US president Donald Trump is surrounded by Russian misinformation, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a press conference.
Responding to Donald Trump’s claim that his approval rating was at 4 per cent, Mr Zelensky said the US president is living in a “disinformation space” and is surrounded by Russian falsehoods.
He will publish the real figures to try and break through the “misinformation circle” around the US president, he added.
It comes after the president blamed Ukraine for the war breaking out.
Speaking after US and Russian officials spoke in Riyadh on Tuesday, Trump said: "You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.” He afterwards added: "If Ukraine wants a seat at the table, wouldn't the people have to say - it has been a long time since they had an election.”
Talks between Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin could take place as early as this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday according to Russian news agencies.
Mr Trump said he would not oppose if European nations want to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to provide security guarantees in the event of a peace deal.
Key Points
- Donald Trump is surrounded by Russian misinformation - Zelensky
- Putin and Trump could meet as early as this month, says Kremlin
- Vladimir Putin: I won’t allow Starmer’s plan for troops in Ukraine
- British Army 'absolutely ready' to deploy to Ukraine if required
- Trump says Ukraine 'should have never started' war
- Zelensky says Ukraine will never accept Russia’s ultimatums
We have the strongest army in Europe - Zelensky
10:50
,
Alex Croft
Asked about the US attempt to reduce Ukraine’s agency over negotiations to end the war, Mr Zelensky said the deal is “impossible without us”.
He adds: “Everybody knows that we are resilient, we are much stronger than at the beginning of the invasion.
“It is the most resilient in Europe and the strongest in Europe.”
This is not a 'conflict' - Zelensky
10:45
,
Alex Croft
Mr Zelensky has hit back at representatives of the Trump administration for describing Russia’s invasion as a “conflict”.
He said use of this word “softens” the reality. In a conversation with the last US government, Mr Zelensky fought against an official paper which described the war “as a conflict”, he revealed.
US demand for 500 billion dollars in minerals 'not serious' - Zelensky
10:42
,
Alex Croft
Mr Zelensky has described Donald Trump’s demand for Ukraine to return 500 billion dollars in minerals as “not a serious conversation”.
Kyiv is willing to do a proper deal with the White House, Mr Zelensky said, adding that “we need security guarantees”.
He adds: “I am protecting Ukraine. I cannot sell our state away.”
The US has supplied $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion in budget support, he said.
Donald Trump is surrounded by Russian misinformation - Zelensky
10:34
,
Alex Croft
Speaking from Kyiv, Mr Zelensky says that he does not usually comment on popularity ratings - after Donald Trump claimed Zelensky’s approval rating was at 4 percent.
But in response to Trump’s comments, Zelensky said he has 58 per cent confidence of the Ukrainian public, according to a survey.
He says some reports of popularity ratings are a result of “disinformation coming from Russia”.
Donald Trump is “living in this disinformation space”, Zelensky said, adding that he will publish the real figures to try and breakthrough the “misinformation circle” around the US president.
Zelensky speaking now
10:28
,
Alex Croft
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is now speaking at a news conference.
Stay here for all the key lines.
Situation at Russian oil refinery attacked by Ukraine under control, says governor
10:15
,
Alex Croft
The situation at Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region is under control after a Ukrainian attack, the regional governor said on Wednesday.
The consequences of the attack have been addressed and there is no major damage, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said on the Telegram messaging app.
After the attack earlier today, Mr Fedorishchev said: "Emergency services are working on the territory of the enterprise. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties.”
Russia's Defence Ministry said air defence systems had destroyed nine Ukrainian drones overnight, over Bryansk, Tatarstan and Tula regions and the Black Sea.
Donald Trump claims Volodymyr Zelensky’s approval rating is just 4%
10:09
,
Alex Croft
Trump thinks Ukraine is to blame for the war – got anything to say, Boris?
10:02
,
Alex Croft
As we watch the endgame tragedy of Ukraine and President Zelensky desperately struggles to salvage anything from the peace talks he’s been excluded from, he must wonder: where are my dear friends in the West when I need them?
Some are already edging away from the apparently staunch loyalty they once offered; others have fallen silent. And one man appears to have contorted himself into a position of abject appeasement, a “guilty man” if ever there was one. It’s quite an astonishing, unbelievable switchback – or would be, had it not been performed by the ever-shameless Boris Johnson.
You may recall (how could one not) the way back in 2022 that Johnson, as prime minister, spotted the growing menace of Russia’s military manoeuvres around Ukraine. He sent what military, political and diplomatic support he could, and when the Russian invasion was launched, under the hideous euphemism of a “special military operation”, Johnson emerged as an almost Churchillian figure.
Associate editor Sean O’Grady writes:
Rubio in 2022: Putin will only agree to ceasefire if he sees strategic benefit
09:47
,
Alex Croft
In an unearthed post from US secretary of state Marco Rubio from soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he says Putin will only agree to a ceasefire if he sees strategic benefit.
“Many in the West still don’t understand that #Putin is an expert liar,” Mr Rubio wrote.
“He doesn’t care about ‘humanitarian’ relief, if in fact there is a ‘ceasefire’ it’s because he sees some strategic or tactical benefit.
“And beware of attacks on refugees #Russia blames on #Ukraine or NATO.”
Many in the West still don’t understand that #Putin is an expert liar
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 9, 2022
He doesn’t care about “humanitarian”relief,if in fact there is a “ceasefire”it’s because he sees some strategic or tactical benefit
And beware of attacks on refugees #Russia blames on #Ukraine or NATO
Lavrov: Russia pushing for a 'multipolar world'
09:40
,
Alex Croft
Russia is working for a “multipolar world”, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has told the Russian parliament.
“I will tell you something that is a key issue for us at this stage of international development, and that is our move towards a multipolar world,” he told parliament on Wednesday.
“It is a historic process, and it is to do with the subjective trend of new power centres appearing on the world map.”
Electricity from Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant may go to Crimea, says Russian energy chief
09:35
,
Alex Croft
The electricity produced in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, may go to Russia-occupied Crimea, the head of Russia’s Rosatom state energy company said.
The nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine has been occupied by Russian forces since 4 March.
The power station has been in "cold shutdown" since September 2022.
Sam Kiley: Delusional of Trump to say Ukraine led by authoritarian regime
09:20
,
Alex Croft
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley was on Newsnight last night to discuss Donald Trump’s comments on Ukraine.
Watch here:
In pictures: Meeting between US, Russian and Saudi officials
09:11
,
Alex Croft
Zelensky to hold press conference
09:02
,
Alex Croft
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is due to hold a press conference, where he will respond to Donald Trump’s claim that Kyiv started the war with Russia.
We’ll bring you all the latest here when he speaks.
Putin and Trump could meet as early as this month, says Kremlin
08:53
,
Alex Croft
Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump could meet as early as this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday according to Russian state news agencies.
But a face-to-face meeting will take time to prepare, Peskov added.
The spokesman said US-Russia talks held on Tuesday were an “important step” towards reaching a settlement on the Ukraine war.
But he added that relations between the US and Russia would need to be reanimated before they are restored.
Kremlin says Riyadh talks an important step towards peace
08:49
,
Alex Croft
Discussions between US and Russian officials in Riyadh were an important step towards producing a settlement in Ukraine, the Kremlin has said according to the Interfax state news agency.
Russia will appoint its Ukraine negotiator depending on who the US appoints, Moscow said according to the RIA state news agency.
Trump: US troops will remain in European countries
08:35
,
Alex Croft
US president Donald Trump has said US troops will remain stationed in European countries.
Speaking at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Trump was asked whether he was ready to withdraw US troops from Europe as part of a peace deal with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“Nobody’s asked me to do that,” Trump said according to European Pravda.
"I don't think we'd have to do that. I wouldn’t want to do that. But that question has never really come up," Trump said.
Last week, US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth said Nato allies should not assume US troops will be in Europe forever.
EU envoys agree sixteenth Russian sanctions package
08:23
,
Alex Croft
EU envoys agreed a sixteenth package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, diplomats said.
Sanctions include a ban on the import of Russian primary aluminium and the listing of 73 new shadow vessels.
US special envoy to Ukraine arrives in Kyiv
08:08
,
Alex Croft
The Trump administration’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has arrived in Kyiv for discussions with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Reuters.
It comes after US president Donald Trump accused Ukraine of starting, and failing to end, the war.
“This could have been settled very easily,” Donald Trump said in remarks last night after US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia.
ICYMI: Trump says Ukraine 'should have never started' war
08:02
,
Alex Croft
Donald Trump has falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia, in comments after a meeting between US and Russian officials in Riyadh yesterday.
"I hear that they're upset about not having a seat, well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily," he said, when asked what his message was to Ukrainians who might feel betrayed. Kyiv was not invited to the talks.
"You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," he told BBC News.
He described the first day of talks in Saudi Arabia as "very good" and said Russia wants “to stop the savage barbarianism".
Russia unilaterally invaded Ukraine in February 2022, eight years after occupying and illegally annexing the Crimean Peninsula.
On being asked about the prospect of European countries sending troops to Ukraine, Mr Trump said: "If they want to do that, that's great. I'm all for it."
Zelensky: Russia lies about targeting civilian infrastructure - as proven in Odesa
07:58
,
Alex Croft
Russia’s representatives were “once again lying” after claiming in talks with US representatives in Riyadh that they do not target Ukrainian energy facilities, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“Once again, civilian energy facilities have been targeted,” Mr Zelensky wrote on X alongside footage of the emergency response. A child was among the four people injured in the attack.
“Just yesterday, after the notorious meeting in Riyadh, it became clear that Russian representatives were once again lying, claiming they do not target Ukraine’s energy sector,” he said.
“Yet, almost simultaneously, they launched another attack, with drones striking electrical transformers.
“We must never forget that Russia is ruled by pathological liars – they cannot be trusted and must be pressured.”
Rescue operations are currently underway in Odesa following another Russian strike on the city's energy infrastructure. Once again, civilian energy facilities have been targeted – for nearly three years now, the Russian army has relentlessly used missiles and attack drones… pic.twitter.com/hpBolxxfS1
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 19, 2025
Vladimir Putin: I won’t allow Starmer’s plan for troops in Ukraine
07:38
,
Alex Croft
Russia and the United States shook hands today on an agreement to resume full diplomatic relations and establish Ukraine peace talks, cementing an extraordinary reversal of international policy under Donald Trump’s presidency.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio greeted his smiling counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh and said ending the war could open “incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians geopolitically on issues of common interest and, frankly, economically”.
Immediately, Russia hardened its demands even further over Ukraine, dismissing the idea put forward by Sir Keir Starmer of British or other Nato-led peacekeeping troops in the event of a truce.
Four injured in Russian attack on Odesa
07:29
,
Alex Croft
A Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region has injured four people including a child, local officials said on Wednesday.
The “massive” attack also caused widespread power cuts and damaged civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten, children’s clinic and windows in high-rise buildings, governor Oleh Kiper said.
Energy workers are assessing the consequences of the attack for one of the city’s largest districts, with 250,000 residents, which lost heating and power, Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov said.
Mr Trukhanov said that 500 buildings, 14 schools and 13 kindergartens were affected as temperatures dropped to minus 6 celsius (21 Fahrenheit) in the morning.
“The situation with heating is very difficult,” Mr Trukhanov said based on preliminary assessments.
US wants a sustainable peace deal in Ukraine - Rubio
07:17
,
Alex Croft
US secretary of state Marco Rubio told European foreign ministers that the Trump administration wants a sustainable peace deal in Ukraine, according to French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
"I spoke to my American counterpart yesterday.
“He told me again that their objective was not a fragile ceasefire or a transitional pause that would allow Russia to rebuild their forces, but a lasting peace," Barrot told RTL radio.
Russia launches 167 drones overnight
07:12
,
Alex Croft
Russia launched 167 drones and two missiles in overnight attacks on Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said on Wednesday.
The air force shot down 106 drones and 56 more failed to reach their targets, likely due to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare.
It is unclear what happened to the remaining five drones.
British Army 'absolutely ready' to deploy to Ukraine if required
06:21
,
Arpan Rai
The British Army has said it is ready to deploy troops to Ukraine if required by the government.
Brigadier Andy Watson, commanding British part to the Nato’s new Allied Reaction Force (ARF) land brigade, has said his troops are ready “if and when required”.
On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer announced he is willing to put British troops “in harm’s way” on the ground in Ukraine to face down Vladimir Putin’s forces.
Ukraine attacks oil refinery in Russia's Samara region
06:09
,
Arpan Rai
Ukraine attacked an oil refinery in the city of Syzran in Russia's Samara region overnight, the regional governor said today.
"Emergency services are working on the territory of the enterprise. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties," Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said.
He did not specify whether the refinery had been damaged. Baza and Mash Telegram channels reported that the attack caused a fire.
Russia's Defence Ministry said air defence systems had destroyed nine Ukrainian drones overnight, over Bryansk, Tatarstan and Tula regions and the Black Sea.
Official from Biden administration corrects Trump on claim Ukraine started the war
05:46
,
Arpan Rai
Sean Savett, who was spokesperson for the White House National Security Council under former President Joe Biden, said in a social media post that Russia started the war.
"Sounds like Trump bought Putin’s propaganda hook, line, and sinker," he said. "A reminder no one should need: Putin started the war by invading Ukraine unprovoked and his forces have committed war crimes against the Ukrainian people. Russia is the party responsible for this war continuing,” Mr Savett said on X.
Yesterday, Mr Trump falsely claimed that Ukraine started the war and could have ended it earlier.
"Today I heard, 'oh, we weren't invited.' Well you've been there for three years, you should have ended it... you should have never started it. You could have made a deal,” the US president said.
Trump says he may meet Putin this month
05:36
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump said he might meet Russian president Vladimir Putin this month.
"Probably," Mr Trump said as he ended a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach when asked if he still expected to meet with Mr Putin before the end of the month.
Briefing reporters on US-Russian talks in Riyadh earlier, secretary of state Marco Rubio said the two sides did not establish a date for a Trump-Putin summit to discuss Ukraine.
Russian air defences down 21 Ukrainian drones
05:23
,
Arpan Rai
Russian air defences downed 21 Ukrainian drones in the space of an hour late yesterday, mostly over the western Bryansk region, the Russian defence ministry said.
The ministry, in a post on Telegram, said air defence units had downed 20 drones between 9.30pm and 10.30pm (1830 and 1930 GMT) over the Bryansk region on the Ukrainian border.
One drone was downed over Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Ukrainian forces knock out North Korean self-propelled howitzer, military says
05:04
,
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces have struck and knocked out a North Korean self-propelled howitzer on the eastern front on the battlefield, Ukraine's military said yesterday.
A statement by the Khortytsia, or East, group of forces said it was the first time since the start of the war that a North Korean M-1978 Koksan howitzer had been hit by a Ukrainian drone.
"In Luhansk region, fighters of the 412th separate regiment of Nemesis drones struck a very rare M-1978 North Korean self-propelled artillery vehicle with a gun caliber of 170 mm," the statement posted on Telegram said.
The post was accompanied by a video showing a military target being blown up, and said the Koksan had first been observed in the war in October 2024.
North Korea's military aid to Russia has included about 200 long-range artillery pieces and a significant amount of ammunition, South Korea's defence ministry told a parliament committee last week.
Europe needs to think hard about threatening to send troops to Ukraine
04:58
,
Arpan Rai
Russian officials meeting with their American counterparts to discuss the future of Ukraine can rationally expect to get pretty much everything they want from “peace talks” in Saudi Arabia.
They hope to emerge with a deal that cedes at least 20 per cent of Ukraine to Moscow, turns Ukraine into a neutral state with no Nato membership, and that a toothless multinational force will patrol Ukraine’s new borders with Russia.
It is almost certain a Trump-Putin deal would be rejected by Ukraine and its allies. So they will have to take over future negotiations and threaten to put troops into Ukraine.
Watch: Rubio says US and Russia will work to restore diplomatic missions
04:45
,
Andy Gregory
The Russian economy is on the brink of collapse and Putin knows it
04:30
,
Andy Gregory
How close is Russia’s economy to collapse? As Donald Trump’s negotiators open direct talks with the Kremlin, Kyiv’s European allies hope that a final push on sanctions against Russia could be Ukraine’s last – and best – hope of victory. Time is running out before Ukraine stands to lose all the territory currently held by Russia.
Almost three years ago to the day, Putin intended his full-scale invasion of Ukraine to be a three-day operation that would force regime change in Kyiv. Neither Putin nor his military or economic planners anticipated a grinding war that now soaks up more than 40 per cent of Kremlin spending.
Nor did they expect Europe to impose serious sanctions, and even less did they anticipate the destruction of three of the four Gazprom gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea that before the war supplied more than 30 per cent of Europe’s gas.
US pauses applications by migrants from Ukraine – report
04:25
,
Arpan Rai
The Trump administration has put a pause on all immigration applications filed by migrants from Ukraine and Latin America who were allowed into the United States under some Biden-era programs, CBS News reported today.
Concerns over fraud and security were cited for the halt, it added, citing two US officials and an internal memo.
Trump says he won't object to European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine
03:47
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump has said he would not be opposed if European nations want to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to provide security guarantees in the event of a peace deal.
"Having troops over there would be fine, I wouldn't object to it at all," Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
Europe has been discussing sending a peacekeeping force to Ukraine to prevent future Russian attacks after Mr Trump said no US troops would be involved.
Mr Zelensky and Sir Keir Starmer have warned that a US security guarantee against future Russian aggression is vital.
However, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said that it would be “completely unacceptable” for Nato troops to be positioned in Ukraine.
How Trump administration is planning 'permanent end' of Ukraine war
03:23
,
Arpan Rai
US national security adviser Mike Waltz told reporters in Riyadh that the war must come to a permanent end, and this would involve negotiations over territory.
"Just a practical reality is that there is going to be some discussion of territory and there's going to be discussion of security guarantees," he said.
High-level teams would begin talks on ending the conflict and would separately work to restore the countries' respective diplomatic missions in Washington and Moscow to ease the talks going forward, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said.
Mr Rubio said he came away from the initial talks convinced that Russia was "willing to begin to engage in a serious process" but that reaching peace would involve concessions from all sides.
Zelensky says Ukraine will never accept Russia’s ultimatums
03:18
,
Arpan Rai
Kyiv will not accept the results of US-Russia talks held “behind Ukraine’s back”, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“It feels like the US is now discussing the ultimatum that Putin set at the start of the full-scale war,” Mr Zelensky told reporters in Turkey after a meeting with president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Once again, decisions about Ukraine are being made without Ukraine. I wonder why they believe Ukraine would accept all these ultimatums now if we refused them at the most difficult moment?” Mr Zelensky asked.
The Ukrainian war-time president said that the country will keep demanding the return of occupied eastern and southern towns and villages via diplomatic means. “They will be Ukrainian. There can be no compromise,” he said.
Trump says Ukraine 'should have never started' war
03:17
,
Arpan Rai
Donald Trump has falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia, comments that come after an initial meeting between US and Russian officials in Riyadh yesterday which did not include Kyiv.
"I hear that they're upset about not having a seat, well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily," he said, when asked what his message was to Ukrainians who might feel betrayed.
"You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," he told BBC News.
He described the first day of talks in Saudi Arabia as "very good" and said Russia wants “to stop the savage barbarianism".
Russia unilaterally invaded Ukraine in February 2022, eight years after occupying and illegally annexing the Crimean Peninsula.
On being asked about the prospect of European countries sending troops to Ukraine, Mr Trump said: "If they want to do that, that's great. I'm all for it."
Watch: Defence secretary asked about size of potential UK force to Ukraine
03:15
,
Andy Gregory
Comment | The shame of Boris Johnson falling silent on Trump’s plan for Ukraine
03:00
,
Andy Gregory
The Independent’s associate editor Sean O’Grady writes:
As we watch the endgame tragedy of Ukraine and President Zelensky desperately struggles to salvage anything from the peace talks he’s been excluded from, he must wonder: where are my dear friends in the West when I need them?
Some are already edging away from the apparently staunch loyalty they once offered; others have fallen silent. And one man appears to have contorted himself into a position of abject appeasement, a “guilty man” if ever there was one.
It’s quite an astonishing, unbelievable switchback – or would be, had it not been performed by the ever-shameless Boris Johnson.
When the Russian invasion was launched, under the hideous euphemism of a “special military operation”, Johnson emerged as an almost Churchillian figure.
And now? For reasons that aren’t clear, with Donald Trump reinstalled in the White House, Johnson seems to have instantly transformed into the kind of arch-appeaser and apologist for America’s betrayal that one imagines he would have despised during his more heroic phase.
Read his thinking in full here:
Ukraine's Odesa without power and heat after mass Russian drone attack
02:55
,
Arpan Rai
Most of Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa is facing a power outage after Russian forces hit it with a mass drone attack, officials said.
"Hospitals, clinics and social infrastructure sites were left without heating," mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov said early today, describing the strike on Odesa as "massive".
Mr Trukhanov posted pictures on Telegram showing buildings with windows blown out and facades damaged. He made no mention of casualties and said experts were assessing the damage.
One local blogger said drones had been tracked throughout southern Ukraine around the time of the attack on Odesa.
Others said a city hospital had been hit in the attack or quoted residents as saying they had discovered fragments from falling drones in courtyards.
Trump says he thinks he has the power to end Ukraine war
02:50
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump has said he believes he can end the Russian war in Ukraine as his administration agreed to hold more talks with Russia without Kyiv.
Mr Trump said he was more confident after the talks and he would probably meet with Putin before the end of the month.
"Russia wants to do something," Mr Trump told reporters in Palm Beach, Florida. He brushed aside Ukraine’s concern about being left out of the meeting and said Kyiv should have entered talks much earlier.
"I think I have the power to end this war," the US president said.
US will not lower troop numbers in eastern Europe, Polish president says
02:00
,
Andy Gregory
The United States has no intention of lowering its troop numbers in eastern Europe, Polish president Andrzej Duda said after a meeting in Warsaw with Donald Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg.
British volunteer who lost an arm and a leg in Ukraine ‘has no regrets’
01:00
,
Andy Gregory
Eddy Scott, a young British civilian volunteer medic, was evacuating people from one of Ukraine’s most wartorn locations, Pokrovska, when his vehicle was targeted by bombs dropped from Russian drones which blew off his left arm and leg.
The Independent visited him in a hospital in Kyiv, where he was transferred after initial treatment at two facilities near the frontlines in the country’s east. That morning we had both been woken by Russian ballistic missiles that began slamming into the Ukrainian capital before dawn, injuring many and killing at least one person.
“It woke me up although I don’t sleep very well because I have really bad phantom limb pains - it feels like someone is running a hot knife along where my arm and leg were,” Mr Scott said. “For a moment I thought I was back in Pokrovsk. But once you’ve actually been blown up, if it doesn’t land next to you, everything else feels far away. So I wasn’t worried.”
Despite the intense pain, the Briton is remarkably composed a little over two weeks after a nightmarish experience that would have psychologically shattered so many others.
“My injury is life-changing but it’s not life ending,” he said. “I now have a future in Ukraine and can continue to help Ukraine in ways that probably couldn’t before I had this spotlight one me that puts me in a position to really do something.”
Askold Krushelnycky reports: