Your Questions Answered
We have been asking you for your questions about the future of the war. Here, Rostyslav Khotin, a senior editor in RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, answers.
Will Europe be able to unite against Putin without the help of the U.S.?
Europe gave Ukraine 70 billion euros in financial and humanitarian aid, as well as 62 billion euros in military aid. The United States provided 64 billion euros in military aid and 50 billion euros in financial aid.
This is according to figures from the Kiel Institute For the World Economy.
U.S. aid is critical because of arms supplies. Even when Europeans transfer Patriot systems and F-16 jets to Ukraine, Washington still gives permission, because these are American weapons.
Lavrov says Russia not ready to stop the war
- By Ray Furlong
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has a stark message as the war enters it's fourth year -- Moscow is not ready to stop its invasion.
Speaking during a visit to Turkey, he said: "We will stop hostilities only when these negotiations produce a firm and sustainable result that suits the Russian Federation."
This came as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that talks with the United States would continue this week, focusing on "irritants" in relations.
Leaked Military Hospital Database Shows Vast Toll Of War
- By Carl Schreck
RFE/RL has obtained leaked Russian military hospital records that show the massive toll the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has wrought on Russia’s armed forces.
Among the findings: the previously unrevealed fact that the head of Russia's defense forces was hospitalized with a gunshot wound nine months before he was killed in an exploding-scooter assassination that Ukraine claimed credit for.
Defense Minister: Ukraine Needs 'Decisive Action From Our Allies'
Ukraine has "grown stronger" as it battles Russia's full-scale invasion but needs "decisive action" from allies if it is to prevail, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov says. "Only together can we restore our borders, free our prisoners, and make Russia pay for its crimes."
The three-year mark in the full-scale invasion comes amid uncertainty about the future of support from the West, in particular the United States, and questions about what kind of security guarantees Western countries might provide if a cease-fire or peace deal is reached.
European foreign ministers on Ukraine
Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Danish foreign minister, speaking ahead of the EU foreign affairs council.
“It is up to Ukraine to decide their own destiny. They have chosen to become a member of the European family, and we want to welcome them in the European family”
Maria Malmer Stenergard, Swedish foreign minister
“Ukraine must be in a position of strength at the negotiation table when they are ready to negotiate. And they must also be in a position to actually say no to a bad deal. In order for this to happen we need to increase the military support now, not in six months or a year.”
Margus Tsahkna, Estonian foreign minister
“We have 300 billion euros worth of Russian frozen assets in Europe. And we need to use them... so we can replace US support if the US is going to decide that they will not support Ukraine anymore”
From the archive: RFE/RL investigates the Bucha massacre
- By Ray Furlong
The massacre at Bucha by Russian forces is one of the most notorious atrocities in a war that has been marked by continual Russian attacks on civilians. RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service conducted an in-depth investigation that told the stories of many victims, while focusing on the chilling story of how they came for a man who ran a coffee stand.
Will Ukraine’s One and Only Wartime President Face a New Election This Year?
- By Mike Eckel
Volodymr Zelenskyy rode into Ukraine’s presidency in 2019, in a landslide election victory that signaled Ukrainian voters were eager for a change.
Since Russia’s all-out invasion in 2022, the country has been under martial law, barring any new presidential vote that would give Zelenskyy another chance to prove himself at the polls.
After years of wartime solidarity, as Ukrainians have rallied to Zelenskyy, there are now hints of political cracks. And there’s growing pressure, in particular from President Donald Trump’s administration, to possibly hold a new election, something that Ukrainian officials say, for now, is logistically and legally impossible.
Putin's 'Destabilizing Fixation' On Ukraine
Over his long years in power, Putin made his designs on Ukraine increasingly clear, repeatedly trying to cast doubt on the country's right to exist as an independent state. The months before the full-scale invasion brought a drumbeat of statements, written and spoken, that caused alarm about his intentions -- or should have. One glaring example, in July 2021, was what one commentator called a "lengthy, tortured article" in which Putin "spelled out his destabilizing fixation" on controlling Ukraine.
"No deal without us can work," Kallas
“You can discuss whatever you want with Putin but if it comes to Europe or Ukraine, then Ukraine and Europe also have to agree to this deal," Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission, said.
“We can’t speak for President Trump and these statement are quite interesting. I mean “dictator.” First when I heard about this, I was sure he was making a mistake and mixing the two people because Russia hasn’t had elections for 25 years. Zelenskyy is an elected leader in free and fair elections and of course during war time you cannot have elections."
A Bleary-Eyed Overnight Train To Kyiv, Awoken By War, At A Loss of Words
- By Mike Eckel
Senior International Correspondent Mike Eckel was in Kyiv on the morning that Russia launched its all-out assault on Ukraine.
A small recollection of that moment, three years on—and the struggle to make sense of it, amid nearly two-decades of covering Russia, Ukraine and the entirety of the former Soviet Union.