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
Ukrainian leader continued to call on the international community to ‘pressure the aggressor’
Removed from bookmarks
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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed optimism about talks to end Ukraine’s war with Russia ahead of the four-year anniversary of the conflict.
The Ukrainian leader provided an update following trilateral negotiations in Geneva this week saying that discussions “have not always been easy or reasonable”.
“We believe that real opportunities to end the war with dignity still exist, and the world’s ability to pressure the aggressor could significantly help ensure that a dignified peace replaces the war,” he wrote in a post on X on Friday.
But it follows reports that he the country was preparing for “three more years of war” after losing faith in US security guarantees, according to Wall Street Journal correspondent Bojan Panczevski in a discussion on the Ronzheimer podcast.
It comes as Zelensky pushed back on Donald Trump’s demands Kyiv make concessions this week, saying it was “not fair” to only ask Kyiv to give ground to Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that he could not say when the next round of talks would happen, after discussions in Geneva were left open but concluded without clear progress. Zelensky the next round of discussions could be “as early as this February”.
Ukrainian officials have rejected a proposal discussed in recent US-mediated talks to establish a demilitarised zone in eastern Ukraine governed by a joint civilian administration.
According to The New York Times, officials discussed forming a demilitarised zone “controlled by neither army” during the talks in Geneva on 17-18 February.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine hand over the remaining territory it has failed to capture in Donetsk Oblast – a strip roughly 80 km long, and sits between the frontline and the regional administrative border.
Kyiv has refused unilateral withdrawal, arguing that ceding land would embolden Moscow.
The latest round of talks ended without a breakthrough on territorial issues.
Britain, France, Poland, Germany and Italy have launched a joint programme to develop low-cost air defence systems and autonomous drones using Ukrainian battlefield expertise.
The E5 initiative will fund joint production and procurement under a scheme titled Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP), according to Poland’s defence minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, reported AP.
“The UK and our E5 partners are stepping up – investing together in the next generation of air defence and autonomous systems to strengthen Nato’s shield,” said Luke Pollard, Britain’s minister for defence readiness and industry, adding that the challenge lay in ensuring “cost of the threats with the cost of defense” were matched.
This follows incidents in which drones entered European airspace, including Poland in September 2025, that prompted costly Nato jet deployments.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe’s security was “more uncertain than it has been in decades”.
The military track in Ukraine-Russia talks is constructive, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, but there is no positive movement on the territorial issue.
Ukraine expects the next round of talks to be held later this month, he told reporters in a Whatsapp group.
Kyiv also hopes for details on the next prisoner of war swap with Russia to be agreed in the coming days, he added.
Residents in Russia’s Udmurt Republic reported explosions early on Saturday as drones struck the Votkinsk machine building plant, a major missile production site, according to the Kyiv Independent.
The plant is a state-owned defence enterprise that manufactures Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and is suspected of producing the new Oreshnik ICBM, the outlet reported.
Videos shared on social media showed black smoke rising from the site, while locals posted images of shattered windows in nearby buildings, the outlet said.
Udmurtia governor Aleksandr Brechalov confirmed that a facility in the region had been hit by a Ukrainian drone and reported “damages and casualties,” but did not name the target.
Ukrainian drones have damaged a site in southern Russia in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to governor of the Udmurtia region, Alexander Brechalov.
“A site in Udmurtia has come under attack from drones,” he said in a post on Telegram.
“There has been damage and injured as a result.”
He did not clarify the nature of the site but an unofficial Ukrainian site said the target had been a plant manufacturing Russian missiles in the city of Votkinsk in Udmurtia, about 1400 km (780 miles) from Ukraine.
EU envoys failed to agree on a 20th package of sanctions against Russia that could include a full maritime services ban on Russian crude oil exports.
The EU wants to adopt the next package to mark the four-year anniversary of the war on Ukraine on February 24.
Ambassadors could convene over the weekend to discuss it ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.
A new Kenyan intelligence report says that 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine after being misled with false promises of jobs in Russia before being sent to the front lines.
The report was presented to parliament on Wednesday by parliamentary leader Kimani Ichung’wah, who accused Russian embassy officials of colluding with work recruitment agencies to dupe Kenyans into believing they would be given skilled jobs in Russia. He said the Russian embassy officials issued them tourist visas.
The Russian Embassy in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, denied the allegations, saying in a statement Thursday that it never issued visas to anyone intending to travel to Russia to fight in Ukraine. It added: “the Russian Federation does not preclude citizens of foreign countries from voluntarily enlisting in the armed forces.”
Ukraine headed into the third round of direct talks with Russia and US mediators this week following a string of symbolic victories on the frontlines.
Two days of talks concluded abruptly on Wednesday, following lengthy discussions over territory the day before. Kyiv hailed progress in talks, though acknowledged that the two sides were still opposed on key issues.
There has been little progress in the talks to date, with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky recently sharing his frustration that his country is “too often” asked to make concessions – as Moscow sticks to its maximalist demands.
Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine’s national territory, including Crimea and parts of the Donbas seized before the 2022 invasion.
Analysts say Russia has gained about 1.3% of Ukrainian territory since early 2023.
Land is a key point of disagreement in talks between Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv says Ukrainians would not agree to giving away land Russia has not already taken.
While polls show a notable majority of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions in exchange for Western security guarantees, the figures have narrowed slightly over the past year.
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