Tuesday, February 25
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Supporters of Ukraine wave flags and placards as they protest outside the Embassy of Russia in London, England, on Feb. 22, 2025. (Leon Neal / Getty Images)
War in Ukraine could end ’within weeks,’ Putin open to peacekeepers, Trump claims. U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington supported sending European troops to monitor a ceasefire and that he had discussed the proposal with Putin, who “would accept it.”
All-for-all prisoner exchange could be step toward peace, Zelensky says. “Thousands of people are being held in Russia. And some of them have been held not only since 2022, but much longer, since 2014,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Russia has launched over 30 mass strikes on Ukraine’s energy system in 3 years, ministry says. Losses from Russian attacks amount to “billions of dollars,” according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
Zelensky, Trump have ’good’ conversation during G7 meeting. “As for Donald Trump… We have just had a conversation. It was a very good conversation within the framework of the G7 meeting led by Canada,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Trump says Ukraine minerals deal to ‘be signed very soon,’ plans meeting Zelensky. Trump reiterated his push for a deal between the U.S. and Ukraine, arguing that it would help Kyiv’s economy while ensuring that Washington “recoups the tens of billions of dollars and military equipment sent to Ukraine.”
Women account for 21% of applicants at Ukraine’s army recruitment centers. Since the army recruitment centers began operation, 42,366 Ukrainians have applied, with the highest number of female candidates coming from western Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil oblasts.
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Zelensky sent Trump list of all ‘ceasefires’ violated by Russia. “When General (Keith) Kellogg was in Kyiv, I handed him and the U.S. president a document with all ceasefires, along with specific dates, that Russia had violated,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Moscow open to ceasefire only when talks yield results that ’suit Russia,’ Lavrov says. Sergey Lavrov’s comments come as the White House announced that a peace deal with Russia could be hashed out this week.
‘Nobody can demand anything from Russia’ — Putin talks about renewed US-Russia contacts, rare earth metals. The Kremlin leader said Russia has significantly larger reserves of rare earth metals than Ukraine and is open to working with foreign partners on developing rare earth deposits, including in the occupied parts of Ukraine, which Putin called “newly controlled regions.”
Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery halts operations following drone strike, Reuters reports. Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery suspended operations after a Ukrainian drone attack set its main crude distillation unit, CDU-6, on fire, Reuters reported on Feb. 24.
Reclaiming occupied territories possible but ‘not easy’ for Ukraine, Trump claims. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 24 that he believes Ukraine might be able to reclaim some of its territories occupied by Russia, but it would be challenging.
Ukraine, Russia reach a deal to evacuate Kursk Oblast residents, Russian official claims. Ukraine and Russia have agreed to evacuate residents of Kursk Oblast through Belarus to other regions of the country, a Russian official claimed on Feb. 24.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: War in Ukraine could end within weeks, Trump claims
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 24 that Russia’s war against Ukraine could end “within weeks” and claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin would allow European peacekeepers to be stationed in Ukraine as part of a potential agreement.
Photo: Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images
How Ukraine has pushed back and held the line against Russia for 3 years
Russia illegally annexed Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts on Sept. 30, 2022, despite controlling none of the regions in full.
At the beginning of 2023, Russia occupied 108,928 sq kilometers, or just over 18.04% of Ukrainian territory.
Photo: Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images
Human cost of Russia’s war
2 killed, 6 injured in Russian attacks on Sumy Oblast. Two people were killed, and six have been injured in Russian aerial attacks on Sumy Oblast on Feb. 24.
Around 165,000 Russian troops killed in Ukraine, media reports. Using open-source research and statistical analysis, a report by independent Russian media outlets Meduza and Mediazona suggests that Russian losses have increased each year.
Opinions and insights
In 3 years of war, Ukraine’s mothers have been forced underground
“Maternal health is consistently threatened by damaged hospitals, infrastructure, staff shortages, and the simple but devastating reality that an air raid can happen at any moment — interrupting childbirth or prenatal care,” writes Ulla Müller, an UNFPA Representative to Ukraine.
Photo: Paula Bronstein / Getty Images
Kyiv Independent staff on what they’d tell themselves before Russia’s invasion
Feb. 24, 2025 marks three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Three years since the world, ceased to exist as we knew them. Kyiv Independent staff members have answered the question, “If you could go back in time, what would you tell yourself on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion?”
Photo: Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images
International response
UN adopts Ukraine’s resolution condemning Russia’s invasion — US, Russia, Belarus vote against. The UN General Assembly approved a Ukrainian resolution on Feb. 24 condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion, with 93 countries voting in favor and 18 against. The U.S., Israel, Hungary, Russia, and Belarus have voted against the resolution.
EU to provide Ukraine with $3.7 billion tranche in March. “Europe is here to strengthen Ukraine in this critical moment. I can announce that a new 3.5 billion euros ($3.7 billion) payment for Ukraine will arrive already in March,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
Lithuania’s Nauseda proposes 2030 as Ukraine’s EU accession date. Speaking at the Support Ukraine summit in Kyiv, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called for decisive leadership to accelerate Ukraine’s integration.
Spain to provide Ukraine with military aid package worth over $1 billion in 2025.
“We are ready to continue to provide military assistance and equipment with even more determination than we have in the past,” Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez said.
When your ‘ass is burning, you start to move faster’ — Lithuanian minister urges Europe to step up defense. “So I do hope that we will start to move faster in the next few months,” Lithuania’s defense chief said at the YES conference event held in Kyiv by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation on Feb. 24, the third anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion.
Starmer announces UK’s largest package of Russia sanctions, confirms readiness to deploy peacekeepers in Ukraine. The U.K. is imposing its largest-ever package of sanctions against Russia, targeting its “shadow fleet” of tankers and foreign-based companies providing military parts to Russia, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Feb. 24.
Three years of Russia’s full-scale war: a conversation with Rob Lee
In other news
EU imports of Russian fossil fuels exceeded aid to Ukraine in third year of the Russian invasion. The EU paid 21.9 billion euros ($22.9 billion) for Russian fossil fuel imports in the third year of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, exceeding the 18.8 billion euros ($19.6 billion) in financial aid sent to Ukraine that year, according to a new report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air published on Feb. 24.
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