Many Ukraine-based humanitarian projects are in limbo after Donald Trump ordered an immediate freeze on all US aid.
War-battered Ukraine has been providing for the humanitarian needs of millions through foreign aid, with the US contributing the largest chunk.
The aid freeze is impacting organisations supporting veterans, removing land mines, providing healthcare and aiding the recovery of injured soldiers. Maria Vorotylo, a soldier’s wife who had been receiving help from Veteran Hub, wrote on Facebook that its closure was “a very severe blow”.
On the battlefield, North Korean troops have withdrawn from the frontline in part of Russia’s Kursk region after suffering heavy losses, a Ukrainian commander said.
Another commander, codenamed “Puls”, told Sky News the North Koreans were likely either learning lessons from mistakes made during their first fierce clashes or waiting for reinforcements.
And Volodymyr Zelensky has defended the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fighting in the war against Russia, stating that if half his army is disbanded then Vladimir Putin “will kill us all”.
Key Points
- Trump’s ban on USAID shocks Ukraine charities
- North Korea partially withdraws forces from Kursk frontline – report
- EU renews sanctions on Russia after Hungary’s hold up
- Zelensky defends mobilisation, says Putin 'will kill us all’
- Russian school textbooks say it was ‘forced’ to march into Ukraine
- The fatal lengths North Korean soldiers will go to to avoid capture by Ukraine
North Korea partially withdraws forces from Kursk frontline – report
05:45
,
Arpan Rai
North Korean troops have withdrawn from the frontline in part of Russia’s Kursk region after suffering heavy losses, a Ukrainian commander said.
The North Korean troops, who have been fighting alongside Russia, have temporarily withdrawn from one of the axes of Kursk oblast where Ukraine’s 73rd Special Operation Forces (SOF) centre is deployed, colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, an SOF spokesperson, told the Kyiv Independent.
His comments came after another commander, with codename “Puls”, told Sky News that the North Korean troops were likely either learning lessons from mistakes made during their first fierce battlefield clashes with Ukrainian soldiers or waiting for reinforcements.
Special report: The fatal lengths North Korean soldiers will go to to avoid capture by Ukraine
05:45
,
Arpan Rai
The North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Vladimir Putin’s military have shown ferocious commitment, brutality – and a determination to kill themselves rather than face capture, The Independent has been told.
A Ukrainian military source with direct knowledge of these troops has disclosed in brutal detail the extraordinary lengths to which they will go to prevent being caught.
Since news of their presence in Russia emerged in October, just two North Korean soldiers have been captured alive amid varying claims from Ukraine of heavy losses among their ranks.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports from Sumy:
Trump’s ban on USAID shocks Ukraine charities
05:29
,
Arpan Rai
The immediate freeze on US aid ordered by the Trump administration has hit many Ukraine-based humanitarian projects, leaving them with a struggle to find funding.
“Most of the projects have received an order to stop,” a source at the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) mission in Ukraine told AFP.
War-battered Ukraine has been providing for the humanitarian needs of millions through foreign aid, with the US contributing the largest chunk. Ukraine also faces the likely prospect of the Trump administration cutting economic aid worth billions.
The aid freezes is impacting organisations that support veterans, remove land mines, provide healthcare and aid the recovery of injured soldiers. Maria Vorotylo, a soldier’s wife who had been receiving help from Veteran Hub, wrote on Facebook that its closure was “a very severe blow”, AFP reported.
Local media organisations will also be hit and some announced on social media that they would have to close as a result.One humanitarian worker at an American NGO told AFP a project that was about to launch assisting Ukrainian aid groups has been “put on hold”.
“We don’t know if it will be completely cancelled or reduced,” they said on condition of anonymity.
EU renews sanctions on Russia after Hungary’s hold up
05:11
,
Arpan Rai
The European Union has renewed its wide-ranging sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, after Hungary briefly held up the move in return for a declaration on energy security.
“Europe delivers: EU Foreign Ministers just agreed to extend again the sanctions on Russia,” Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, posted on social media.
“This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war,” she added. “Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing,” she said.
Officials from other EU countries had warned that failure to roll over the sanctions before a 31 January deadline would have consequences, such as the unfreezing of Russian assets in Europe that are being used to help Kyiv.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, who maintains close ties with Moscow, had first called for consultations with the Trump administration before a renewal decision. He also said it was time for a “sanctions-free” relationship with Russia.
But president Donald Trump has not backed the Hungarian position. He said last week he was ready to increase economic pressure on Russia to strike a peace deal. Budapest then cited its complaints about Ukraine ending a transit deal that brought Russian gas to Hungary.
Mapped: Russia’s war in Ukraine
05:00
,
Tom Watling
Lammy discusses Ukraine with Trump's secretary of state Rubio
04:56
,
Arpan Rai
Foreign secretary David Lammy spoke with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, with the pair saying they look forward to meeting in person soon, the UK government said in a statement last night.
“They both welcomed the opportunity for the UK and the US to work together in alignment to address on shared challenges including the situation in the Middle East, Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, the challenges posed by China and the need for Indo-Pacific security,” the statement said.
The fatal lengths North Korean soldiers will go to to avoid capture by Ukraine
04:30
,
Arpan Rai
The North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Vladimir Putin’s military have shown ferocious commitment, brutality – and a determination to kill themselves rather than face capture, The Independent has been told.
A Ukrainian military source with direct knowledge of these troops has disclosed in brutal detail the extraordinary lengths to which they will go to prevent being caught.
Since news of their presence in Russia emerged in October, just two North Korean soldiers have been captured alive amid varying claims from Ukraine of heavy losses among their ranks.
One of those was so determined not to be held as a prisoner of war that he tried to bite his own wrists after being wounded in the Kursk region, according to the senior military source in Sumy, northern Ukraine, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Sam Kiley, The Independent’s World Affairs Editor, reports from Sumy:
Desperate Ukrainians using illegal routes to bring children to UK
04:00
,
Tom Watling
Nato chief calls for defence spending above 2%
03:56
,
Arpan Rai
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has asked alliance members to step up defence spending beyond their common goal of two per cent of national output, saying this was now too low because of new challenges.
“We know that the goal of two per cent, set a decade ago, will not be enough to meet the challenges of tomorrow,” Mr Rutte said. “That means we need to spend more on our defence now.”
Nato allies will discuss whether they should raise the current two per cent target at a summit in the Hague this summer, amid pressure from US president Donald Trump for Nato allies to raise defence spending to five per cent of GDP – a target no Nato member currently meets.
Mr Rutte was speaking in Lisbon alongside Portuguese prime minister Luis Montenegro, who reiterated his country’s pledge to meet the two per cent goal by 2029. In 2023, Portugal spent 1.5 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence.
The Nato chief warned Russia was trying to destabilise Nato member states with acts ranging from assassination attempts to cyber attacks and sabotage, while waging a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.
Why peace talks are not as simple as Trump makes out
03:23
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump’s pre-election promises to end the war in Ukraine in less than 24 hours – and before his inauguration – have proved empty.
Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, says the administration’s new goal is to stop the fighting in 100 days.
But details on how this will be achieved remain scant. Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed this is because speaking openly about his plans would undermine his negotiating position. His detractors, however, say this is a cover for a lack of plan.
Below, The Independent looks at the factors at play and why a peace deal could prove elusive.
Russian school textbooks say it was ‘forced’ to march into Ukraine
03:18
,
Arpan Rai
Moscow has presented a new school textbook that compares Russia’s war in Ukraine to the Soviet struggle against the Nazis and says Russia was “forced” to send troops into Ukraine.
The three-volume “Military History of Russia” was edited by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Mr Putin who headed a delegation that held unsuccessful peace talks with Ukraine in 2022, in the early months of the war, and has already co-authored Russia’s main history textbook.
The third volume, likely to be dismissed by Ukraine’s leadership as propaganda, is designed to be taught to children aged 15 and older.
In a chapter entitled “Professionalism, indomitability and courage: Russian troops in the Special Military Operation”, the book tells schoolchildren that Russia was “forced” to send its troops into Ukraine in 2022.
It says the West had for years ignored Russia’s security concerns – a reference to the eastward expansion of the Nato military alliance, and to what the book described as the Western-backed toppling of a Russia-friendly Ukrainian president in 2014, which had turned Ukraine into an “aggressive anti-Russian bridgehead”.
Nato and Ukraine deny ever posing a threat to Russia.
The book also purportedly claims to explain why the Kremlin believes the war started and how it is being fought, highlights what it regards as incidences of battlefield heroism, and describes how the modern Russian army is sometimes employing techniques used by the Soviet army during the Second World War.
Zelensky defends mobilisation, says Putin 'will kill us all’
03:02
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky defended mobilisation of Ukrainians fighting in the war against Russia, stating that if the army goes back home then Vladimir Putin “will kill us all”.
“The wartime situation calls for mobilisation of people and all the resources we have in the country. Absolutely all of them,” Mr Zelensky said in the interview, excerpts of which were posted on the president’s Telegram channel.
“And, unfortunately, that is the challenge of this war and that is why we have to speed things up to the maximum to end it, to oblige Russia to end this war,” he said.
“Today, we are defending ourselves. If tomorrow, for instance, half the army heads home, we really should have surrendered on the very first day. That is how it is. If half the army goes home, Putin will kill us all.”
Ukraine approved legislation last year lowering the age of mobilisation for Ukrainian men from 27 to 25 years, narrowing exemptions and imposing penalties on evaders.
Mapped: Russia advances in eastern Ukraine
03:00
,
Tom Watling
Russia’s air attacks spark fire in Kharkiv, says mayor
02:50
,
Arpan Rai
An overnight Russian air attack set a private business on fire in Kharkiv, said the mayor of the city in northeastern Ukraine.
“There is a large-scale fire,” mayor Ihor Terekhov said. “All emergency services are on site. There is no information about potential casualties at this time,” he said on his Telegram channel.
Kharkiv city has been under intermittent Russian fire since the start of the war and has been the scene of some of the hottest clashes on the frontline.
Freezing aid to Ukraine shows Trump is no ally to the West
02:00
,
Tom Watling
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
01:00
,
Tom Watling
Explained | Why does Russia want to capture the strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk?
00:00
,
Tom Watling
Russian forces are closing in on the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after capturing a string of villages to its south, and Ukraine has halted production at its only coking coal mine nearby due to the advance.
Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which had a pre-war population of some 60,000 people. While most people have fled, Ukraine estimated last month that up to 11,000 still remain in the city.
It lies on a key road used by the Ukrainian military to supply other embattled eastern outposts including the towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine’s only mine that produces coking coal - used in its once vast steel industry and vital for the country’s pre-war economy - is just a 20-minute drive to the west of Pokrovsk, and open source data shows Russian forces are less than 2 km (1.24 miles) from one of the mine shafts.
Moscow says it has annexed Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and sees taking control of Pokrovsk as an important stepping stone to incorporating the entire region into Russia. Kyiv and the West reject Russia’s territorial claims as illegal and accuse Moscow of prosecuting a war of colonial conquest.
Control of the city, which the Russian media call "the gateway to Donetsk", would allow Moscow to severely disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the eastern front and boost its campaign to capture Chasiv Yar, which sits on higher ground offering potential control of a wider area.
Squeezing the Ukrainian military’s access to the road network in the vicinity would make it harder for Kyiv’s troops to hold pockets of territory either side of Pokrovsk, which could allow Russia to advance the front line.
Ukraine welcomes Trump’s threat to sanction Russian oil and gas harder
Monday 27 January 2025 23:30
,
Tom Watling
Ukraine to offer financial incentives to boost military recruitment
Monday 27 January 2025 23:00
,
Tom Watling
Nato chief says support Ukraine or stopping Putin will cost trillions
Monday 27 January 2025 22:30
,
Tom Watling
Russia hit Zaporizhzhia region with glide bombs, injuring four
Monday 27 January 2025 22:00
,
Tom Watling
❗Запорізька область: російські війська обстріляли Степногірськ, постраждали 4 людей
— DSNS.GOV.UA (@SESU_UA) January 27, 2025
Сьогодні ворог здійснив масований обстріл селища, використовуючи керовані авіаційні бомби. Одна з бомб влучила у 9-поверхівку. Вогнеборці оперативно загасили пожежу. pic.twitter.com/r4Or5w1DGS
North Korea ‘to send more troops to Russia despite heavy casualties’
Monday 27 January 2025 21:30
,
Tom Watling
Hungary wants the EU to intervene in a gas dispute with Ukraine
Monday 27 January 2025 21:00
,
Tom Watling
Russians could face jail for divulging movement of sanctioned goods
Monday 27 January 2025 20:30
,
Tom Watling
Europe considers sending troops to Ukraine if there's a ceasefire. But would Russia accept?
Monday 27 January 2025 20:00
,
Tom Watling
Trump describes Ukraine war as 'bullets whacking and hitting men‘
Monday 27 January 2025 19:30
,
Tom Watling
Putin ‘open for talks’ with Trump on Ukraine war and calls for meeting
Monday 27 January 2025 19:00
,
Tom Watling
Mapped: The frontline in Ukraine
Monday 27 January 2025 18:20
,
Tom Watling
Zelensky meets with Polish counterparts
Monday 27 January 2025 17:40
,
Tom Watling
Kraków. I had a meeting with Marshal of the Polish Sejm, @szymon_holownia.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 27, 2025
Strengthening our nation militarily is crucial for achieving a just and lasting peace. We count on the continued support of the Polish Sejm, particularly through the reinforcement of sanctions policies… pic.twitter.com/FGpEWBWgEH
Freezing aid to Ukraine shows Trump is no ally to the West
Monday 27 January 2025 17:20
,
Tom Watling
Desperate Ukrainians using illegal routes to bring children to UK
Monday 27 January 2025 17:00
,
Tom Watling
Ukraine opens second underground school in Kharkiv
Monday 27 January 2025 16:40
,
Tom Watling
Local Ukrainian officials have opened a second underground school in the northeast city of Kharkiv intended to allow children to continue their education despite the threat of Russian bombs.
Second underground school opens in war-time Kharkiv
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) January 27, 2025
A new underground school featuring wider corridors and inclusive facilities opened in Kharkiv, which accomodate will up to 1,000 pupils after its second construction phase
Read more: https://t.co/GBYxGh9eex
Kharkiv mayor… pic.twitter.com/uq8DQYCQX1
EU prolongs its Russia sanctions for 6 months after Hungary lifts its objections
Monday 27 January 2025 16:20
,
Tom Watling
Mapped: Russia advances in Donetsk
Monday 27 January 2025 16:00
,
Tom Watling
In pictures: Putin visits World War II memorial
Monday 27 January 2025 15:40
,
Tom Watling
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been pictured laying flowers at the Rubezhny Kamen (the Landmark Stone) monument to mark the 81st anniversary of the World War II battle that lifted the Nazi siege of Leningrad, near Kirovsk, Leningrad region. It is located a little over 30 miles south-east of St. Petersburg, Russia.
Why peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are not as simple as Trump makes out
Monday 27 January 2025 15:20
,
Tom Watling
Moscow giving ‘abnormally high fanfare’ to seizure of Donetsk town, analysts say
Monday 27 January 2025 15:00
,
Andy Gregory
Vladimir Putin’s officials are “paying an abnormally high amount of fanfare” to the claimed seizure of the Donetsk town of Velyka Novosilka, a leading US-based think-tank has suggested.
The Institute of the Study of War said: “The Russian MoD notably is paying an abnormally high amount of fanfare to the claimed Russian seizure of Velyka Novosilka, very likely as part of informational efforts to shape Western perceptions of the battlefield situation in Ukraine and degrade international support for Ukraine.
“The seizure and clearing of Velyka Novosilka will likely present opportunities and a decision point to the Russian military command on whether to redeploy elements of the Russian Eastern Military District [EMD] from the Velyka Novosilka area to other priority operational areas.
“Any redeployment of EMD elements from the Velyka Novosilka area over the coming weeks will indicate the Russian military command’s priority operational areas for offensive operations in Spring and Summer 2025.”
Kremlin hails Lukashenko’s election victory in Belarus, dismisses Western criticism
Monday 27 January 2025 14:45
,
Andy Gregory
The Kremlin has said that it celebrates the victory of Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko in a presidential election in Belarus on Sunday, and dismissed Western criticism of the vote as a sham as “predictable”.
Mr Lukashenko, in power in Belarus since 1994, was declared to have taken 86.8 per cent of the vote in an election which European politicians said was neither free nor fair.
Independent media are banned in the former Soviet republic and all leading opposition figures have either been jailed or forced to flee abroad.
Watch: Trump describes Ukraine war as ‘bullets whacking and hitting men’
Monday 27 January 2025 14:30
,
Andy Gregory
Swedish authorities board ship seized over Baltic Sea cable breach
Monday 27 January 2025 14:15
,
Andy Gregory
Swedish authorities boarded a Maltese-flagged ship seized in connection with the latest breach of cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to begin an investigation into the matter, the country’s security police have said.
“We can confirm that persons from Swedish authorities have been on board the vessel to carry out investigative measures,” Swedish security services spokesperson Johan Wikstrom said.
He declined to comment further on the investigation. The undersea cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged early on Sunday in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said.
That prompted Nato to deploy patrol ships to the area and triggered a sabotage investigation by Swedish authorities. A Swedish prosecutor ordered the seizing of a ship as part of the investigation.
Starmer ‘could resist Trump’s defence spending demands due to public finance woes’
Monday 27 January 2025 14:00
,
Andy Gregory
Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly preparing to resist demands to increase UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030 as a result of concerns about the state of public finances, despite growing pressure from Donald Trump and the British military.
While ministers have pledged to boost UK defence spending from its current point – at just above 2 per cent – to 2.5 per cent, it is not yet clear when or how this target will be achieved. Mr Trump has demanded that Nato allies commit 5 per cent of GDP to defence spending.
But with the state of Britain’s finances worsening and further spending cuts expected, there is said to be a growing sense that hitting even the 2.5 per cent target before the next election would mean even more spending cuts are required.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Recap: Trump warns Putin on day one in office
Monday 27 January 2025 13:45
,
Andy Gregory
The fatal lengths North Korean soldiers will go to to avoid capture by Ukraine
Monday 27 January 2025 13:35
,
Tom Watling
Republicans duck Trump’s claims that Ukraine should have surrendered to Russia
Monday 27 January 2025 13:30
,
Andy Gregory
Republican Senators ducked answering questions about Donald Trump’s claim that Ukraine should have surrendered to Russia and his attempt to blame the bloody conflict on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The president spoke to Fox News host Sean Hannity this week and blamed Zelensky’s failure to preemptively capitulate to Russia invading Ukraine, even though Russian forces have occupied parts of the country since 2014.
“Zelensky was fighting a much bigger entity, much bigger, much more powerful,” Trump told Hannity. “He shouldn’t have done that, because we could have made a deal, and it would have been a deal that would have been, it would have been a nothing deal.”
My colleague Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC:
Starmer and Irish PM discuss Ukraine war
Monday 27 January 2025 13:15
,
Andy Gregory
Sir Keir Starmer and Micheal Martin have discussed the Ukraine war in a call on Monday morning, the Irish premier has said.
Speaking after the call, Mr Martin said: “I was pleased to speak again with British prime minister Keir Starmer this morning, following my appointment as Taoiseach.”
He added: “We discussed global issues, including Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, in particular the need for a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza. Later today I will be attending an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
“We discussed the importance of remaining committed today to combatting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, intolerance and racism.”
Full report: Zelensky believes Trump could end Russia’s war – but only if Kyiv included in talks
Monday 27 January 2025 13:00
,
Andy Gregory
Volodymyr Zelensky has stated his belief that a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine could be made under Donald Trump’s presidency but demanded Kyiv be included in any peace talks.
The Ukrainian president also said on Saturday that the terms of any deal that might arise under the new US president were still unclear – and might not even be clear to Trump himself – because Vladimir Putin had no interest in ending the war.
My colleague Tara Cobham reports:
