evening address on Feb. 26. "It is important for me and all of us in the world that America's assistance is not stopped."
Key developments on Feb. 26: * Trump says he will meet Zelensky on Feb. 28 in Washington to sign agreement on minerals * No security guarantees in US minerals deal, to be discussed later, Zelensky says * US, Russia to meet again tomorrow in Istanbul, Lavrov says * No sanctions relief for Russia pre-deal
The joint operation targeted the Saky and Kacha military airfields in occupied Crimea and Russia's Tuapse oil refinery, the military claimed on Feb. 26.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 26 that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO as part of a future peace agreement with Russia and ruled out lifting sanctions on Moscow before a deal is reached.
In January, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Brigadier General Andrii Hnatov had been appointed deputy chief of the General Staff.
According to Ukraine's National Police, a 47-year-old woman and four men — aged 56, 57, and 75, with one more yet to be identified — were killed in the attack.
While it does not contain any concrete security guarantees, the agreement states the U.S. government "supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace."
"It's now confirmed, and we're going to be signing an agreement which will be a very big agreement," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 26 during a White House cabinet meeting.
Vitalii Kokoshko, a Ukrainian director of commercials and veteran of the Ukrainian advertising industry, was killed in Russia's war, his daughter Olha Kokoshko wrote on Facebook on Feb. 25.
The company expects to finalize and announce the deal within the next two months, with most potential partners based in the U.S.
This figure includes not only direct damage but also indirect damage from disrupted logistics, increased fertilizer and fuel costs, expenses for land reclamation and demining, and occupied territories, Agriculture Minister Vitalii Koval said.
The Kyiv Independent has obtained from a source in the Ukrainian government, the full text of the mineral deal agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine.
Tetiana Kulyk was a journalist at the Ukrinform news agency and host of "the Nation of the Invincibles" program.
Earlier on Feb. 26, Russia's Defense Ministry said 128 Ukrainian drones had been downed over the country, 83 of them in Krasnodar Krai.
Kotlyne and Pokrovsk are connected by the T 0406 highway, which also leads to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The first round of talks on Feb. 18 in Saudi Arabia marked the first direct negotiations between the U.S. and Russia since Moscow's full-scale invasion began.
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