Diplomacy, politics, peace talks and other news at the national and international levels/
US President-elect Donald Trump is mulling establishing a special envoy post focused exclusively on resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict and is considering appointing his former intelligence chief, Richard Grenell, to the position, Reuters reported, citing four unnamed sources with knowledge of the transition plan. Although Trump is strongly considering
Some 52% of Ukrainians want their country to negotiate an end to the war as quickly as possible and 38% believe Ukraine should keep fighting until victory, according to a Gallup survey conducted in August and October. The results represent a resolute shift from the attitudes of Ukrainians recorded at
On the 1,000th day of the war, Kyiv launched US ATACMS missiles at Russian territory on Tuesday, using the permission from the outgoing US administration of Joe Biden, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. Ukraine announced that it hit a Russian weapons depot some 110 kms inside Russia, near the
Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday approved the 2025 state budget in the final reading, with planned spending for defense and security of UAH 2.23 trillion ($54 billion), the finance ministry said in a press release. The defense spending is equal to 26.3% of Ukraine's GDP
European leaders must be ready to deploy military forces to Ukraine to support any peace deal negotiated by US President-elect Donald Trump between Ukraine and Russia, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told the Financial Times. Tsahkna said NATO membership — as requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — would be the
US President Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to use US-made long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory has failed to garner support from Ukraine's other allies, signaling Biden's dwindling influence as he approaches the end of his term, Bloomberg reported.
Donald Trump's election victory could lead to an earlier-than-expected end to the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian state broadcaster Suspilne. "I think the war will end, and not abstractly," Zelensky said. "There is no exact
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the involvement of North Korean troops in the war in Ukraine "demands, and will get, a firm response," without elaborating. Speaking to reporters beside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, he
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF)'s $15.6 billion program with Ukraine — spanning from 2023 to 2027 — has been progressing smoothly so far, but it may face challenges following Donald Trump's re-election, RBC Ukraine reported, citing unnamed government sources. One source warned that the
Kaja Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister and current nominee for high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, has proposed using the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine's reconstruction, Bloomberg reported. During her confirmation hearing, Kallas emphasized Ukraine'
Ukraine is refining its "victory plan" to align with the incoming Trump administration, with a focus on business opportunities, military support, and access to natural resources, the Financial Times reported. Two of the ideas laid out in President Volodymyr Zelensky's plan were built with Trump in
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday denied reports that Russia's President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump had spoken recently. On Sunday, The Washington Post first reported that Putin and Trump spoke last week, citing unnamed sources. The newspaper said that Trump told Putin not to
US President-elect Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of the sizeable US military presence in Europe, The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed sources. Trump made the comments on Thursday in his first phone call with Putin after the
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "somewhat reassured" by a recent conversation with US President-Elect Donald Trump, news website Axios reported, citing unnamed sources. It also reported that during the 25-minute conversation on Wednesday last week, shortly after the election, Trump passed the phone to billionaire Elon
