Ukraine

The European Union is looking into “non-standard” tactics to allow Ukraine to join the EU faster, Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday. The EU is clashing with Kyiv over the timeline for becoming a member of the club and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for a 2027 accession date has been widely rebuffed by EU politicians.

Reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine will cost almost $588 billion over the next decade, or nearly three times the estimated GDP in 2025, as housing, energy and other critical sectors continue to come under fire from Russian forces. The finding comes in the updated joint Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA5) issued on Monday by the Government, the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the United Nations. 

The estimate comes amid evaluations from Western intelligence that found Kyiv’s forces are outmatched in personnel and equipment in most Ukrainian sectors, particularly near the eastern and southern fronts. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates Russia has lost about 1.2 million troops since President Vladimir Putin started the war in 2022, compared with roughly 600,000 Ukrainian casualties.

Evidence is mounting that Elon Musk's decision to deny Russian forces access to his Starlink satellite-based internet service has blunted Moscow's advance, caused confusion among Russian soldiers and handed an advantage to Ukraine's defenders. … 

Talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US aimed at ending Moscow's war in Ukraine have concluded without a breakthrough.

Ukrainian president says security guarantees must first be in place as he pushes back at suggestions he plans to hold poll under US pressure.

[…] Under the scheme, Ukraine will be able to spend 60 billion euros ($71.2 billion) of the loan on desperately-needed weapons to fight off Russia’s invasion, with the rest earmarked for general budget support.

A UN humanitarian convoy reached frontline communities in Ukraine’s Dnipro region on Wednesday, delivering critical medical and hygiene supplies as fighting continues to take a heavy toll on civilians and infrastructure across the country. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters that access to the town had been “extremely difficult due to the continued fighting.” Of the 10,000 people who lived there before the full-scale invasion in February 2022, only about 500 remain, “most of them older people and people with disabilities.”

The US wants Ukraine and Russia to end their war by June, and has offered to host talks between the two sides next week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. … Russia, which occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of its neighbor’s eastern Donetsk region as part of a deal.

[…] Russian, Ukrainian and US teams took part in the talks in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, with the main sticking points believed to be territorial concessions Ukraine is under pressure to make and security guarantees for it to prevent further Russian attacks if a deal is agreed to end the four-year war.