U.S. negotiators will meet separately with Ukrainian and Russian delegates in Riyadh on March 24, but although contours of a potential partial ceasefire proposal are beginning to form, Kyiv remains skeptical of Moscow's intentions. The upcoming discussions are meant to flesh out technical details on what this ceasefire, either
Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia and Russian-occupied territories must leave by Sept. 10 or "regulate their legal status," according to an official decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and published on March 20.
"We do not see the security of Europe in the integration of Ukraine into defense systems, but we see the need for a buffer zone between Russia and European defense structures, which serves the interests of both Russia and Europe," Hungary's Europen Affairs Minister Janos Boka told the Financial Times.
The EU is working on providing Ukraine with 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) for ammunition, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said on March 20, as a much larger 40-billion-euro ($43 billion) package still lacks consensus.
"I look forward to constructive discussions on how Norway can best provide assistance to Ukraine in both the short term and the long term," Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement.
Russia sees Ukraine's Constitution as an "obstacle" to peace efforts as it does not permit territorial changes, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said on March 19, according to state-owned TASS news agency.
"There are regions, there are cities and towns that are cut off by one or another contact line, and if in some places you leave this line, you will simply leave these cities or towns without life; no one will return to half of the city," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, comparing such cities to divided Berlin during the Cold War.
The Russian cities of Saratov and Engels were targeted in the heaviest drone attack against Saratov Oblast throughout the entire full-scale war overnight on March 20, Governor Roman Busargin claimed, reporting a fire at a local airfield.
U.S. President Donald Trump said it was a "great call." A Kremlin aide declared the world had "become a much safer place." But in Kyiv, the reaction to the call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 18 has been noticeably more muted. “Judging by the news,
The outgoing German government agreed to release an additional 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in military assistance for Ukraine, a German Finance Ministry spokesperson confirmed for the Kyiv Independent on March 19.
U.S. President Donald Trump's son, Donald Jr., news host Tucker Carlson, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff were involved in backchannel talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky's political rivals, Politico reported on March 18, citing undisclosed sources.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) sued the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) on March 18 over the termination of grant funding, calling the action unconstitutional.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian drones targeted energy facilities, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure. Outages were reported in the Donetsk Oblast city of Sloviansk.
Under former U.S. President Joe Biden, the National Security Council coordinated the effort of at least seven security agencies, who worked with European partners to disrupt Russia's escalating hybrid activities across the European continent.
Former President Petro Poroshenko called sanctions imposed against him by the Ukrainian government an "attack on freedom and democracy" in an interview with the German tabloid Bild published on March 18.
Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, four S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, and 145 attack and decoy drones against Ukraine overnight, the Air Force reported. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 72 drones over 12 oblasts, while 56 decoy drones disappeared from radars without causing damage, according to the statement.
With the Polish presidential elections just two months away, two of the country's leading right-wing candidates have become increasingly antagonistic toward Ukraine and its leadership. Kyiv can ill afford another hostile head of state among its key partners, as U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policy shift has already thrown
Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said he expects Russia to hold talks with U.S. billionaire and President Donald Trump's ally, Elon Musk, in the near future, the pro-state news agency RBK reported on March 18.
The Kremlin wants all Western arms supplies to Ukraine to stop during a proposed truce but prioritizes a pause on U.S. arms as its "minimum aim," Bloomberg reported on March 18, citing two undisclosed sources in Moscow.
The Reform and Growth Facility, which includes 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in low-interest loans and 385 million euros ($420 million) in grants, will cover the period of 2025-2027 and is part of the EU's long-term Moldova Growth Plan.
U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on March 17 that he took an unspecified action to save "surrounded" Ukrainian soldiers, apparently referring to his earlier and unsubstantiated claims of Kyiv's troops being encircled in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 63 of the 137 Russian attack and decoy drones overnight over 12 oblasts, the Air Force said. Sixty-four decoy drones reportedly disappeared from radars without causing damage.
Pavel Durov, Telegram's Russian-born founder and CEO, said that the investigating judges allowed him to depart even though the probe is ongoing.
Germany has provided three Gepard anti-aircraft systems with 10,000 rounds of ammunition, 24 mine protection vehicles, and other defense aid to Ukraine in its latest round of delivery announced on March 17.
Ukraine has extradited a German citizen who fought in Ukraine's Defense Forces and is suspected of rape and other crimes, the BBC and Suspilne reported on March 17, citing sources in the Prosecutor General's Office.
"We won't be dragged into this; we will not allow Hungarian taxpayers' money to be used to finance arms shipments to Ukraine," Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
Western sanctions against Russia could be eventually eased if the step ensures security and justice for Ukraine, top Ukrainian sanctions official Vladyslav Vlasiuk told Politico in an interview published on March 17.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 90 of the 174 attack and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Seventy other decoy drones reportedly disappeared from radars without causing damage.
The Hague-based International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is a judicial hub supporting national investigations into the crime of aggression committed by the Russian leadership, including President Vladimir Putin, and Moscow's allies against Ukraine.
Germany braces for major changes as incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz seeks to reshape the country’s role on the continent. The Kyiv Independent sat down with Jörn Fleck, senior director with the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council, to discuss what the new German government means for Ukraine and beyond.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on March 13 that the Ukrainian government failed to prevent and properly investigate deadly clashes between the EuroMaidan supporters and opponents in Odesa in May 2014.
Drone production lines were located on the grounds of an aerated concrete plant in the village of Obukhovo in Kaluga Oblast's Dzerzhinsky district, a military intelligence source claimed.
