The intelligence reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has given an order to stage a disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and pin it on Ukraine. The plant, controlled by Russians since Feb. 24, is cut from power and disconnected from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s monitoring systems.
Toma Istomina is the deputy chief editor of the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked for the Kyiv Post from 2017-2021, first as a staff writer, later taking editor roles. For co-founding the Kyiv Independent, Toma was selected as one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe in 2022. She holds a master’s in international broadcasting from Taras Shevchenko University.Read more
A series of explosions rocked the capital around 1:00 a.m. local time on April 24, Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground reported. Additional explosions were later heard around 4 a.m. local time.
"We all agree, in NATO, that Russia is the long-term threat to NATO territory, to the whole of the Euro-Atlantic territory," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
"We would like... to have this common understanding that Russia is the aggressor... you shouldn't be saying that Ukraine and Russia started this war, I believe that it's painful for our people to hear," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"(W)e are moving in the right direction... we are ready to reach a deal, but there are some specific points, elements of this deal, which need to be defined," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"If one country in Europe is forced to give up parts of its legal territory... no country in Europe or elsewhere can feel safe, NATO or no NATO," one diplomat told CNN.
Instead of placing troops near the front lines, the U.K. and France now reportedly aim to send military trainers to western Ukraine, fulfilling a commitment to deploy personnel without engaging in direct defense roles.
The Ukrainian delegation raised the issue with the U.S. Treasury officials during negotiations on April 23, according to Reuters. Ukraine intends to continue lobbying for the initiative at an upcoming meeting with the International Monetary Fund, Pyshnyy said.
European Commission President Von der Leyen emphasized that the roadmap, set to be announced in two weeks, will lay out concrete steps to eliminate the bloc’s reliance on energy supplies from Russia.
“It has to be a compromise,” he said. “De facto this peace should come down to the fact that neither side will be able to say it won this war. Ukraine will also have to step down in some sense, because that’s what will probably happen.”
“Stopping the war, stopping from taking the whole country, pretty big concession,” Donald Trump said on April 24 when asked what Russia has offered as part of a potential peace deal.
Russia's devastating missile and drone attack on Kyiv on April 24 killed at least 12 and injured 90 people. The Kyiv Independent visited the residential district where a missile struck an apartment building to speak with witnesses and see the aftermath.
The statement marks a sharp departure from the typically measured tone of recent U.S.-Russia exchanges and signals Washington's concern over Moscow's expanding military footprint in Africa.
"If the information that this missile was made in North Korea is confirmed, it will be further proof of the criminal nature of the alliance between Russia and Pyongyang," Zelensky said in a statement.
"So we are thinking very strongly that they both want peace," Trump said during a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. "But they have to get to the table."
According to the publication, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
"As for Ukraine - what do they get after three years of heroic resistance against a brutal and unprovoked invasion?" Johnson said. "What is their reward for the appalling sacrifices they have made - for the sake, as they have endlessly been told, of freedom and democracy around the world?"