UKRAINE: Recent Developments

Mon, May 25, 2026:

• Russia threatens strikes on Kyiv defence sites, urges foreigners to leave - Reuters

• A City in the Kill Zone. Little is left of Kostiantynivka, a city on the front lines. Rescuers risk their lives to ferry out the few who remain. - NYT

Sat, May 23, 2026:

• Russia hits Ukraine with Oreshnik missile in one of war’s biggest attacks on Kyiv - Reuters

Thurs, May 21, 2026:

• Germany urges the EU to offer Ukraine ‘associate membership’ - AP

Fri, May 15, 2026:

• Kyiv mourns as death toll from Russian attack in the Ukrainian capital rises to 24 - AP

• Thirty-seven states have backed an agreement creating the management structure for a Special Tribunal intended to prosecute senior Russian political and military leaders over the crime of aggression against Ukraine. - EU

Wed, May 13, 2026:

• Independent’s signature forces House vote on Ukraine aid. Rep. Kevin Kiley of California completed a discharge petition backed largely by Democrats. - Politico

Sat, May 9, 2026:

• Putin says he thinks Russia-Ukraine war is coming to an end - Reuters

Wed, April 29, 2026:

• Hegseth says $400M in Ukraine support released after McConnell’s angry op-ed - Hill

Tues, April 28, 2026:

• Why is the Pentagon holding up Ukraine funds? DOD isn’t obligating the modest $400 million Congress authorized months ago. - WP / McConnell

Thursday, April 23, 2026

• EU approves a $106 billion loan package to help Ukraine after Hungary lifts its veto - AP

Fri, April 10, 2026:

• Ukraine’s top negotiator with Russia, Kyrylo Budanov, said he sees progress toward a potential peace deal with the Kremlin. - Bloomberg

Tues, Feb 24, 2026:

• An Embattled Ukraine, Four Years Later - CFR

Sat, Feb 21, 2026:

• Four years of war: On the ground in Ukraine - Reuters

Mon, Jan 26, 2026:

• US links security guarantees for Ukraine to peace deal ceding territory. Washington signaled Kyiv would receive more backing after any withdrawal from the Donbas, say people familiar with talks. FT

  • Trillions Comment: The Trump administration approach rewards Russia for its bloody aggression. Consider also that the Trump Administration has hedged on U.S. security commitments to NATO. In addition, consider that Ukraine’s current weakened condition is due in large part to the Trump Administration’s cut-off of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine. Finally, consider that Ukraine was given “security assurances” by the U.S. and U.K. in 1994 when it gave up its nuclear arsenal.

Thurs, Jan 8, 2026:

• Russia says foreign troops in Ukraine would be targets after UK and France pledge post-ceasefire deployment - Reuters

Tues, Dec 30, 2025:

• The Separation: Inside the Unraveling U.S.-Ukraine Partnership. As President Trump sought a peace deal and Vladimir V. Putin sought victory, factions in the White House and Pentagon bled the Ukrainian war effort. - NYT

Tues, Dec 23, 2025:

• How the West is losing Ukraine without losing a battle. E.U. timidity and Trump’s pro-Russian diplomacy are shifting the war in Moscow’s favor. - WP / Amb. John Bolton
  Recent Western failures and mistakes have enhanced Russia’s chances of prevailing in its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. Moreover, not just Ukrainian independence and freedom are at stake. During the Cold War, sundering the North Atlantic alliance was a critical Soviet objective, which fortunately never happened. Now, however, many Americans and Europeans seem intent on doing Moscow’s work.

Fri, Dec 19, 2025:

• EU loans $105 bln to Ukraine, no deal on Russian assets - Reuters
  An EU “reparations loan” using frozen Russian money collapses - Economist
  After talks that lasted into the small hours of December 19th, the complexity of, in effect, seizing Russian money (to be returned only if Russia one day pays reparations to Ukraine) proved insurmountable. Yet there was a sizeable silver lining for Ukraine. Having failed to pull off the reparations scheme, the EU will instead jointly borrow €90bn and lend it on to Ukraine.

Fri, Dec 12, 2025:

• The EU this week agreed to indefinitely freeze Russian assets held in EU banks, which removes an obstacle to using the cash to help Ukraine defend itself against the ongoing Russian invasion. This is particularly important since Ukraine is receiving no direct support from the U.S. - Reuters

Mon, Nov 24, 2025:

• U.S., Ukraine move closer together on peace plan after lengthy talks. The document, which Ukraine said was too favorable to Russia, has been substantially changed, officials say. - WP

Sun, Nov 23, 2025:

• U.S., Ukraine agree to change draft of peace plan that Russia favored. Negotiators in Geneva had been working off an earlier proposal that bipartisan lawmakers say would further destabilize global security by rewarding Russia after its 2022 invasion. - WP

Sat, Nov 22, 2025:

• Trump says Zelensky can agree to peace plan or ‘fight his little heart out’ - WP

• Ukraine needs Russia’s frozen $200 billion immediately. With Trump seeking Kyiv’s capitulation to Russia, now is the moment for decisive European action.– WP / Boot

Fri, Nov 21, 2025:

• Trump’s hard-sell Ukraine deal is realpolitik on steroids. Ukraine has bled for its sovereignty. Any final agreement must preserve it. - WP

• Ukraine is teetering. Why return to a failed policy? Without a better strategy, the U.S. could see defeat of democracy in the heart of Europe. - WP

Thurs, Nov 20, 2025:

• President Donald Trump’s plan for ending the war in Ukraine would cede land to Russia and limit the size of Kyiv’s military. - AP

Fri, Oct 3, 2025:

• Putin Warns West as Drones Appear in European Skies. Russian leader says Moscow is ready to respond if NATO allies deepen support for Ukraine in the war. - WSJ

Sat, Aug 16, 2025:

• Trump Bows to Putin’s Approach on Ukraine: No Cease-Fire, Deadlines or Sanctions. The net effect of the Alaska summit was to give President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a free pass to continue his war against his neighbor indefinitely without further penalty, pending talks on a broader peace deal. - NYT

Sat, Aug 9, 2025:

• A timeline of Trump’s quotes, shifts and U-turns on Russia and Ukraine. President Donald Trump, who recently threatened Russia with sanctions over its war in Ukraine, is set to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week. - WP

Fri, April 25, 2025:

• In a TIME interview, Trump said he was speaking “figuratively” when he promised to end war between Russia and Ukraine on his first day back in the White House and that comment was “an exaggeration” made “in jest.”

Tues, March 18, 2025:

• “Message to President Trump and Vice President JD Vance: If you sell out Ukraine to Putin, you will forever carry a mark of Cain on your foreheads as traitors to a core value that has animated U.S. foreign policy for 250 years — the defense of liberty against tyranny.” - NYT/Friedman

Tues, March 11, 2025:

• Ukraine Supports 30-Day Cease-Fire as U.S. Says It Will Resume Military Aid - NYT

Fri, March 7, 2025:

• U.S. suspends commercial satellite imagery service to Ukraine -- impacting soldiers - WP

• Trump says latest Russian attack on Ukraine “what anybody else would do” - WP

Wed, March 5, 2025:

• How soon could Ukraine’s forces “start to buckle” without U.S. weapons - NYT

Tues, March 4, 2025:

• Trump pauses US military aid to Ukraine while pressuring Zelenskyy on quick end to war-AP

• Zelenskyy describes oval office meeting as “regrettable,” says he is ready to negotiate peace - CNN

Mon, March 3, 2025:

• Trillions - Special Update: Does Trump’s withholding of security assistance for Ukraine violate the Impoundment Control Act?

Sun, March 2, 2025:

• Sunday’s emergency Euro-summit on Ukraine in London - Bloomberg

Wed, Feb 26, 2025:

• US strikes deal with Ukraine that includes access to its rare earth minerals, officials say - AP

Tues, Feb 25, 2025:

• U.S. votes against UN resolution urging Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine - NPR

Sat, Feb 22, 2025:

• The Trump administration has called on Ukraine to withdraw an annual resolution at the United Nations condemning Russia’s warand instead wants to replace itwith a U.S.-sponsored statement calling for an end to the conflict that contains no mention of Russian responsibility - WP

Wed, Feb 19, 2025:

• A Trump outrage that stands apart; the President blames Ukraine for its own brutalization - WP

• Ukraine rallies around Zelenskyy after Trump’s vicious attack - Politico

• Trump targets Zelensky - Politico

Sat, Feb 15, 2025:

• Ukraine rejects initial Trump request for half its mineral wealth in exchange for US support - WP

Feb 13, 2025:

• Ukraine’s fears are becoming reality; Trump-Putin phone call sparks fear and dread in Kyiv and other European capitals - Economist

Wed, Feb 12, 2025:

• Trump’s proposed Ukraine reset gets mixed Hill reaction - Roll Call

• Trump has overturned years of US policy on the war in Ukraine with a single phone call - Moscow

Fri, Feb 7, 2025:

• Ukraine gets French mirage fighter jets, more F-16s from Netherlands - CNN

Mon, Feb 3, 2025:

• Trump says he wants Ukraine’s rare earth elements as condition of support - AP

Thurs, Jan 9, 2025:

• Ukraine pleads for continued arms assistance - Politico

Thurs, Dec 12, 2024:

• Biden admin says it is surging deliveries to Ukraine as Trump criticizes decision to allow US weapons to strike inside Russia - CNN