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.
Your support makes all the difference.
Close
Read more
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is open to a diplomatic end to the almost three-year war with Russia and a potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine.
“Ukraine wants this war to end more than anyone else. No doubt, a diplomatic resolution would save more lives. We do seek it,” Mr Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv yesterday.
On the deployment of Western troops inside Ukraine, he said: “A troop contingent from one country or another could be present in Ukraine for as long as it isn’t part of Nato. But for that we need to have a clear understanding of when Ukraine becomes an EU member and when a Nato member.”
His remarks come just a day after he said around 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the war and that there had been 370,000 wounded soldiers, revealing a rare tally of war dead.
A day earlier, US president-elect Trump had claimed Kyiv had lost some 400,000 soldiers and that “Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness.
Almost 800,000 Russian troops are currently deployed in Ukraine, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Monday, citing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader said on Sunday that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 370,000 injured, of whom about half had been able to return to service after treatment. He also claimed that 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and a further 550,000 injured. We have not been able to independently verify any of these figures yet.
Rachel Hagan10 December 2024 05:50
Russia is bearing staggeringly high costs to maintain its war effort against Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said.
It pointed to mounting economic strain, labour shortages, and systemic corruption threatening the sustainability of the Russian defence industrial base (DIB).
The Washington-based think tank monitoring the war cited US defence secretary Lloyd Austin’s remarks that Russia has spent over $200bn on its war in Ukraine and suffered at least 700,000 casualties since February 2022, with recent losses averaging 1,000 soldiers per day.
According to the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, Russia’s liquid assets in its National Welfare Fund dropped from $140bn in February 2022 to $53.8bn by 1 December, 2024.
“Russia’s mounting economic pressures stemming from the war, paired with widespread corruption, labor shortages, and inefficiencies in Russia’s DIB, will likely compound the cost of Russia’s war and further undermine its ability to effectively sustain DIB operations while maintaining economic stability,” the ISW said in its assessment.
Arpan Rai10 December 2024 05:48
Officials in Russia say they have returned the bodies of dead Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) who were on board a Russian Il-76 military plane that crashed in Belgorod in January this year.
Russian human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova claimed the bodies had been transferred to Ukraine on an unspecified date.
In Kyiv, the Ukrainian coordination headquarters for the treatment of POWs said the remains were transferred in the latest POW exchange on 29 November. However, they said they were still working to confirm if the remains belonged to the POWs involved in the Belgorod crash.
Russia claims the Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft was carrying 74 people – six crew members, three Russian soldiers and 65 POWs being readied for prisoner exchanges with Ukraine – when it was shot down near the Russian city Belgorod, 40km north of the border with Ukraine. Regional Russian officials said all those on board the plane had been killed.
The plane was shot down on 24 January. Watch the video here:
Moment Russian plane believed to be carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war crashes
This is the moment a Russian military transport plane believed to be carrying more than 70 people crashed in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, Kremlin state media claims. Footage circulated on Telegram shows the moment the plane descends as it leaves a trail of smoke behind it, moments before crashing at around 11:00am local time on Wednesday, 24 January. The plane disappears from view and seconds later a huge explosion is seen erupting in the distance, shortly followed by a booming sound that sets off a car alarm nearby. Russian state media reported that 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board the plane, with a further nine people onboard including six crew members. Ukraine media, however, have said that the plane was transporting missiles for Russia’s S-300 air defence systems. The Independent has not verified either claim.
Arpan Rai10 December 2024 05:31
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK Government has “long hoped” to see Bashar Assad gone, telling MPs: “We welcome the opportunity this brings the people of Syria.
“Assad’s demise is not just a humiliation to him and his henchman, it is a humiliation for Russia and Iran. Iran’s so-called axis of resistance is crumbling before our eyes.”
Mr Lammy said Russian president Vladimir Putin has attempted to “prop up Assad for more than a decade”, adding: “All that he’s got for this is a fallen dictator, filing for asylum in Moscow.
“He says he wants to return to Russia to its imperial glory, but after more than 1,000 days he has not subjugated Ukraine. Putin’s fake empire stops short just a few miles out of Donetsk.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the fall of the Assad regime in Syria was also a “humiliation for Russia and Iran.
Rachel Hagan10 December 2024 04:50
Volodymyr Zelensky said he had discussed a “freezing” of the lines in the war when he met Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump over the weekend.
The Ukrainian president has made the case for a diplomatic settlement to Russia’s war in Ukraine and raised the idea of foreign troops being deployed in his country until it could join the Nato military alliance.
Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukrainian territory after launching the 2022 invasion that unleashed the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.
Mr Zelensky said he told the two leaders that he did not believe Putin actually wanted to end the war and that the Russian president had to be forced to make peace.
“You can only exert force if Ukraine is strong. A strong Ukraine before any diplomacy means a strong (Ukraine) on the battlefield,” he said, implying Kyiv needed help to become stronger.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump leave after a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris (AFP via Getty Images)
Arpan Rai10 December 2024 04:49
Volodymyr Zelensky has issued orders to increase funding for equipping the country’s brigades with new drones.
The Ukrainian president said he had received a report from Pavlo Palisa, a former military commander and the president’s newly-appointed deputy chief of staff, to provide additional funding for drones.
“We recently approved a decision about the amount of such direct funds. But now I see that the amount is insufficient,” Mr Zelensky said.
“I instructed the prime minister to increase financing for brigades in the coming days, to increase several times over.”
The Ukrainian leader has increasingly focused on the deployment of drones in the war, which has extended over 33 months since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi (L) speak next to the first batch of Ukrainian made drone missiles “Peklo” (Hell) delivered to the Defence Forces of Ukraine in Kyiv (AFP via Getty Images)
Arpan Rai10 December 2024 04:35
At least five Ukrainian children sent away or placed in care since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion returned to their homeland.
Daria Zarivna, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, said those brought home yesterday included three young people who in the course of their movements had reached the age of 18.
One girl had long sought to come home despite being subjected to Russian narratives of the war, Ms Zarivna said. Another boy who fled to Russia with his mother at the start of the war was reunited with his entire family.
A third sought help to find his way out of Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine while another family with two children endured searches and interrogations in their home before being taken to a safe area.
“These stories are not just facts, but real tales of fate and rescue thanks to the efforts of the state, volunteers and our international partners,” Ms Zarivna wrote.
Ukraine has brought at least 1,029 children home since the outbreak of war, according to Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.
Arpan Rai10 December 2024 04:06
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky floated the idea on Monday of foreign troops being deployed to war-stricken Ukraine until the country joins the NATO military alliance.
He made the remark during a joint press conference in Kyiv with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, as Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House intensifies talk of a possible deal to end the war.
“A troop contingent from one country or another could be present in Ukraine for as long as it isn’t part of NATO. But for that we need to have a clear understanding of when Ukraine becomes an EU member and when a NATO member,” Zelensky said.
Rachel Hagan10 December 2024 03:50
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he is open to the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to guarantee the country’s security as part of an effort to end the almost three-year war with Russia.
“A troop contingent from one country or another could be present in Ukraine for as long as it isn’t part of Nato. But for that we need to have a clear understanding of when Ukraine becomes an EU member and when a Nato member,” Mr Zelensky said speaking alongside German opposition leader Friedrich Merz in Kyiv.
Mr Zelensky stressed that even with an invitation to the Nato military alliance, long-term protection would still be uncertain in the face of future Russian aggression.
Arpan Rai10 December 2024 03:10
Almost 800,000 Russian troops are currently deployed in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday, reported the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
He claimed that the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has fallen as “there are no real Russian fighters left there”.
“This means that the entire army of a great pseudo-empire is fighting against the Ukrainian people. The same thing is happening in Africa. We know that there were ‘Wagners’ there,” Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader said that if Ukraine falls, “Putin will return to Syria, Africa and many other countries.” His remarks came before a meeting with Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal.
Arpan Rai10 December 2024 02:54