Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the return of 189 POWs as ‘very good news’
Independent Premium
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Ukraine and Russia carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war on Monday, with Kyiv bringing home 189 former captives.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United Arab Emirates and other partners for facilitating the swap.
“The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us. And today is one of such days: our team managed to bring 189 Ukrainians home,” Mr Zelensky said.
It comes as Kyiv’s military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has claimed that Russian forces are “suffering record losses” in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.
Vladimir Putin’s troops are attacking along multiple points of the frontline in Donetsk, ultimately advancing towards the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider region’s defences. They have taken more than 400 square miles of territory since February this year in that area.
But their advances have come at a severe loss in personnel. “The enemy continues to carry out continuous meaty assaults, suffering record losses,” says Gen. Syrskyi.
Western intelligence estimates suggest that the Russian military’s daily casualties in the area number between 1,000 and 1,2000.
With Donald Trump vowing to the end war in Ukraine quickly, Tom Watling speaks to American and British former officials about the overconfidence of both the US president-elect and the Russian leader
Ukraine is facing an array of issues heading into 2025, underscored by anxiety about what the re-election of Donald Trump could mean for the country’s future. Tom Watling speaks to politicians, military experts and aid workers to discover what next year could hold
Andrei Kotov, director of the ‘Men Travel’ agency, faced charges of ‘organizing extremist activity and participating in it’
Crisis has aided the Russian strongman’s regime stability far more than any index of economic success, writes Mark Almond
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has posted the first pictures of Ukraine’s latest POWs to be released from Russia in an exchange.
Finnish investigators probing the damage to a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables say they have found an anchor drag mark on the seabed, apparently from a Russia-linked vessel that has already been seized for investigation
Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner swap on Monday, with each side freeing 150 prisoners of war, Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
It said that the Russian captives had been released on Belarusian territory and would be transferred to Russia. The United Arab Emirates had served as a mediator in the swap, the statement added.
Editorial: If the last 25 years have taught us anything, it is exactly who the Russian president is – and what he is capable of
The first Ukrainian aid package to Syria will arrive in the country tomorrow, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has announced.
The leader said 500 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat flour will arrive in Syria tomorrow. “And there will be more deliveries, as well as more mutually beneficial cooperation in many areas,” he added.
The support comes just weeks after a Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew the Russian-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad in a stunning offensive earlier this month. Mr al-Assad flew to Moscow upon invitation from the Kremlin, where he now lives in exile, to avoid the advancing HTS.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha recently led a delegation to the Syrian capital of Damascus to speak with the new administration.
“We support the Syrian people in overcoming decades of dictatorial rule and restoring stability, security, and normal life in Syria,” said Mr Zelensky.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in