For nearly two years in Russian captivity, Leniye Umerova clung to a single hope: that one day, she would return home — to Crimea.

“I thought about Crimea all the time,” Umerova told the Kyiv Independent. “I dreamed of going there without the permission of the occupying forces, without going through filtration, without hiding, simply — going home.”

A Ukrainian of Crimean Tatar descent, Umerova, 26, was captured by Russian forces in 2022 while trying to reach occupied Crimea to visit her then-sick father, who had cancer.

She spent almost two years in Russian prisons on trumped-up charges of espionage before being released in September as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.

Though finally being back in Kyiv was a big relief, grim news about the future of Umerova’s home soon followed.

On April 23, Axios reported, citing its sources, that the U.S. President Donald Trump administration’s final proposal for ending the Russia-Ukraine war included U.S. de jure recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea. The move would make it increasingly difficult for Ukraine to ever reclaim the Crimean Peninsula and likely only through military means.

Russia invaded and unlawfully annexed Crimea in 2014, cracking down violently on any opposition to its regime. Over 11 years of occupation, Crimean Tatars, the peninsula’s indigenous population, have faced the brunt of Russia’s harsh repressions.

For 26-year-old Umerova, who was imprisoned for simply being Ukrainian and spent most of her captivity in solitary confinement, the news stirred a sense of “outrage and pain.”

“Some see Crimea as just a piece of land. I see people — people who risk their lives every day by simply remaining Ukrainian. Thousands of political prisoners held for their dissent,” she says. “Dozens of activists tortured to death who will never come back. They believed in justice. We have no moral right to betray them.”

“(Recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea) would be a devaluation of international law, of human rights, of the very idea of justice. It would legitimize a crime. It would mean that justice doesn’t depend on what’s right, but on who has more power.”

Fear and rage

Born in Crimea, Umerova left the peninsula a year after Russia occupied it to finish high school in Kyiv, where she and her older brother Aziz found a new home. Their parents, however, stayed in their hometown, living under occupation.

After learning that her father had cancer, Umerova decided to travel to Crimea, despite realizing the danger the trip would involve.

As the only passenger with a Ukrainian passport, she was pulled off the bus at the Russian-Georgian border in December 2022.

She was then held in detention facilities in the remote cities of Vladikavkaz and Beslan before being transferred to Moscow, where Russia brought trumped-up espionage charges against her, facing up to 20 years behind bars.

Over 14,000 Ukrainian civilians were held in Russian captivity as of 2024, according to Ukraine’s Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets. The return of civilians is very difficult because Ukraine has no Russian civilians to exchange them for, says Lubinets. Captive soldiers can only be exchanged for soldiers.

Umerova says that the tactics Russia used to detain and illegally keep her under custody showed the “absurdity” of the Russian judicial system.

Court hearings at 3 a.m., kidnappings, threats, and interrogations are just part of the horrors Umerova endured in Vladikavkaz and Beslan, as Russia exploited any possible excuse to extend her detention while fabricating a criminal case against her.

“I personally witnessed how just a few hours before the trial, a person comes in, speaks with them (the judge), then leaves, and the verdict is already decided. That’s all you need to know about the current judicial system in Russia,” Umerova says.

In early May 2023, Umerova was transferred to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow, often described as Russia’s most “severe” prison. Handcuffed and guarded by armed Russian officers, she was transported there on a regular civilian charter flight.

“It felt so weird,” Umerova says. “When you’re in handcuffs and two men are holding you on either side and the flight attendant just smiles at you."

She was the first one taken to the plane and the last to leave, ensuring no passengers could see her. While being escorted from the plane, one of the Russian officers tried to intimidate her psychologically and make her feel ashamed.

“He talked loudly to attract attention, telling me I should be ashamed of what I had done. It wasn’t just directed at me. The whole spectacle was staged for the audience to watch, to somehow justify their actions in the eyes of their society.”

“I looked at him and thought: ‘What do you want from me? What should I be ashamed of? For you attacking my country?'”

The same month, Umerova learned that the Lefortovo district court was pressing espionage charges against her, meaning she could end up spending up to 20 years in Russian imprisonment.

“As I was reading my charges, I couldn’t string the words together into sentences. They just scattered in my mind because it was all so absurd — that I’m a spy."

Russia filed espionage charges against Umerova after she had already been in captivity for five months, which was a clear indication that the case was fabricated, Olha Skrypnyk, the head of the Crimean Human Rights Group, told the Kyiv Independent last October.

“It was not just a feeling of fear and rage, but an understanding of the insanity of the situation. A complete sense of helplessness in the moment because you have no connection (to the outside world), and you can’t do anything about it,” Umerova said.

‘A non-negotiable’

Locked in an eight-meter prison cell, she was threatened and interrogated, and rarely had a chance to speak to other prisoners. Once, the prison guards accidentally brought her to a neighboring cell, where she saw a male prisoner.

“It was the first time I saw someone not in uniform,” Umerova recalls, adding that from the wall of her cell, she decided to tap out the rhythm from the Ukrainian folk song “Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow” to see if he was Ukrainian.

“So I started tapping out a verse, and there was silence for a minute or two. But then, after a couple of minutes, he starts tapping back,” she says. “I had tears in my eyes when I heard it.”

The man later turned out to be a Ukrainian POW. Umerova believes he was severely beaten during interrogations — a common practice in Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian POWs.

Umerova says the occasional letters from her loved ones and strangers who had heard her story helped to keep her sane.

“There were difficult times, but I never truly lost hope, even when I realized I might not get out until I was over 40.”

However, letters of support – many of which came from the U.S., Georgia, and Armenia – gave her energy to be strong.

“Knowing that people know your story and understand that it’s unfair helps you realize that you haven’t lost your mind because of the surrealism happening around,” she said.

A couple of months after arriving at Lefortovo, Umerova received a letter from a stranger abroad who shared that he had endured a similar experience. He wrote: “Don’t let them break you and make you like them, keep that fire of life inside you.”

“Those were the right words at that time, helping me to distract myself from all of that.”

Although she held onto the hope of being exchanged one day, Umerova tried not to get her hopes up too much. In captivity, prisoners are often moved from one prison to another with little explanation from the Russian guards.

So when, on Sept. 11, she was asked to pack her belongings and prepare to leave, Umerova expected nothing more than being transferred to another prison cell. Instead, two days later, she crossed into Ukraine after spending a total of 21 months in captivity.

During her long-awaited journey to freedom, Umerova lost all the letters she had received during captivity.

Although devastated by the recent news about Crimea’s potential recognition as Russian territory, Umerova stays positive.

“If a person can be brought back from that side (Russia), then anything is possible,” she says.

She has no intention of giving up on her dream to one day return home to free Crimea.

“Political positions may shift, but for me and many Ukrainians, Crimea remains a part of Ukraine. That is non-negotiable,” Umerova says.

Note from the author:

Hi! Daria Shulzhenko here. I wrote this piece for you. Since the first day of Russia’s all-out war, I have been working almost non-stop to tell the stories of those affected by Russia’s brutal aggression. By telling all those painful stories, we are helping to keep the world informed about the reality of Russia’s war against Ukraine. By becoming the Kyiv Independent’s member, you can help us continue telling the world the truth about this war.

Ukraine has no great options if Trump recognizes Crimea as Russian

Ukraine is facing a crossroads in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion, with the possibility of being forced to reject an unfavorable peace deal being imposed under huge pressure from the U.S.

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

Key developments on April 24:

• ‘Russian peace in all its glory’ — Mass Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills 12, injures 90
• Europe rejects US push to recognize Russian occupation of Crimea, FT reports
• NATO chief to reportedly urge US not to force Russia-friendly deal on Ukraine
• US to demand Ukraine’s right to maintain sufficient army in talks with Russia
• Ukraine brings back body of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna tortured in Russian captivity, official says

Twelve people were killed and 90 civilians, including six children, were injured in a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on April 24, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.

A series of explosions rocked the capital around 1:00 a.m. local time on April 24, Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground reported. Additional explosions were later heard around 4 a.m. local time.

Russia launched attack drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, the Kyiv City Military Administration said.

“We were at home and there were explosions,” Maria Rumiantseva, a 40-year-old resident of one of the buildings damaged in the attack, told the Kyiv Independent.

“Then I heard the Shahed. We just went out into the corridor, went to open the door, and that was it — an explosion."

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that six children, as well as a pregnant woman, were among the injured. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said that at least two children are not accounted for.

Fires were reported in residential buildings, Kyiv City Military Administration chief Tymur Tkachenko said, adding that cars and commercial buildings have been impacted as well.

Fallen debris was found around the city, Tkachenko added, describing the  attack as “Russian peace in all its glory."

The mass attack came just hours after the Kremlin demanded Ukraine’s full recognition of Russia’s claim over four Ukrainian oblasts it partially occupies, neutral status for Ukraine, and an end to all Western military support.

Earlier on April 23, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that President Volodymyr Zelensky was the main obstacle to peace in Ukraine.

Later in the night, Russia launched missiles targeting various regions of the country.

Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts were also targeted in the “massive combined strike,” though Kyiv was hit the hardest, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

In response to the attack, Poland’s Air Force scrambled allied fighter jets to protect the country’s own airspace from missiles that may stray into Polish territory.

Trump later criticized Russia’s strike on Kyiv, calling it “not necessary."

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, Stop!” Trump said on the Truth Social platform, addressing the Russian leader by his first name.

The U.S. president urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “get the peace deal done,” stopping short of further criticism.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance did not condemn the attack, but reshared a post denouncing Zelensky and accusing him of being the main impediment to peace in Ukraine.

Russia has regularly targeted civilian infrastructure since the onset of its full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022.

The U.S. has been in talks with Ukraine and Russia to negotiate an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is ready if Russia also agrees to the terms.

So far, Moscow has refused.

‘No way to deal with Putin except for weapons:’ survivors of deadly Russian attack on Kyiv doubt Trump peace plan

Liudmyla Kapatsii, 75, and her daughter lingered in their apartment for a couple of extra minutes, doubting whether to go to the shelter after the air raid alarm woke them up around 1 a.m. on April 24, warning of a potential Russian missile attack. Though they were tired of

The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak

Europe rejects US push to recognize Russian occupation of Crimea, FT reports

Europe will not support any U.S. move to recognize Russian control over occupied Crimea and will not pressure Kyiv to accept it, the Financial Times (FT) reported on April 24, citing undisclosed Western officials.

The Trump administration’s final proposal for ending Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine reportedly included U.S. de jure recognition of Moscow’s control over Crimea, along with de facto recognition of its partial occupation of other Ukrainian regions — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on April 23 that Washington is not forcing Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian. He then blamed Ukraine for not fighting back when Russia illegally seized the peninsula in 2014.

An unnamed senior European official told the FT that the Trump administration had already been informed that European countries would not recognize Crimea as Russian. Major European NATO powers should “discourage” the U.S. from doing so unilaterally, according to the official.

Earlier this week, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said that the European Union will never recognize the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula as legally Russian.

Recognition of the annexation would contradict a decade of bipartisan U.S. policy and a 2014 United Nations General Assembly resolution, in which 100 member states declared the seizure illegal.

Trump’s claim that Crimea was taken without force is false. During Russia’s 2014 annexation, armed Russian troops in unmarked uniforms seized Ukrainian government buildings, military installations, and blockaded bases.

Following the U.S. president’s remarks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 23 that Ukraine will always act in accordance with its Constitution, sharing a 2018 U.S. declaration denouncing Russian occupation of Crimea and reaffirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

If Trump recognizes Crimea, the biggest losers are Ukraine — and the US, experts say

Formally recognizing Crimea as Russian would breach international law and potentially open the door to further global conflicts, experts warn.

The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak

NATO chief to urge US not to force Russia-friendly deal on Ukraine, FT reports

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is expected to use his visit to Washington on April 24 to urge the U.S. not to pressure Ukraine into accepting a peace agreement that favors Moscow, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing three officials briefed on the trip.

According to the publication, Rutte is scheduled to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

His message will focus on the risks of brokering a deal that disregards Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the broader threat such a move would pose to European security.

Rutte will reportedly emphasize that any settlement imposed on Kyiv — especially one aligning with Kremlin demands — would only embolden Russian aggression and further destabilize the region, the sources said.

The visit comes as Ukraine faces mounting pressure to respond to a controversial U.S. peace proposal reportedly presented in Paris on April 17.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the plan includes U.S. recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO — two core Russian demands.

The proposal has sparked backlash even from Trump’s supporters. Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the plan on April 24, calling it a reward for Russian aggression and warning that it risks allowing Russia to regroup for another assault.

Rutte is also expected to discuss NATO’s long-term defense posture in Europe, including transferring more of the alliance’s military burden from the U.S. to European forces, according to FT sources.

‘Territories are first and foremost people:’ Zaporizhzhia, Kherson residents anxiously watch Witkoff debate the land they live on

Zaporizhzhia — During what would usually be evening rush hour in Zaporizhzhia, cars move easily through main streets that were once choked with traffic. As the shadows grow longer, soldiers calmly remove camouflage netting from the air defense weapons they’ll man against Russia’s deadly attacks until the sun rises

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta

US to demand Ukraine’s right to maintain sufficient army in talks with Russia, Bloomberg reports

The United States will demand that Russia recognize Ukraine’s sovereign right to maintain its own adequately equipped armed forces and defense industry as part of any peace agreement, Bloomberg reported on April 24, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The issue is expected to be raised by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 25.

The demand would directly challenge one of the Kremlin’s war aims — Ukraine’s demilitarization — and is part of a broader push to secure guarantees for Kyiv.

The U.S. also reportedly wants Russia to return the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to Ukrainian control. The plant, occupied by Russian forces since 2022, would then be placed under U.S. oversight to supply power to cities on both sides of the front line.

Other points include providing Ukraine with a secure passage across the Dnipro River and restoring Russian-occupied territory in Kharkiv Oblast to Ukrainian control. Russia currently holds around 200 square kilometers (about 77 square miles) of the region.

The negotiations come as Ukraine remains under pressure to respond to a broader U.S. peace plan first presented in Paris on April 17. According to the Wall Street Journal, that plan includes recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO — two long-standing Kremlin demands.

Witkoff, the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, has met Putin multiple times this year and has faced criticism from both U.S. and Ukrainian officials for supporting proposals seen as favorable to the Kremlin, including trading territory for peace.

Ukraine brings back body of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna tortured in Russian captivity, official says

The body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died after torture in Russian captivity, was brought back to Ukraine in late February, Deputy Interior Minister Leonid Tymchenko said in an interview with Censor.net published on April 24.

“She was identified through DNA testing,” Tymchenko said.

Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories, with Moscow admitting her detention the following year.

Ukrainian officials confirmed Roshchyna’s death on Oct. 10, 2024, but said that the circumstances were still under investigation. Russia did not hand over her body for about five months.

According to Russia, Roshchyna died on Sept. 19, 2024.

Yurii Belousov, head of the war crimes department at the Prosecutor General’s Office, said the condition of the journalist’s body made it impossible to determine the exact cause of death.

“At the same time, numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the victim’s body,” Belousov said during a briefing in Kyiv on April 24.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian NGO, reported that Roshchyna had been held in at least two notorious Russian prisons: the penal colony n. 77 in Berdiansk in occupied Ukraine and the detention center n. 2 in Russia’s Taganrog.

Both facilities are known for the use of torture against prisoners.

Roshchyna was tortured with electric shocks while in Russian captivity, Ukrainian investigative journalism outlet Slidstvo.Info reported in early March, citing an unnamed witness in the Taganrog detention center.

There were also cuts on Roshchyna’s arms after interrogations, the witness said. The journalist lost weight and weighed up to 30 kilograms, according to the source.

Previously, in March 2022, Roshchyna was detained for 10 days by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers while leaving Berdiansk in the direction of Mariupol. As a condition of her release, she was forced to record a video saying Russian forces had saved her life.

Although Roshchyna’s body is said to have been returned in late February, Ukrainian journalists said in March that her body had not yet been retrieved at the time.

Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a lawmaker and chair of the parliamentary committee on freedom of speech, said on April 24 that the body’s return was not announced for so long due to uncertainty about the identity.

“Given the torture and the condition of her body, Roshchyna’s family requested not one, but several DNA examinations,” Yurchyshyn wrote on Facebook. “As far as I know, the examinations were carried out not only in Ukraine but also abroad to ensure that it was Viktoriia."

Journalist Viktoria Roshchyna receives posthumous human rights award

Roshchyna, who died last fall in Russian captivity, received the Homo Homini award for her “work dedicated to portraying issues threatening the democratic order of Ukraine, which she did not compromise on, even at the risk of her personal safety.”

The Kyiv IndependentAbbey Fenbert

Note from the author:

Ukraine War Latest is put together by the Kyiv Independent news desk team, who keep you informed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you value our work and want to ensure we have the resources to continue, join the Kyiv Independent community.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on April 24 that both Russia and Ukraine “want peace,” adding that he had set a deadline to finalize a deal aimed at ending the war.

“So we are thinking very strongly that they both want peace,” Trump said during a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. “But they have to get to the table. We’ve been waiting a long time. They have to get to the table. And I think we’re going to get peace.”

Trump also said that he has a deadline for reaching a peace deal but did not elaborate.

“I have my own deadline,” he said. “… And after that, we’re going to have a very much different attitude. But I think we have a very good chance of getting (a peace deal) done."

The remarks come as the U.S. pushes for a ceasefire in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump warned earlier this week that the U.S. may withdraw from the mediation process if no progress is made in the coming days.

Ukraine is under pressure to respond to a controversial U.S. peace proposal, first presented in Paris on April 17. According to the Wall Street Journal, the plan includes U.S. recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and a permanent ban on Ukrainian NATO membership — both key Kremlin demands.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected any deal involving territorial concessions. “This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine,” he said on April 22.

On April 23, Trump denied Ukraine is being forced to recognize Crimea as Russian, writing on Truth Social that “nobody is asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory."

The U.S. president claimed the U.S. had already reached a deal with Russia and now needed one with Ukraine. He added that Zelensky has been “harder” to deal with than expected.

On April 24, Russia launched missile strikes on Kyiv that killed at least 12 civilians and injured 90. Trump responded by saying he was “not happy” with the attack, calling it “not necessary” and “very bad timing,” but did not condemn Russia or propose consequences.

Ukraine has already agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. on March 11, contingent on Russia’s acceptance. Moscow has refused, continuing offensive operations across the front.

While expressing frustration with Russia’s refusal to de-escalate, the U.S. president has yet to impose new sanctions or take punitive measures in response to Moscow’s aggression.

Boris Johnson blasts Trump peace plan after deadly Russian attack on Kyiv

“As for Ukraine - what do they get after three years of heroic resistance against a brutal and unprovoked invasion?” Johnson said. “What is their reward for the appalling sacrifices they have made - for the sake, as they have endlessly been told, of freedom and democracy around the world?”

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Liudmyla Kapatsii, 75, and her daughter lingered in their apartment for a couple of extra minutes, doubting whether to go to the shelter after the air raid alarm woke them up around 1 a.m. on April 24, warning of a potential Russian missile attack.

Though they were tired of near-everyday shelter runs, Kapatsii’s daughter insisted they should go. As they opened the door, everything around them exploded.

“You couldn’t see anything. The window frames and glass from the corridor flew right into our door,” Kapatsii told the Kyiv Independent later in the morning after the attack, sitting on a swing in a playground in front of her half-destroyed apartment building.

The debris from the explosion blocked their exit, trapping the family inside. Kapatsii had no way of knowing if her son-in-law was safe, as he was in another room at the time.

“We just hugged each other with my daughter and screamed: ‘Lord, save us. We don’t need anything else, just save us',” Kapatsii said.

Overnight on April 24, Russia launched a mass missile attack on Ukraine, sending a combined 215 missiles and drones at the country. Many of the missiles and drones targeted Kyiv, where the attack killed 12 people, including two children from the same family. At least ninety more people were wounded as the strike damaged dozens of apartment buildings, a school, and a kindergarten.

During the attack, a Russian missile hit Kapatsii’s two-story residential building in Kyiv’s quiet Solomianskyi District — an area filled with blooming lilacs signaling the arrival of springtime in Ukraine.

The day before the missile strikes, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was the main obstacle to peace in Ukraine amid negotiations to end Russia’s more than three-year full-scale invasion.

Karpatsii says big glass shards and pieces of concrete littered her building’s corridor, which narrowly missed them because of their delay in deciding to seek shelter. First responders managed to get through their apartment door about 20 minutes after the explosions.

“We went outside, and I looked around, and there was no home there,” Karpatsii said, referring to the building hit by the missile.

“There were people screaming all over the yard; it was terrible. An old lady I knew came running from the second floor. (People) were running around the building, screaming."

Similar to Karpatsii, Maria Rumiantseva, 40, was stuck in her wrecked apartment with her son, wheelchair-bound mother, and two dogs after debris blocked them from getting out.

“It’s a nightmare, really. Our neighbor died in the building. I don’t have an apartment anymore,” Rumiantseva told the Kyiv Independent.

“I understand that there was an agreement (with Russia and the U.S.) not to touch us during Easter. Well, why are you touching us now, after Easter?” she said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 24-hour Easter ceasefire that the Ukrainian government says was violated by Russian troops over 3,000 times.

“A father and a child are left alone, a mother has died. These negotiations, I don’t know, there is no point in negotiating here. With whom?” Rumiantseva added. “(Putin) won’t leave us alone."

Facing Rumiantseva’s balcony, Oleksandr Yefymchuk, 44, was checking the sky for any signs of an incoming attack from his second-floor balcony when the missile hit the building behind him.

It was his family’s second near-death experience in the war, Yefymchuk said.

“The first one was in Peremoha, when (the Russians) were killing people. It must mean something (that we escaped death twice),” Yefymchuk said, referring to Russia’s occupation of the Peremoha village in Kyiv Oblast in 2022.

After Peremoha was liberated, a torture chamber with human remains was found in the village. Dozens of people were killed or went missing in Peremoha during Russia’s month-long invasion.

When the missile hit, Yefymchuk’s wife was getting ready to go to the shelter with their 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. They didn’t manage to make it on time before the explosions began. Instead, all three of them, together with their two dogs, managed to huddle together in a small, one-square-meter space in the corridor behind a sturdy mirrored wardrobe.

“The mirror is made in Germany. It’s the only thing left intact,” Yefymchuk told the Kyiv Independent, sliding the door of the closet open and pulling back the coats on their hangers.

The wardrobe, its backboard and the wall behind it missing, had turned into a portal to the neighboring apartment, whose outside wall had completely collapsed, leaving the destroyed building and rescue efforts in full view.

“My friend lived in the building behind mine, and friends of my children. What were they hit for?” Yefymchuk asked, his face crumpling in sorrow.

“We, as citizens, need a safe place for our children all over Ukraine. Donetsk, Luhansk, Sumy, Odesa oblasts. It is very important for us,” Yefymchuk said, referring to regions of Ukraine where the fighting has been the most intense or that have witnessed mass attacks on civilian centers.

“I’m just asking our president, I’m asking our guys (in the army) – we only need victory. Nothing else will save us. We are already beginning to realize this in Kyiv,” he added.

At the playground where volunteers erected several tents to provide urgent aid, Polina Levytska, 30, stood in line to collect thick plastic film to cover her windows. A resident of one of the damaged buildings, the attack left her with several bloodied cuts on her face and legs.

Asked by Kyiv Independent reporters about Trump’s peace proposal, she couldn’t resist irony.

“It’s a great proposal, very reasonable. And it will work 100%. We are all convinced,” Levytska said, nodding to the scene of destruction and people around.

“Trump has his own agenda, which is absolutely bulletproof. He likes Putin. He doesn’t like Ukraine,” she added.

“I’ve been following the news myself, but when you go through this on your own, you understand everyone,” Levytska said as she recounted her and her mother’s escape.

“I understand all the border towns. We have always thought about them, and about the occupied areas, but when you experience it yourself, it’s just…” Levytska said, trailing off. “These are our people (in occupied territories). How can we give our people to these monsters?"

"I would like to tell Trump that... I'm sorry, but there is no way to deal with Russians, except with weapons," Levytska said.

Into the late afternoon, dozens of first responders continued to go through the debris by hand and with heavy machinery. Red-and-white tape enclosed the site from both onlookers and residents who were waiting to return to their destroyed apartments.

A first responder was hugging a big tabby cat as a woman in a pink nightgown asked him whether he had seen two white cats. “Only the grey one,” the man replied.

A middle-aged man in dusty black clothes shouted a request to one of the first responders clearing the upper floors not to throw out a stroller through a hole in the wall left by a missing window.

About twenty teenagers stood in groups close to the tape throughout the day, looking out for anyone first responders might pull out from the wreckage. Several girls were hugging each other or quietly crying alone.

Next to them, a purple stuffed toy and a bouquet of yellow flowers on the ground signified the first makeshift memorial for those killed in the attack.

By early evening, the State Emergency Service confirmed it had found another body – that of a 17-year-old boy who was killed in the attack.

"He was my best friend. Yesterday he took my dog for a walk. And now he's just gone. It's hard to believe," one of the boy's friends, 17-year-old Viktoria, told UNICEF after his body was found.

"There is nothing to run from anymore. We just need to believe in our victory. And we do believe," Yefymchuk said outside his wrecked home.

Note from the author:

Hi, this is Natalia Yermak,  I reported this story for you. It's always heartbreaking to meet and talk to people that have just survived the worst experience of their lives, but it feels worse to see attacks like this one happen amid the "peace talks."

Please consider supporting the Kyiv Independent so that we can continue covering such on-the-ground stories. Thank you.

‘Vladimir, stop!’ — Trump ‘not happy’ with Russia’s deadly attack on Kyiv

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, Stop!” U.S. President Donald Trump said on the Truth Social platform.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is expected to use his visit to Washington on April 24 to urge the U.S. not to pressure Ukraine into accepting a peace agreement that favors Moscow, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing three officials briefed on the trip.

According to the publication, Rutte is scheduled to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

His message will focus on the risks of brokering a deal that disregards Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the broader threat such a move would pose to European security.

Rutte will reportedly emphasize that any settlement imposed on Kyiv — especially one aligning with Kremlin demands — would only embolden Russian aggression and further destabilize the region, the sources said.

The visit comes as Ukraine faces mounting pressure to respond to a controversial U.S. peace proposal reportedly presented in Paris on April 17.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the plan includes U.S. recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO — two core Russian demands.

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Ukraine has categorically rejected any settlement involving territorial concessions. "This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 22.

U.S. President Donald Trump has denied that Ukraine is being forced to accept the Crimea clause. However, he has criticized Zelensky's refusal to consider the issue as "harmful to the peace negotiations."

The proposal has sparked backlash even from Trump's supporters. Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the plan on April 24, calling it a reward for Russian aggression and warning that it risks allowing Russia to regroup for another assault.

On April 24, Russia launched deadly missile strikes on Kyiv, killing at least 12 civilians and injuring 90. Trump responded by saying he was "not happy" with the attack, calling it "not necessary" and poorly timed, but stopped short of issuing a condemnation or threatening consequences.

Ukraine has already accepted a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire first introduced on March 11. Russia has so far refused to agree, continuing offensive operations across Ukraine's front lines.

Rutte is also expected to discuss NATO's long-term defense posture in Europe, including transferring more of the alliance's military burden from the U.S. to European forces, according to FT sources.

‘Impossible to believe’ — in Kyiv, Trump’s stance on Russia stuns after yet another deadly attack

U.S. President Donald Trump has once again failed to condemn his Russian counterpart in the aftermath of yet another devastating missile attack on Ukraine, casting further doubt on Washington’s ability to fairly broker a peace in the country. “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the U.S. government’s reported peace proposal for Ukraine on April 24, calling it a reward for aggression after a Russian missile attack killed at least 12 civilians and injured 90 in Kyiv.

Johnson, once a vocal supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war, criticized the reported terms of the plan as deeply flawed.

"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin indiscriminately butchers more Ukrainian civilians, killing and injuring 100 in Kyiv, including children. And what is his reward under the latest peace proposals?" Johnson wrote on X.

He pointed to provisions that would allow Russia to retain sovereign Ukrainian territory seized by force, block Ukraine from joining NATO, and lift sanctions against Moscow.

“As for Ukraine - what do they get after three years of heroic resistance against a brutal and unprovoked invasion?” Johnson said. “What is their reward for the appalling sacrifices they have made - for the sake, as they have endlessly been told, of freedom and democracy around the world?”

Commenting on a proposed  U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, he said that “apart from the right to share their natural resources with the United States, (the Ukrainians) get nothing."

The U.S. peace proposal — first reported by the Wall Street Journal on April 20 — was presented during a closed-door meeting in Paris on April 17 and confirmed by Western officials.

The plan reportedly includes U.S. recognition of Russia’s illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea and a permanent ban on Ukraine joining NATO, two of the Kremlin’s core demands.

Johnson warned that accepting such terms would allow Russian troops to regroup and launch another assault.

“If we are to prevent more atrocities by Putin, then we must have a long-term, credible, and above all properly funded security guarantee for Ukraine — a guarantee issued by the UK, the US, and all Western allies."

Ukraine has firmly rejected negotiating its territorial integrity under pressure. “This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 22.

Trump has denied that his administration is pressuring Ukraine to accept Crimea as Russian territory. “Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory,” he wrote on Truth Social on April 23.

Trump responded to Russia’s deadly attack on Kyiv by writing that he was “not happy with the Russian strikes,” calling them “not necessary” and “very bad timing."

He urged Putin to “stop” and “get the peace deal done,” but stopped short of any condemnation or threat of consequences.

Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-backed 30-day ceasefire, first proposed on March 11 in Jeddah. Moscow has refused to join, continuing its offensive operations across the front line.

After Russia’s deadly attack on Kyiv, Vance reposts denunciation of Zelensky

At the time of writing, U.S. Vice President JD Vance has not condemned or commented directly on the strike.

The Kyiv IndependentYuliia Taradiuk

U.S. President Donald Trump has once again failed to condemn his Russian counterpart in the aftermath of yet another devastating missile attack on Ukraine, casting further doubt on Washington’s ability to fairly broker a peace in the country.

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, Stop!” Trump said on the Truth Social platform, after 12 people were killed in Kyiv overnight on April 24, and nearly 80 others were injured.

Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “get the peace deal done,” stopping short of directly condemning him.

At the scene of one of the residential buildings devastated in last night’s attack, the Kyiv Independent asked some of the survivors if they thought the Trump administration was actually provoking such attacks by taking such a soft stance toward Russia.

“Yes, I think so,” 30-year-old linguist Polina Levytska, who survived with her mother and two cats, said.

“Of course, the current American strategy is not working. It is harmful to Ukraine, and this is already obvious."

The response from U.S. Vice President JD Vance in the aftermath of the attack was even more lacking — instead of condemning or even commenting on the strike, he instead reshared a post from Trump denouncing President Volodymyr Zelensky and accusing him of being the main impediment to peace in Ukraine.

“It is almost impossible to believe,” Inna Sovsun, a Ukrainian lawmaker from the Holos political party, told the Kyiv Independent.

“That the beacon of democracy – and all of that – that they would be behaving in such a way."

Frustration with the U.S.-backed peace process continues to mount — Kyiv has done all that has been asked of it since it began in earnest, and yet still faces devastating strikes from Russia, and pressure from Washington to accept demands that are unacceptable for Ukraine..

On March 11, Kyiv signed off on a U.S.-proposed, full 30-day truce, and has taken steps toward signing a minerals deal with Washington after Trump cut off military and intelligence sharing following a now-infamous rebuke of Zelensky in the Oval Office in February.

In stark contrast, Russia has refused to agree to a full ceasefire, and ramped up attacks on Ukrainian civilians — yet the White House has not taken a single step to apply pressure on the Kremlin to get them to stop.

The Trump administration is now pushing a peace deal that rewards Russia’s war of aggression and strips Ukraine of territory with no security guarantees that could prevent Moscow from launching another war in the future.

“Putin won’t leave us alone,” Maria Rumiantseva, a 40-year-old resident of one of the buildings damaged in the attack, told the Kyiv Independent.

“We’ll give him a bit of something now, give him some more, get a respite, and Putin will attack us again. He’s a sick man. Who are we going to negotiate with? There’s no point in negotiating,” she added.

The attack on Kyiv came just hours after the Kremlin yet again demanded Ukraine’s full recognition of Russia’s claim over four Ukrainian oblasts it partially occupies, and Crimea that Moscow occupies in full, neutral status for Ukraine, and an end to all Western military support.

“I do think that it is terrifying, the whole situation,” Sovsun said, adding: “And I do think that why it came about is because in the process of negotiations, the U.S. put pressure only on one side.

“And the side they chose to put pressure on is the side of the victim, instead of trying to deal with the aggressor, with those who created this whole mess.

“They’re basically indulging Putin to continue acting as he did."

Ukraine has no great options if Trump recognizes Crimea as Russian

Ukraine is facing a crossroads in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion, with the possibility of being forced to reject an unfavorable peace deal being imposed under huge pressure from the U.S.

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

The United States' frustration over stalled peace talks on the war in Ukraine should be aimed solely at Russian President Vladimir Putin, not Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron said on April 24, the French television network BFM TV reported.

His remarks came after a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed at least 12 people and injured 90 others, including at least six children. The April 24 strike, described by local officials as one of the deadliest in recent weeks, came a day after Moscow demanded Ukraine’s formal recognition of Russia’s claim to four partially occupied regions and a halt to Western military support.

Macron added that France continues to “welcome the efforts made by American diplomacy” but emphasized the need to “recall the facts.”

“The position of France is clear and will not change. We stand for sovereignty and territorial integrity in accordance with international law,” Macron said. “We will continue to defend the Ukrainian people’s right to live in peace on their territory and within their internationally recognized borders.”

French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine told reporters that Russia’s ongoing strikes were undermining diplomatic efforts. “With more strikes on Ukraine, it seems more like Russia is slowing down peace efforts,” he said on April 24, according to Reuters.

“The principle of Ukraine’s territorial integrity is not a point that can be negotiated,” Lemoine added, responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for refusing to cede Crimea.

The U.S. has been actively pushing a ceasefire, with Trump saying the April 24 attack on Kyiv was “not necessary,” and asking Putin to “get the peace deal done.” His proposals, which reportedly include U.S. recognition of Crimea as Russian and barring Ukraine from NATO, have been met with concern in Europe and resistance in Kyiv.

Peace talks remain stalled. A ministerial meeting on April 23 between Ukraine, the U.S., and European allies in London was downgraded after Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped the session. Meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to visit Moscow on April 25 for further discussions with Putin.

Europe rejects US push to recognize Russian occupation of Crimea, FT reports

An unnamed senior European official told the FT that the Trump administration had already been informed that European capitals would not recognize Crimea as Russian.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 24 that Russia had expected the previous day’s peace talks in London to unravel into a major scandal, but instead Ukraine and its allies showed a shared commitment to work towards peace.

The London meeting followed a summit in Paris on April 17, where senior Trump administration officials outlined a controversial peace proposal to Ukrainian and European delegates.

The plan reportedly includes U.S. recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and a ban on Ukraine’s NATO membership — two central demands by the Kremlin.

“Yesterday, there was a meeting in London, and European countries were present, including Ukraine, Britain, France, Germany, and the United States,” Zelensky said during a press conference in South Africa on April 24.

“It was not easy, but it was constructive. It ended not with disagreements, but with a desire to work further."

Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would not negotiate its territorial integrity under pressure.

“Russia does not like the alliance around Ukraine, because Ukraine, if it is alone, is an easier target for Russia,” he said. “Even in the first days of the war, when we were almost at the end of our rope, we managed to survive. Believe me, we are much stronger now."

According to Reuters, Kyiv submitted a document to European partners on April 22 reaffirming that it would not enter negotiations on territorial issues until a “full and unconditional ceasefire” is achieved.

The statement reportedly prompted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to pull out of the London summit, downgrading what was originally intended as a ministerial-level gathering.

Despite their absence, the U.K. Foreign Ministry said on April 23 that “significant progress” had been made and emphasized a unified commitment to U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated goal of a “just and lasting peace."

Meanwhile, Trump has denied claims that the U.S. is pressuring Ukraine to accept the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.

“Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory,” he wrote on Truth Social on April 23, while simultaneously calling Zelensky’s firm stance “harmful to the peace negotiations."

One day after the talks, Russia launched deadly strikes on Kyiv amid ongoing diplomatic outreach, killing eight civilians and injuring 77.

In response, Trump wrote on April 24 that he was “not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv.”

He urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop” and “get the peace deal done,” but stopped short of condemning the attack or threatening consequences.

Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is ready if Russia also agrees to the terms.

So far, Moscow has refused.

After Russia’s deadly attack on Kyiv, Vance reposts denunciation of Zelensky

At the time of writing, U.S. Vice President JD Vance has not condemned or commented directly on the strike.

The Kyiv IndependentYuliia Taradiuk

After a mass Russian missile attack on Kyiv that killed at least eight people, U.S. Vice President JD Vance on April 24 reshared a post denouncing President Volodymyr Zelensky and accusing him of being the main impediment to peace in Ukraine.

During the mass attack in Kyiv, eight people were killed and 77 injured, including at least six children, Ukrainian officials said.

Thirty-one people remain hospitalized, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, adding that a rescue operation was ongoing to retrieve victims stuck under rubble.

At the time of writing, Vance has not condemned or commented directly on the strike.

Vance’s post on X was a screenshot of a post on Truth Social by U.S. President Donald Trump that suggested Zelensky was the main obstacle to peace in Ukraine after he reaffirmed that Ukraine would never legally recognize Russia’s control of Crimea.

“The statement made by Zelensky today will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’ and nobody wants that! We are very close to a deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, get it done,” Trump wrote in the post reshared by Vance.

“I look forward to being able to help Ukraine, and Russia, get out of this complete and total mess, that would have never started if I were President!"

The attack on Kyiv came just hours after the Kremlin demanded Ukraine’s full recognition of Russia’s claim over four Ukrainian oblasts it partially occupies, and Crimea that Moscow occupies in full, neutral status for Ukraine, and an end to all Western military support.

Vance said during a visit to India on April 23 that the U.S. had submitted a “very explicit proposal” to both Kyiv and Moscow. Vance warned that unless the two sides move forward, Washington may abandon its mediation efforts.

The U.S. has been in talks with Ukraine and Russia to negotiate an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. A Russian strike on Sumy on April 13 killed 35 people and injured 119. Another Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih on April 4 killed 20 people, including nine children, and injured over 70.

The U.S. has been in talks with Ukraine and Russia to negotiate an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is ready if Russia also agrees to the terms.

So far, Moscow has refused.

‘Not necessary,’ ‘bad timing’ — Trump ‘not happy’ with Russia’s deadly attack on Kyiv

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not necessary, and very bad timing,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on the Truth Social platform.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

Supporting Ukraine in its fights against Russia’s full-scale war is essential for Romania’s security, Romanian presidential candidate and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan said in an interview with Reuters published on April 24.

“I want to underline that the war in Ukraine is essential for the security of Romania and Moldova,” Dan said. “I appreciate what the Romanian state has done so far, the direction… was correct and must continue."

Throughout the war, Romania, a NATO member, signed a security agreement with Ukraine, backed sanctions against Russia, and sent Kyiv a Patriot air defense system. Bucharest has also played a crucial role in the transit of Ukrainian agricultural exports amid Russia’s threats to the Black Sea maritime trade.

Dan believes that Romania should continue to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain, but it should consult with Romanian producers to ensure they are not put at a disadvantage.

Romanian farmers asked the government last year to push for import limits on Ukrainian agricultural products, protesting the economic impacts of an EU free trade agreement that has sparked worries about uneven competition and risks to domestic production.

Dan, 55, was elected mayor of Bucharest in 2020 with support from center-right parties. Known for his background as a mathematician and civic activist, Dan founded the Save Bucharest Union, which evolved into the reformist USR party, a political movement with an anti-corruption platform.

Romania’s presidential elections were scheduled for a re-run on May 4. The November vote was annulled due to allegations of Russian interference favoring far-right candidate Calin Georgescu.

Georgescu was barred from participating in the presidential election re-run. George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), who is banned from entering Ukraine over “anti-Ukrainian activities,” is currently leading the polls.

Opinion surveys show that Dan is competing for second place with Crin Antonescu, a centrist backed by the ruling coalition, and Victor Ponta, a nationalist ex-prime minister.

Presidential candidate Victor Ponta vows to end Ukrainian grain exports via Romania if elected

“There has been a policy of favoring Ukrainian grain in terms of access to port facilities in recent years, at the detriment of Romanian grain, and Romanian farmers were greatly affected by it,” Romanian presidential candidate Victor Ponta said.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova

U.S. President Donald Trump on April 24 criticized Russia’s strike on Kyiv that killed eight civilians and injured 77, calling it “not necessary."

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not necessary, and very bad timing,” Trump said on the Truth Social platform.

Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop” and “get the peace deal done,” addressing the Kremlin’s leader by his first name and stopping short of further criticism.

Russia launched the deadly attack amid Trump’s effort to broker a peace deal in Ukraine and Kyiv’s calls for an unconditional ceasefire, which Moscow continues to reject.

Trump’s diplomatic outreach has largely favored Russia, with his reported peace proposal offering U.S. de jure recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea, a ban on Ukraine’s membership in NATO, and closer economic cooperation.

After President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out formally ceding the occupied peninsula to Russia, Trump criticised him at length and called his position “harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia."

Peace efforts stand on shaky ground as the planned ministerial between Ukraine, the U.S., and European allies in London on April 23, which was meant to hash out a united position on a peace deal, was postponed after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped the meeting.

The meeting was instead held on a technical level, with the parties praising it as “positive” but announcing no breakthrough. Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is also expected to visit Russia on April 25 for his fourth meeting with Putin.

‘Russian peace in all its glory’ — Mass Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills 8, injures 77

Authorities initially reported nine people killed, but the Prosecutor General’s Office later said only eight fatalities had been confirmed.

The Kyiv IndependentVolodymyr Ivanyshyn

Ukraine’s willingness to enter negotiations with Russia following a potential ceasefire is already a “big compromise” by Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference in South Africa on April 24.

Asked about the territorial concessions Ukraine is ready to make, Zelensky said that during a London meeting on April 23 between Ukrainian, European, and U.S. officials, a document with a multi-point strategy was developed and likely passed on to U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Anything that contradicts our values and our constitution cannot be in any agreements,” Zelensky said in the joint press conference beside his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa.

His remarks follow reporting that the U.S. is proposing its de jure recognition of Russian control over Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014, as part of a potential peace deal.

“I believe that we were attacked; our territories were occupied. Tens of thousands of people were killed, many children and adults were buried alive,” Zelensky said.

“And the fact that Ukraine is ready to sit down at the negotiating table after a full ceasefire with the terrorists who organized all this on our land is a big compromise."

Increased international pressure on Moscow, such as through Western sanctions, will bring Ukraine and Russia closer to a full, unconditional ceasefire, Zelensky said. He also named the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and an all-for-all prisoners exchange among Kyiv’s key priorities.

While Kyiv has repeatedly expressed its support for a full, unconditional ceasefire, Russia has rejected this proposal.

Ukraine has no great options if Trump recognizes Crimea as Russian

Ukraine is facing a crossroads in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion, with the possibility of being forced to reject an unfavorable peace deal being imposed under huge pressure from the U.S.

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons if faced with ‘unfriendly actions,’ Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu claimed in an interview with TASS state news agency on April 24.

Shoigu said Moscow was “closely monitoring” the “military preparations” of European countries, as they seek to ramp up defense spending and production in the face of the U.S. reducing its military presence on the continent.

“In case foreign states commit unfriendly actions that threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, our country considers it legitimate to take symmetrical and asymmetrical measures necessary to suppress such actions and prevent their recurrence,” he said.

“Nuclear deterrence is carried out against states and military coalitions that regard Russia as a potential adversary, possess weapons of mass destruction, or have significant combat capabilities of general-purpose forces,” he added.

Shoigu also said that any European future peacekeeping forces deployed to Ukraine to monitor a ceasefire would also be seen by the Kremlin as a provocation.

“Sensible politicians in Europe understand that the implementation of such a scenario could lead to a direct clash between NATO and Russia and subsequently to World War III,” he said.

In November 2024, Russia updated its official nuclear deterrence policy. According to the changes, the Kremlin reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to aggression against itself or its closest ally, Belarus, even if the attack involves non-nuclear weapons.

Russia has repeatedly made nuclear threats against Ukraine and the West since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The threats have failed to materialize, and Russia continues to wage its all-out war without using its nuclear arsenal.

The statement came as U.S. Vice President JD Vance repeated warnings that the U.S. might drop its peace efforts if both sides refuse to accept a “very explicit proposal,” which includes recognizing temporarily occupied territories as Russian.

Ukraine agreed to relinquish its nuclear arms after signing the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which also saw the country join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

In exchange, Kyiv received security assurances from major powers, including the U.S., the U.K., and Russia. These guarantees failed to prevent Moscow’s aggression in 2014 in Crimea and Donbas and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Budapest Memorandum has been sharply criticized by today’s Ukrainian leadership over its lack of strong security guarantees.

Ukraine has no great options if Trump recognizes Crimea as Russian

Ukraine is facing a crossroads in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion, with the possibility of being forced to reject an unfavorable peace deal being imposed under huge pressure from the U.S.

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

President Volodymyr Zelensky has handed over a list of 400 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Zelensky said on April 24.

“Russia has abducted tens of thousands of children from the occupied territories. We must bring them all back,” Zelensky said during a joint press conference with Ramaphosa in Pretoria.

“I really hope President Ramaphosa will help us bring them back."

Russia has kidnapped over 19,500 Ukrainian children during its full-scale war against Ukraine, forcibly deporting them to Russia, Belarus, or other occupied territories, the Ukrainian government said. As of today, 1,284 children have been safely brought back home.

Moscow also continues to hold thousands of military and civilian captives “for years in inhumane conditions,” Zelensky noted.

At the press conference, Ramaphosa reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to peace, highlighting its participation in the African peace initiative in 2023.

“South Africa believes that the only path toward peace is diplomacy, inclusive dialogue, and a commitment to the principles of the U.N. Charter,” he said. Ramaphosa also said that earlier this week, he discussed peace efforts with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Zelensky’s trip to South Africa marks the first official visit by Ukraine’s head of state to the country. The president nevertheless announced he would cut the visit short in response to Russia’s deadly aerial strike on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

South Africa, the continent’s largest economy that currently chairs the G20 group, has maintained a neutral stance in the war while deepening its economic and political ties with Moscow.

Kyiv has sought to bolster ties with African countries to engage them in the peace efforts and counter Russian influence on the continent.

‘Russian peace in all its glory’ — Mass Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills 8, injures 77

Authorities initially reported nine people killed, but the Prosecutor General’s Office later said only eight fatalities had been confirmed.

The Kyiv IndependentVolodymyr Ivanyshyn

The Ukrainian government said on April 24 that it has failed to reach an agreement with its debtholders to restructure some $2.6 billion of debt.

This means Kyiv might have to default on paying some $600 million ahead of the deadline in late May.

“Ukraine indicated that it could not accept the Restricted Holders’ Proposal and declined to make any further proposal to the Restricted Holders before the end of the Restricted Period,” the Ukrainian government said in a statement after April 15-23 talks in Washington.

Kyiv nevertheless pledged to continue to engage with its debtholders and seek other options for restructuring the debt.

The $2.6 billion sum concerns the so-called GDP warrants, a financial instrument that gives the debtholder the right to additional payments based on the country’s economic performance.

“The GDP warrants were designed for a world that no longer exists. Ukraine’s modest economic growth in 2023 was not a sign of surging prosperity but a fragile rebound from a nearly 30% downturn caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion,” Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said in a statement.

“These financial instruments must not become an obstacle to our recovery. Our objective is to reach a fair and comprehensive solution to this issue."

The warrants were not part of last year’s deal to restructure some $20 billion in national debt. That agreement, concluded with some creditors in July 2024, allowed Ukraine to avoid default and continue financing its defense against Russia’s full-scale war.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that failure to resolve the warrant issue could threaten further debt restructuring, as well as its ongoing $15.6 billion bailout program, the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

This Ukrainian mining company is losing hope in Trump’s minerals deal

Standing beside a sleepy village in Ukraine’s central Kirovohrad Oblast, the Zavalivskiy mine lies beneath layers of brown and pink earth, holding some 7.5 million metric tons of graphite ore — the second largest flake graphite mine in Europe. Like many mining companies in Ukraine, Zavalivskiy Graphite has lost

The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell

Ivan Popov, a disgraced ex-commander of Russia’s 58th Army fighting in Ukraine, was sentenced by a Russian military court to five years imprisonment over a large-scale fraud, Interfax news agency reported on April 24.

Popov was also stripped of his military rank as major general and fined 800,000 rubles ($9,600).

The ex-commander was arrested in May 2024 on suspicion of taking part in the theft of 1,700 metric tons of metal intended for building fortifications in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The fraud reportedly caused damages of 115 million rubles ($1.4 million).

Popov’s co-defendant, businessman Sergei Moiseyev, was sentenced to four years and fined 600,000 rubles ($7,200).

Popov has pleaded not guilty and plans to appeal the verdict. The Russian media reported that he sought to avoid a prison sentence by requesting permission to return to the front in Ukraine.

He was expected to lead one of the Storm-Z detachments, a front-line assault group largely composed of convicts and known for high casualty rates, Kommerstant’s source in security services claimed.

The court has denied this request, Popov’s lawyer Sergei Buinovsky said, according to Interfax.

Popov was dismissed from his command in 2023 after he reportedly bypassed the command of Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and attempted to directly appeal to the Kremlin over poor battlefield conditions.

If Trump recognizes Crimea, the biggest losers are Ukraine — and the US, experts say

Formally recognizing Crimea as Russian would breach international law and potentially open the door to further global conflicts, experts warn.

The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak

London banned the export of video game controllers to Russia, which are used to pilot Russian drones on the front line in Moscow’s all-out war against Ukraine, the U.K. Foreign Ministry announced on April 24.

The new sanctions package includes 150 trade sanctions against Russia, Politico reported, citing U.K. Sanctions Minister Stephen Doughty.

Throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine and Russia have heavily invested in drone technology, revolutionizing warfare.

Apart from video game controllers, the U.K. also prohibited the transfer of technology involved in producing Common High Priority goods, such as electronic components like amplifiers and circuits, which were described as critical to Russia’s military capabilities.

“Today’s measures will also cut Russia’s war machine off from innovative British tech, world-leading software, and close loopholes exploited by (President Vladimir) Putin’s cronies,” the foreign ministry said.

The U.K. also banned the export of chemicals, electronics, machinery, and metals to limit Russia’s military and industrial capacity, according to Politico.  

In late February, London imposed its largest-ever package of sanctions against Moscow, targeting its “shadow fleet” of tankers and foreign-based companies providing military parts to Russia.

Throughout the all-out war, Russia has continued to avoid sanctions through the use of evasion networks and shell companies. Russia is also aided in sanctions evasion through its allies, including China, Iran, and North Korea.

Ukraine has no great options if Trump recognizes Crimea as Russian

Ukraine is facing a crossroads in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion, with the possibility of being forced to reject an unfavorable peace deal being imposed under huge pressure from the U.S.

The Kyiv IndependentChris York