Free Republic

Ukraine is enduring one of the harshest winters in its modern history as relentless Russian strikes cripple the country’s energy infrastructure, leaving millions without reliable heat or electricity. With nighttime temperatures in Kyiv dropping below -20C, rolling blackouts and heating outages have become a daily reality—even in the capital. Speaking to News in Depth on TVP World, Marta Shokalo, editor-in-chief of BBC News Ukraine, described conditions as unprecedented. “We never, ever had winters like this,” she said, noting that many families are leaving Kyiv temporarily as apartments struggle to stay above freezing. While some Ukrainians have relocated to western cities...

A Ukrainian delegation arrived in the United States for talks Saturday on a U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the nearly 4-year-old war as Russian attacks again took aim at Ukraine's power grid, cutting electricity and heating in freezing temperatures. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, said he arrived in the U.S. to discuss "the details of the peace agreement." Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Budanov said he, together with Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia, would meet with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. Zelenskyy...

President ⁠Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he had ordered imports of electricity and additional power equipment to be accelerated as much as possible as Ukraine confronts its worst wartime energy crisis. The ‍government has declared an energy emergency as ‍the system, damaged by relentless Russian strikes, is meeting only 60% of electricity needs. The situation ⁠is exacerbated by exceptionally cold temperatures. "All decisions for this are already in place, and the increase in imports must ​proceed without delay," Zelenskyy said in a post on X after a meeting with top government and military officials. The energy ministry ‍said scheduled...

President Zelensky has called Ukraine's air defence supplies "insufficient", having revealed several systems were "without missiles" until Friday morning. "I can say this openly because today I have those missiles," the president said, adding that Ukraine had received a "substantial package" earlier in the day. His comments follow days of intense Russian bombardment of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving thousands of people without heating and electricity during a bitterly cold winter. Schools in Kyiv will shut until February, the capital's mayor has announced, as the city continues to face severe energy shortages amid temperatures which have dropped as low as -19C....

KYIV, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A majority of Ukrainians would strongly oppose withdrawing troops from the part of the eastern Donetsk region still controlled by Kyiv in exchange for European and U.S. security guarantees, a poll released on Friday indicated. Ukraine, wary of unmet commitments in the past, is pushing for legally binding security guarantees to prevent any future Russian aggression.

Spain has signed off on a contract to produce and supply Ukraine with a Lanza LTR-25 long-range tactical radar, along with logistics support, the Spanish government press service said Wednesday, January 14. The agreement covers manufacturing and delivery of the Lanza LTR-25. The move is aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses and will remain in effect through the end of 2026.... Spain previously announced €615 million in aid to Ukraine for weapons procurement and air-defense systems financing. Spain will also provide Ukraine with 40 IRIS-T air-defense missiles.

As allies met in Paris to firm up security guarantees for Ukraine, the presence of peace envoys sent by Donald Trump offered hope that the US was still listening to the EU despite the president's threats to annex Greenland. "We have largely finished the security protocols," said Steve Witkoff, one of the two emissaries, as he stood alongside the leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Ukraine at the presidential palace in Paris. "This is important so that when this war ends, it ends forever," he said. Even as France and the UK inked their resolve to deploy troops to...

U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters that Ukraine - not Russia - is holding up a potential peace deal, rhetoric that stands in marked contrast to that of European allies, who have consistently argued Moscow has little interest in ending its war in Ukraine. In an exclusive interview in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to wrap up his nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskiy, the U.S. president said, was more reticent. "I think he's ready to make a deal," Trump said of the Russian president. "I think Ukraine is less ready to...

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia agreed with ⁠President Donald Trump that it was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, not Russia, who was holding up a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. Trump's assessment in an interview with Reuters contrasted that of European allies, who have consistently argued that Moscow has ‍little interest in ending the fighting and wants to take as much ‍territory as it can while seeking to stave off further Western sanctions. "I think he's ready to make a deal," Trump said ⁠of Putin when speaking to Reuters in the Oval Office on Wednesday....

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says 200,000 soldiers are absent without official leave — AWOL — and that 2 million are "wanted" for avoiding military service. "I don't want to be a populist — I want to be a realist," Fedorov said. "The Ministry of Defense is coming into my hands with a [$6.9 billion] shortfall, 2 million Ukrainians who are wanted and 200,000 who are AWOL," Fedorov said Wednesday in an address to Parliament. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Fedorov, 34, at the start of the year. The former head of Ukraine's digital transformation policies is credited with spearheading the...

Russia launched a second major drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine in four days, officials said Tuesday, aiming again at the power grid amid freezing temperatures in an apparent snub to U.S.-led peace efforts as Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor approaches the four-year mark. Russia fired almost 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. One strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed four people at a mail depot, and several hundred thousand households were without power in the Kyiv region, Zelensky said. The daytime temperature in...

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has continued for as long as Nazi Germany’s war against the Soviet Union, with Moscow failing to achieve any decisive gains over more than three years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew the comparison in his evening address on January 11. “We are not dragging out time, unlike Russia. They have dragged things out enough, to be honest. Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has now lasted as long as Nazi Germany’s war against the Soviet Union,” Zelenskyy said. He noted that, as of January 11, the war has entered its 1,418th day and said Russia had...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported severe conditions across multiple regions following intensified Russian strikes on critical infrastructure. According to his shared X statement on January 11, he confirmed that attacks have disrupted electricity, heating, and water supplies during freezing winter temperatures. He detailed a significant escalation in the volume and variety of Russian weapons used over the course of one week. Additionally, he stated that Russia launched almost 1,100 attack drones, more than 890 guided aerial bombs, and over 50 missiles. These included ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile.

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said on Saturday that 600,000 residents were without electricity, heating and water after a Ukrainian missile strike. In a statement posted on Telegram, Vyacheslav Gladkov said that work was ‌underway to ‌restore supplies, ‌but ⁠that the situation ‌was "extremely challenging". Footage filmed by Reuters in Belgorod city showed streetlights extinguished and locals finding their way using hand-held torches and car headlights.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has called on residents to temporarily leave the Ukrainian capital for places with alternative sources of electricity and heat. That came following a major Russian missile and drone attack overnight into this morning that severely damaged critical energy infrastructure. The strikes, described by officials as one of the most damaging on Kyiv’s power grid this winter, left approximately half of the city’s apartment buildings, around 6,000, without heating as temperatures plummeted to minus 8°C and forecasters predicted further falls.

Yesterday, the fearsome Russian Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile ‘Oreshnik’ (‘Hazel’) was launched from the Kapustin Yar range toward Lvov, right on the Polish (and NATO) border. The multi-warhead missile destroyed Europe’s largest underground gas storage facility, the Bilche-Volytsko-Uherske in Stryi. The capacity of this facility accounted for over 50% of all Ukrainian gas storage. The “Oreshnik” flew to Lviv in 10–15 minutes — traveling 1,800 km at a speed of over 6 thousand miles per hour. The US knew in advance of the attack, since the American Kiev embassy issued a call earlier warning of a ‘potentially significant air attack’.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's top adviser ⁠hailed "concrete results" on Wednesday as talks in Paris on peace and security guarantees for Ukraine entered their second day, vowing Kyiv's national interests would be protected. Ukraine is seeking strong backing from allies in the event of a ceasefire with Russia while also pushing ⁠back on a Kremlin demand that it give up its eastern Donbas region in exchange ​for peace. "Not all information can be public, but there are already concrete results, (and) our work continues," Kyrylo Budanov, who was appointed head of Zelenskyy's office last week, said ⁠on the Telegram app. "Ukrainian...

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss upcoming Ukraine peace talks in Paris, why he believes officials could be 'on the cusp' of a breakthrough and anti-government protests in Iran.

The leaders of the United Kingdom and France signed a declaration of intent on Tuesday to deploy “coalition of the willing” troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, providing security guarantees for Kyiv.Following a meeting in Paris of American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, European leaders, and top Ukrainian officials, British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a declaration of intent to deploy a multinational military force in Ukraine to enforce a potential ceasefire with Russia.

• Commitment comes at 'coalition of willing' gathering • Security protocols 'as strong as anyone has ever seen,' Witkoff says • Guarantees would enter into force after ceasefire • Question mark hangs over Russian response The United States for the first time on Tuesday backed a broad coalition of Ukraine's allies vowing to provide security guarantees that leaders said would include binding commitments to support the country if Russia attacks again. The pledge came at a summit in Paris of the "coalition of the willing" of mainly European nations to firm up guarantees to reassure Kyiv in the event of...