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Ukraine is in the final stages of drafting recruitment reforms to attract 18- to 25-year-olds who are currently exempt from mobilisation as it looks for ways to bolster its fighting force, the battlefield commander recently appointed to the President's Office said. In his first interview with foreign media since taking up his new position last fall, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Colonel Pavlo Palisa said Ukraine is exploring new recruitment options because the current drafting system inherited from Soviet times is hindering progress. While Ukraine passed a mobilisation law last spring and lowered the age of conscription from 27 to 25 years old, the measures have not had the impact needed to replenish its ranks or replace battlefield losses in its war with Russia. One initiative is what Palisa described as an honest contract," a plan that includes financial incentives, clear guarantees for training, and measures to ensure dialogue between soldiers and their commanders. T
The minister said that country's defense industry has developed significantly and currently around 40 per cent of weapons used by Kyiv's troops are Ukrainian-made
Trump also said that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or Nato countries must pay 5 per cent of their GDP for its defence budget
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a 100-year partnership agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, part of a European show of support and promises to keep helping Ukraine endure in its nearly three-year war with Russia. The announcement came days before Donald Trump is sworn in as US president with scepticism of America's military burden in Europe and what he says is a plan to end the continent's biggest conflict since World War II. We are with you not just today or tomorrow, for this year or the next, but for 100 years long after this terrible war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again, Starmer told Zelenskyy during a visit to Kyiv, promising that the UK would "play our part" in guaranteeing Ukraine's post-war security. Starmer said the landmark century-long agreement commits the two sides to cooperate on defense especially maritime security against Russian activity in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov and on technology projects
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Ukraine on Thursday, pledging to help guarantee the country's security for a century days before Donald Trump is sworn in as US president. The British government says Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will sign a 100-Year Partnership treaty in Kyiv, covering areas including defence, science, energy and trade. Starmer's unannounced visit is his first trip to Ukraine since he took office in July. He visited the country in 2023 when he was opposition leader, and has twice held talks with Zelenskyy in 10 Downing St. since becoming prime minister. One of Ukraine's biggest military backers, the U.K. has pledged 12.8 billion pounds (USD 16 billion) in military and civilian aid to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion three years ago, and has trained more than 50,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil. Starmer is due to announce another 40 million pounds (USD 49 million) for Ukraine's post-war economic recovery.
The latest escalation began when Ukraine launched a barrage of ATACMS missiles, targeting Russian military and oil facilities
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was visiting Poland on Wednesday after the two countries reached an agreement on a longstanding source of tensions between them: the exhumation of Polish victims of World War II-era massacres by Ukrainian nationalists. The office of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said early Wednesday he would welcome Zelenskyy in the late morning, and that the two would hold a joint news conference shortly after noon local time. The visit comes just days after Tusk announced progress on the issue of the exhumations, an issue that has strained relations for years. Finally a breakthrough. There is a decision on the first exhumations of Polish victims of the UPA," Tusk wrote on the social platform X on Friday, referring to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. I thank the ministers of culture of Poland and Ukraine for their good cooperation. We are waiting for further decisions. A non-governmental group, the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, said Monday it will begi
Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region in western Russia, said Ukraine had launched a major missile attack
He did not provide a timeline for the meeting, which would be the first between the leaders of the two countries since Russia's war with Ukraine started in February 2022
South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers on Monday that two North Korean soldiers who were captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia's Kursk border region haven't expressed a desire to seek asylum in South Korea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the social media platform X that he's willing to hand over the soldiers to North Korea if the country's authoritarian leader, Kim Jong Un, arranges for an exchange with Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia. Zelenskyy added that there may be other options for North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return home, and a video released by his government indicated that at least one of the captured soldiers expressed a desire to remain in Ukraine. In a closed-door briefing at South Korea's National Assembly, the National Intelligence Service confirmed its participation in the questioning of the North Korean soldiers by Ukrainian authorities. The agency said the soldiers haven't expressed a request
For weeks, Ukrainian troops braced for an unfamiliar enemy: North Korean soldiers sent to bolster Moscow's forces after Ukraine launched a lightning-fast incursion and seized territory in Russia's Kursk region over the summer. Their arrival marked a new and alarming phase in the war. And while initially inexperienced on the battlefield, North Korean troops have adapted quickly a development that could have far-reaching consequences as they gain combat knowledge in the war against Ukraine. Unlike the Russian troops Ukraine has been battling for nearly three years, Kyiv's forces were uncertain about what to expect from this new adversary, drawn into the war after Moscow and Pyongyang signed an agreement pledging military assistance using all means if either were attacked. One Ukrainian soldier who has witnessed North Koreans in battle described them as disciplined and highly methodical, saying they were more professional than their Russian counterparts. The soldier spoke to The ...
Zelenskyy further expressed gratitude to the soldiers of Tactical Group No. 84 of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces and paratroopers for successfully capturing the North Korean military personnel
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The package was announced by US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin during his final trip as Pentagon chief to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
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A daytime Russian missile attack on the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 13 civilians and wounded about 30 others on Wednesday, officials said. Footage posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram channel shows civilians lying in a city street littered with debris. The post shows them being treated by emergency services and taken away on gurneys. Russian has frequently launched aerial attacks on civilian areas during the almost three-year war. Thousands of civilians have been killed in Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. Zelenskyy and regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said Wednesday's attack killed at least 13 civilians. Minutes before the attack, Fedorov had warned of a threat of high-speed missiles and devastating glide bombs being fired at the Zaporizhzhia region. Russian troops started launching the glide bombs at Zaporizhzhia in the middle of the afternoon, and at least two bombs struck residential buildings in the city, Fedorov said. H
The region hosts a major air base for strategic bomber planes that form part of Russia's nuclear forces
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Praising the Ukrainian forces for their efforts, Zelenskyy said, I thank all our warriors who are bringing the war back home--to Russia--and giving Ukraine more security and strength