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
Swipe for next article
The US president said the war in Ukraine is ‘making Russia look bad’
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.
Donald Trump is said to be “optimistic” about ending Putin’s war in Ukraine after his successful ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, according to the White House.
The US president, who has made concerted efforts to bring Putin to the negotiating table over the last three months, warned Russia that the war must end because it is not making the country look good earlier this week.
Trump said the Russian “economy is going to collapse” and claimed there were “long lines waiting for gasoline” – but Moscow has hit back, saying it has a “stable supply”.
It comes as Finland’s defence minister Antti Hakkanen told reporters Russia will pose a major threat to Nato even after the war ends in Ukraine.
Finland has seen a new build-up of Russian forces as the state consumes military resources at a rapid pace and becomes increasingly reliant on China, he added on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that Europe should be on alert for Russia to strike deep into the region.
The Polish deputy leader warned that failing to build defences such as a “drone wall” on Europe’s eastern flank would be “irresponsible”.
Nato chief Mark Rutte says that he is “very happy” that Zelensky and Trump will meet in Washington on Friday.
Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, he says Nato “is ready and willing to do what it takes to keep our 1 billion people safe and our territory secure”.
Asked whether he believes Trump will provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles that could significantly tip the war in Kyiv’s favour, he responds: “I will not get into that, it’s up to individual allies.”
Germany and France have signed an implementation agreement for a satellite-based early warning system called “Odin’s eye”.
The system will significantly improve capabilities to detect missile launches, as Europe seeks to spend more on defence to deter Russia.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed a former regional governor to lead the port city of Odesa after revoking the citizenship of the former Mayor.
The appointment of Serhiy Lysak, who had led the Dnipropetrovsk region, came a day after the removal of mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov over his alleged possession of a Russian passport.
Mr Trukhanov, 60, who has governed the Black Sea port city for over a decade, rejected the accusation.
“I will appeal the decision to strip me of my Ukrainian citizenship in the Supreme Court. And, if that is not enough, I will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights,” he said in a video statement.
President Vladimir Putin will hold talks in Moscow with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa over the fate of Russia’s military bases in Syria, the Kremlin said.
The Kremlin said that Sharaa, who once headed the Syrian branch of al Qaeda and who toppled close Russian ally Bashar al-Assad late last year, was in Russia on a working visit.
The fate of Russia’s two main bases in Syria – the Hmeimim airbase in Syria’s Latakia province, and its naval facility at Tartous on the coast – will be discussed, the Kremlin said.
Moscow has the ability to strike “deep into Europe”, Poland’s foreign minister has warned, as he told European leaders it would be “irresponsible” not to build a drone wall on the eastern flank of the continent.
Speaking in London on Tuesday, Radosław Sikorski unveiled a Russian-flown Shahed-136 drone downed in Ukraine and urged leaders to pledge support to Ukraine for at least the next three years.
He said Ukraine was planning resources to fight for the next three years and that Western leaders “need to convince Putin that we are ready to stay the course for at least those three years”.
He added he hoped US President Donald Trump would make long-range Tomahawk missiles available to the country to bolster strikes against Russian infrastructure.
Read our full story below.
“You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or wag your fingers, you get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect,” Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of War, told reporters ahead of a meeting at Nato headquarters on Wednesday.
“Our expectation today is that more countries donate even more, that they purchase even more to provide for Ukraine, to bring that conflict to a peaceful conclusion.”
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees energy and the economy for the government, denied the claims of US President Donald Trump that the Russian economy would collapse due to “long lines waiting for gasoline”.
Mr Novak said Russia had a stable supply of gasoline.
“We have a stable domestic market supply, we see no problems in this regard,” he said on Wednesday.
“The balance is maintained between production and consumption, and we, on the part of the government and the relevant ministries, are doing everything to ensure that this remains the case.”
Ukrainian forces have been pushed out of two settlements by Russian forces, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
Russian forces took control of the village of Oleksiivka in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region as well as the settlement of Novopavlivka in the Donetsk region, it said.
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