On April 16, 2025, the U.S. State Department shut down its Global Engagement Center — a unit tasked with countering foreign misinformation, including Russian propaganda. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration claimed that the Center censored the voices of Americans instead of doing its job. The Kyiv Independent's Natalia Yermak speaks to James Rubin, a former diplomat who led the Global Engagement Center in 2022-2024, about how deeply the Russian propaganda influences U.S. politics and why the center's closure "disarms" the country in the information war.
In December 2023, Hlib Benia, a Ukrainian soldier with the 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade, was delivering supplies to his comrades when Russian FPV (first-person view) drones struck. Two of his fellow soldiers were killed. He survived but lost an arm and a leg.
Russian Major General Roman Demurchiyev shared photographs depicting severed human ears and discussed the abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in private chats, according to a Feb. 19 investigation by "Schemes," the investigative unit of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
France will renew its Ukraine Fund after a successful first round, allocating 71 million euros ($84 million) to foster investment from French companies in Ukraine next year.
"They told us: 'We are ready not to occupy your other regions.' But that is terrorism… 'I am ready not to kill you, just give us everything,'" Zelensky said.
Belarusian officials said Feb. 19 that they were unable to obtain visas to travel to the United States for the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, despite receiving an official invitation to attend.
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