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
President Zelensky said he was ‘counting’ on talks with the US and Russia next week
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.
Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that trilateral talks due to take place on Sunday will be delayed until next week as Donald Trump focuses on the “situation with Iran”.
In his nightly video address on Saturday, the Ukrainian President said he was waiting for more information from the US, which is brokering the negotiations, on where and when the talks would next take place.
He had previously suggested that Sunday’s meeting may be delayed due to the ongoing tensions between the US and Iran.
“We are in constant communication with the American side and are expecting specific details from them regarding further meetings,” the president said.
“We are counting on meetings next week and are preparing for them.”
Talks between Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington were due to take place in the UAE, following the first round of negotiations last weekend.
On Saturday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff held “productive and constructive” talks with Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Florida.
Mr Witkoff said the territorial issue of Donbas remained key in making progress in the negotiations, with Kyiv refusing Moscow’s demand to relinquish the region.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff said he held “productive and constructive meetings” with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Florida on Saturday as peace talks set for Sunday have been postponed until next week.
In a post on social media, Mr Witkoff said: “Today in Florida, the Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev held productive and constructive meetings as part of the U.S. mediation effort toward advancing a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.
“We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is working toward securing peace in Ukraine and is grateful for @POTUS’s critical leadership in seeking a durable and lasting peace.”
Ukraine is receiving two lorries worth of potatoes after Berlin experienced a bumper harvest year with its biggest crop in more than two decades.
The phenomenon has inspired a potato dump in Berlin, as farmers, not wanting their produce to go to waste, have given away their potatoes away to soup kitchens, schools, churches, and the public.
Two lorries worth of spuds have also been delivered to Ukraine.
It comes as the country experiences a brutal winter, with temperatures in some areas dropping to -30C.
Russia has been repeatedly targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving thousands of Ukrainians without power or food.
The British Ministry of Defence shared its latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine on Friday:
Ukraine is investigating a “technical incident” on its energy grid after two lines between Romania and Moldova, as well as lines in Ukraine, stopped operating.
“As of now, there is no confirmation of external interference or a cyberattack,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Most indications point to weather: ice buildup on the lines and automatic shutdowns.”
Earlier, Ukraine’s energy minister Denys Shmyhal blamed a technical malfunction for the outages.
Donald Trump said on Thursday that Vladimir Putin had agreed to a brief ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which would protect the country from a time of “extraordinarily cold” weather.
The Kremlin said the ceasefire would end on Sunday.
The number of soldiers killed, injured or missing on both sides of Russia’s war on Ukraine could hit two million by the spring, a report has warned.
It would mean Moscow suffering the largest number of troop deaths recorded for any major power in any conflict since the Second World War.
The study by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies revealed the slow, deadly grind of the conflict, and comes before the fourth anniversary of Putin full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
The report said Russia suffered 1.2 million casualties, including up to 325,000 troop deaths, between February 2022 and December 2025.
“No major power has suffered anywhere near these numbers of casualties or fatalities in any war since World War II,” the authors said.
It estimated that Ukraine, with its smaller army and population, had suffered between 500,000 to 600,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths.
Kyiv is forecast to enter a brutally cold stretch starting that is expected to last into next week.
Temperatures in some areas will drop to -30C, the State Emergency Service said.
Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat, light and running water over the course of the war, in a strategy that Ukrainian officials describe as “weaponizing winter.”
The possibility of a respite in energy sector attacks was discussed at last weekend’s meeting in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, between envoys of Ukraine, Russia and the United States, Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy said that he had agreed to adhere to a “reciprocal approach” on energy assaults.
“If Russia does not strike us, we will … take corresponding steps,” he told reporters.
Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that three-way peace talks set to take place in the UAE tomorrow will now take place next week.
In his nightly video address, President Zelensky said he was waiting for more information from the US about further peace talks and expected new meetings to take place next week.
“We are in constant communication with the American side and are expecting specific details from them regarding further meetings.
“We are counting on meetings next week and are preparing for them.”
Ukraine’s president has said earlier that talks could be delayed due to the ongoing tensions between the US and Iran.
World affairs editor Sam Kiley writes: Chaotic, unprincipled and dangerously effective, Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy move in Ukraine may provide a brief respite from Russian bombing in plunging temperatures that have left civilians freezing in their homes.
The danger lies in what he expects to get in return for securing a week-long agreement from Vladimir Putin to hold off on tormenting Ukraine.
The concession he will, no doubt, demand is that Kyiv give in to the Kremlin’s demands to hand over his most potent defensive lines and fortress cities without a shot being fired in return for a longer “ceasefire”.
Trump has been backing the wrong side in Ukraine, and may soon launch a war in Iran that he cannot control.
US negotiators have been trying to get Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to cede all of Donetsk and most of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces as a reward for Russia’s bloody invasion that has, by many estimates, cost the country 1.2 million casualties.
Click here for the full story.
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