Volodymyr Zelensky has said US president Donald Trump can end Russia's war in Ukraine, something that his predecessor Joe Biden was not able to do.
The Ukrainian president said he did not want to criticise anyone “but President Biden was not able to end this war”. “I am confident that President Trump can do it,” he told Newsmax.
Mr Trump is giving Russian president Vladimir Putin a "window of opportunity" to end his war, Mr Zelensky said.
It comes after Russian forces attacked Mr Zelensky's hometown Kryvyi Rih and other cities in a major drone bombardment. Russia pounded four Ukrainian cities overnight into Wednesday, injuring at least 15 people in an attack that mostly targeted energy infrastructure, officials said.
Russia launched 400 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as one ballistic missile, during the night, the Ukrainian air force said.
Ukraine has signalled once again its readiness for more peace talks with Russia, though foreign minister Andrii Sybiha did not give any specific details.
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Key Points
- 15 injured as Russian attack targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight
- Zelensky says he believes Trump can end Ukraine war
- Ukraine's foreign minister says Kyiv ready for talks with Moscow
- Russian bomb kills two and injures up to 27 in Ukraine's Dobropillia
Yulia Svyrydenko: Ukraine’s new prime minister who masterminded key Trump deal
06:47
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Arpan Rai
President Volodymyr Zelensky has named Yulia Svyrydenko as Ukraine’s new prime minister in the latest reshuffle of his cabinet.
Ms Svyrydenko, 39, has been serving as first deputy prime minister and economic development and trade minister since November 2021. She had been appointed to lead the revival of Ukraine’s struggling economy only months before Russia invaded in February 2022 and made her task more difficult.
Ms Svyrydenko came to global attention earlier this year when she brokered a minerals deal with the US, fulfilling a crucial demand that the Donald Trump administration had set to help Kyiv negotiate with Russia. The deal helped repair damaged ties between Mr Zelensky and the Trump administration.
Zelensky says he believes Trump can end Ukraine war
06:09
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Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said US president Donald Trump can end the war in Ukraine, something that his predecessor Joe Biden was not able to do.
“President Trump is giving Putin a chance to end this war. I really want to believe that he has given him this window of opportunity. And I really want to believe that if Putin doesn't draw conclusions, president Trump will truly apply powerful sanctions that cannot be circumvented,” Mr Zelensky said in an interview to Newsmax.
He went on: “I do not want to criticise anyone. I am grateful to America for all the help in this war. America has supported us and I have always said we are grateful to the White House, grateful for the bipartisan support. It was there and I am grateful that it continues. But president Biden was not able to end this war. I am confident that president Trump can do it.”
Zelenskyy: I believe Trump can end this war. Trump gives what we really need: full sanctions and a real deterrent weapons package. Biden gave partial help. That’s the difference.
— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) July 16, 2025
1/ pic.twitter.com/wjHrIPG59M
Watch: Russia launches mass drone attack on Ukraine overnight
05:55
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Arpan Rai
Ukraine's foreign minister says Kyiv ready for talks with Moscow
05:44
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Arpan Rai
Ukraine is ready for more peace talks with Russia, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said yesterday, but gave no specific date.
Mr Sybiha reiterated Kyiv's call for a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian leaders, saying it would be the most effective step to help agree a ceasefire.
"We are ready for such negotiations in any format, in any geography," he said during a visit to Lublin, in Poland.
Russia lost more than 1,000 troops in past day, claims Ukraine
05:30
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Arpan Rai
The Ukrainian military has claimed that Russia has lost 1,170 troops in just one day, bringing the wartime casualty total of Russia’s war to more than 1,030,000 people.
Dozens of artillery systems and a handful of tanks, combat vehicles and tankers were also lost over the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said.
The Independent could not independently verify the numbers.
ICYMI: Trump says weapons are already being sent to Ukraine
05:29
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Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump said that weapons are already being shipped to Ukraine.
On being asked yesterday about what he thought of Patriot missiles being purchased by the US allies, Mr Trump said: “They are already being shipped”.
He added that the Patriot anti-missile defence systems are coming in from Germany.
“And in all cases, the United States gets paid back in full. So what's happening, as you know, is the European Union, if you look, mostly European Union stuff, but let's put it in the form of Nato, it's very similar, but Nato's going to pay us back for everything,” the US president said.
Mr Trump also added that he has not spoken to Russian president Vladimir Putin since sanctions against Russia were announced on Monday.
Patriot-owning nations could meet next week - report
04:57
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Arpan Rai
A meeting of Patriot owner nations and Ukraine donors, who want to help bring new Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine could take place Wednesday next week, a source told Reuters.
It comes after Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington will supply Patriot air defence systems, missiles and other weaponry to Ukraine and that the arms would be paid for by other Nato countries.
Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada all want to be part of the initiative to fund the Patriot systems, Nato chief Mark Rutte said on Monday.
France has ruled itself out, according to a report in Politico.
France will not join project to buy US weapons for Ukraine - report
04:55
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Arpan Rai
France will not assist in a project announced by Donald Trump under which US weapons would be supplied to Ukraine with funding from European countries, Politico is reporting.
Paris will not be joining the initiative to purchase American weapons due to president Emmanuel Macron’s long-term position that Europeans should build their own defence industrial base through local procurement, two French officials familiar with the matter said.
The French government is looking to increase its own defence spending as it cuts other areas of the budget.
Germany, meanwhile, has taken a different stance. Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that purchasing US weapons is one of the only ways to quickly arm Ukraine.
Russian bomb kills two and injures up to 27 in Ukraine's Dobropillia
04:45
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Arpan Rai
A strike by Russian forces on a shopping centre and market in Dobropillia, a town near the frontline of the 40-month-old war, killed two people, injured up to 27 and caused widespread damage, officials said.
Vadym Filashkin, governor of eastern Donetsk region, said a 500kg (1,100lbs) bomb was deployed at 5.20pm, when shoppers were out.
He said there were two dead and 22 people injured, with eight nearby apartment blocks and eight cars destroyed. Video posted online showed areas around the shopping centre on fire with smoke billowing skywards.
"Firefighters are extinguishing the blaze as there is a possibility that people are still inside the shopping centre," Mr Filashkin told Ukrainian television.
"The occupier dropped the bomb at a time when Dobropillia was crowded with people. Many were out shopping. The occupier specifically targeted the shopping centre. All nearby shopping centres have been either destroyed or damaged,” he said.
Ukraine's national emergency services put the number of injured at 27.
Who could be Ukraine's next ambassador to the US?
04:39
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Arpan Rai
There are two candidates for the post of Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, Ukrainska Pravda is reporting.
Defence minister Rustem Umerov and justice minister Olha Stefanishyna are both being considered for the post, sources in Volodymyr Zelensky’s team said.
Earlier reports had suggested Mr Umerov was the frontrunner for the role.
"It looks like Umerov’s candidacy has not been firmly decided on yet. Stefanishyna may become ambassador to the US," a high-ranking source told the outlet.
It is unclear what role Mr Umerov would take if Ms Stefanishyna takes the US role.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has carried out a political reshuffle this week, nominating as his new prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko, the driving force behind a minerals deal with the United States. Outgoing prime minister Denys Shmyhal has been put forward as the new defence minister.
Zelensky wants half of Ukraine's weapons to be produced domestically
04:30
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Arpan Rai
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he was counting on his new incoming government to take measures to boost the proportion of weapons made at home to 50 per cent within six months.
Mr Zelensky said he, outgoing prime minister Denys Shmyhal and outgoing defence minister Rustem Umerov had decided at a meeting yesterday that the defence ministry would have "greater influence in the domain of arms production".
"Ukrainian-made weapons now make up about 40 per cent of those used at the front and in our operations," Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
"This is already significantly more than at any time in our country's independence. The production volumes are truly large, but we need more,” he said.
"Our goal is to reach 50 per cent Ukrainian-made weaponry within the first six months of the new government, by expanding our domestic production. I am confident this is achievable, though not easy,” Mr Zelensky said.
I held a meeting on the defense sector: our domestic weapons production, agreements with partners, and supplies for the Ukrainian army.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 16, 2025
We are thoroughly analyzing how all contracts, agreements, and investment projects are being implemented. We identified the steps that must be… pic.twitter.com/qztkBop7Yr
One killed and seven injured as Ukraine attacks Russia with drones overnight
04:14
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Arpan Rai
A Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and injured six in Russia's southern city of Belgorod, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Mr Gladkov said all six injured were being treated in hospital for shrapnel wounds. Six homes suffered damage in the drone attack.
The regional governor later reported another drone had injured a resident of a village northeast of Belgorod.
Russia's defence ministry said Russian air defence units had destroyed 48 Ukrainian drones over a three and a half period ending at 11.30pm (2030 GMT).
At least 29 drones were destroyed over Belgorod region on the Ukrainian border, with a further 16 over Bryansk region, another border region to the west, according to the Russian defence ministry.
Russia downs three drones headed for Moscow, mayor says
04:08
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Arpan Rai
Russian air defence units downed at least three Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow in the early hours today, the capital's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.
Mr Sobyanin made no mention of casualties or damage. He said specialists were examining drone fragments at the sites where they hit the ground.
Air defences were in action in other parts of Russia.
Russia's defence ministry said Russian air defence units had destroyed 48 Ukrainian drones over a three and a half hour period ending at 11.30pm (2030 GMT).
At least 29 drones were destroyed over Belgorod region on the Ukrainian border, with a further 16 over Bryansk region, another border region to the west, according to the Russian defence ministry.
15 injured as Russian attack targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight
04:04
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Arpan Rai
Russia pounded four Ukrainian cities overnight into Wednesday, injuring at least 15 people in an attack that mostly targeted energy infrastructure, officials said.
Russia launched 400 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as one ballistic missile, during the night, the Ukrainian air force said. The strikes targeted northeastern Kharkiv, which is Ukraine's second-largest city, president Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, Vinnytsia in the west and Odesa in the south.
The latest bombardment in Russia's escalating aerial campaign against civilian areas came ahead of a 2 September deadline set by US president Donald Trump for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in the three-year war, under the threat of possible severe Washington sanctions if it doesn't.
No date has yet been publicly set for a possible third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine. Two previous rounds delivered no progress apart from prisoner swaps.
