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.
Read more
Ukraine needs to “tone down” its criticism of Donald Trump, the White House has claimed, after the US president launched an extraordinary attack on Volodymyr Zelensky.
“They need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal,” said White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, in a reference to Mr Trump’s bid to lay claim to Ukraine’s critical minerals as compensation for US backing against Russia’s invasion.
Mr Trump once again echoed Kremlin propaganda on Wednesday as he lashed out at Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator”, after the democratically elected Ukrainian president suggested Mr Trump was “living in a disinformation space” over his suggestion that Kyiv was to blame for Russia’s war.
As Mr Trump’s false claims sparked a backlash across Europe, Mr Zelensky met with the US president’s envoy Keith Kellogg on Thursday – but a subsequent joint press conference was cancelled without warning at Washington’s request, Kyiv said.
In a further sign of the dramatic shift in Washington’s stance, three diplomatic sources told Reuters the US was refusing to co-sponsor a draft UN resolution backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemning Russian aggression on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
The Kremlin offered Donald Trump support in his standoff with Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing the Ukrainian president of making “inadmissible” remarks about world leaders as a Russian official said he was stunned by how fast the U.S stance had shifted.
“The rhetoric of Zelensky and many representatives of the Kyiv regime leaves much to be desired,” he said.
“The fact that Zelensky’s rating is falling is an absolutely obvious trend,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov said he didn’t want to get into details on numbers though when it came to discussing Zelenskiy’s popularity, which opinion polls in Ukraine show is above 50%.
Trump has falsely claimed the Ukrainian leader’s approval rating is just 4%.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said war with Nato is ‘inevitable’ if west enters Ukraine (via REUTERS)
Sam Rkaina20 February 2025 17:15
British foreign secretary David Lammy has hit out at Russia’s ‘imperialism’ in a speech to the G20 this afternoon.
He said: “You know, mature countries learn from their colonial failures and their wars, and Europeans have had much to learn over the generations and the centuries.
“But I’m afraid to say that Russia has learned nothing.
“I listened carefully to Minister Lavrov intervention just now he’s, of course, left his seat, hoping to hear some readiness to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“I was hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression.
“I was hoping to hear some readiness to seek a durable peace.
“What I heard was the logic of imperialism dressed up as a realpolitik, and I say to you all, we should not be surprised, but neither should we be fooled.
“We are at a crucial juncture in this conflict, and Russia faces a test.
“If Putin is serious about a lasting peace, it means finding a way forward which respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and the UN Charter which provides credible security guarantees, and which rejects Tsarist imperialism, and Britain is ready to listen.
“But we expect to hear more than the Russian gentleman’s tired fabrications.”
David Lammy accused his Russian counterpart of ‘tired fabrications’ (EPA)
Sam Rkaina20 February 2025 17:00
Sam Rkaina20 February 2025 16:45
Ukrainian forces have destroyed a North Korean ‘wonder weapon’ for the first time, Kyiv’s military said.
“In Luhansk region, fighters of the 412th separate regiment of Nemesis drones struck a very rare M-1978 North Korean self-propelled artillery vehicle with a gun caliber of 170mm,” the statement posted on Telegram said.
The post was accompanied by a video that showed the military target being blown up. The regiment said that the first time the Koksan self-propelled gun was seen in Russian service was in October 2024.
Sam Rkaina20 February 2025 16:30
US vice president JD Vance has defended President Donald Trump’s negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and claimed that an end to the Ukraine war is near.
“How are you going to end the war unless you’re talking to Russia?” Vance said at the Conservative Political Action Conference, in a reference to the talks from which Kyiv was excluded.
“I really believe we’re on the cusp of peace in Europe for the first time in three years,” he added.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Andy Gregory20 February 2025 16:11
Andy Gregory20 February 2025 16:03
The risk of a wider war in Europe hasn’t been so high since 1945, the French prime minister has said, as efforts towards ending the war in Ukraine speed up under the Trump administration.
“Never since 1945 has the risk of war in Europe been so high,” said French prime minister François Bayrou, who was appointed in mid-December by French president Emmanuel Macron.
“For the first time since 1945, war could come to European soil, around us,” Mr Bayrou said, according to BFMTV.
“We are in a 1930s context with icebergs coming towards us and the Paris meeting at the Élysée did not allow them to be pushed away,” he said on Tuesday.
My colleague Alex Croft reports:
Andy Gregory20 February 2025 15:48
The US is refusing to co-sponsor a draft UN resolution backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemning Russian aggression on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, three diplomatic sources have told Reuters.
The draft resolution for the UN General Assembly reportedly condemns Russian aggression and reaffirms a commitment “to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders”.
It was not immediately clear when the deadline to back the draft resolution expires, and Washington could still change its mind.
But one of the sources told Reuters: “For now, the situation is they [the US] won’t sign it”, adding that efforts are ongoing to seek support from other countries instead, including the Global South.
The United States has been a co-sponsor of almost all UN resolutions in support of Ukraine since Russia’s full scale-invasion. While the new UN vote could still go ahead without US backing, it may be less likely to win broad support in the General Assembly.
Andy Gregory20 February 2025 15:31
It will take robust security guarantees to reach a lasting peace for Ukraine, Nato chief Mark Rutte has warned.
“It is vital that any deal reached brings an enduring peace that Russia will never again try to take one more square kilometre of Ukrainian land,” he told reporters during a visit to Bratislava.
“This will require robust … security guarantees, and Nato allies are actively discussing what that might entail. While there is much that still needs to be decided, there is no question that Europe has a vital role to play in securing peace in Ukraine.”
Andy Gregory20 February 2025 15:18
A joint press conference between US Envoy Kellogg and Ukraine’s president Zelensky has been cancelled at the request of the US, the Ukrainian President’s Office announced.
This follows as RBC Ukraine confirmed that the two have now met.
Bryony Gooch20 February 2025 14:54