Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Saturday (January 25, 2025) that the U.S. has not halted military aid to Ukraine despite the announcement by newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pause foreign aid grants for 90 days.
Mr. Zelenskyy did not specify if humanitarian aid had been paused. Ukraine depends on the U.S. for 40% of its military requirements. “I am focused on military aid; it has not been stopped, thank God,” he mentioned during a press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
Also read | Putin says Ukraine conflict could have been avoided had Trump been in office
The two leaders convened in Kyiv on Saturday to address the energy needs of Moldova’s Russian-occupied Transnistria region, which faced a halt in its natural gas supplies on January 1 due to Ukraine’s decision to cease Russian gas transit. Ukraine proposed offering coal to the Transnistrian authorities to compensate for the shortage.
The future of U.S. aid to Ukraine remains uncertain as President Donald Trump embarks on his second term in office. The American leader has consistently stated that he would have prevented Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from commencing if he had been in office, although he was president when the conflict escalated in the east of the country between Kyiv’s forces and Moscow-aligned separatists before Putin deployed tens of thousands of troops in 2022.
On Thursday, Trump remarked to Fox News that Mr. Zelenskyy should have negotiated with Putin to avert the conflict. A day earlier, Trump also threatened to impose severe tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement is not reached to end the hostilities in Ukraine.
Speaking in Kyiv on Saturday, Mr. Zelenskyy expressed that he had productive meetings and discussions with President Trump and believed that the U.S. leader would succeed in his mission to bring the war to a conclusion.
“This can only be achieved with Ukraine, and otherwise, it simply won’t work because Russia has no intention of ending the war, while Ukraine does,” Mr. Zelenskyy remarked.
With Trump emphasizing the urgency of brokering a peace deal, both Moscow and Kyiv are striving for battlefield victories to bolster their bargaining positions ahead of potential negotiations.
Over the past year, Russian forces have been conducting an intense campaign to breach Ukraine’s defenses in the Donetsk region and undermine Kyiv’s control over the eastern territories. The sustained and costly offensive has led Kyiv to relinquish a series of towns, villages, and hamlets.
Russia’s Defense Ministry asserted on Friday that Russian troops had penetrated the center of the strategically significant eastern town of Velyka Novosilka, although the claim could not be independently verified.
In a separate incident, three civilians were killed on Saturday in shelling in the Russian-occupied area of Ukraine’s Kherson region, as reported by Moscow-appointed Gov. Vladimir Saldo.
Saldo advised the residents of Oleshky, situated near the frontline in southern Ukraine, to remain in their homes or seek refuge in bomb shelters.
Furthermore, Russia launched two missiles and 61 Shahed drones at Ukraine overnight on Saturday. Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted both missiles and 46 drones, according to a statement from the air force. Another 15 drones were thwarted from reaching their targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures.
The downed drones caused damage in the Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Khmelnytskyi regions, with Ukrainian emergency services evacuating five individuals from a 9-story apartment block in the Ukrainian capital.
Russia also targeted Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region with drones, resulting in casualties and damage, as confirmed by local authorities on Saturday.
The drones struck the city’s Shevchenkivskyi, Kyivskyi, and Kholodnohirskyi districts, as reported by Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Russia deployed a Molniya drone – a low-cost weapon recently developed and used by Russia – in the Shevchenkivskyi district, igniting a fire. The attacks disrupted the city’s water and electricity supplies, according to the mayor.
Terekhov indicated that the number of casualties was still being ascertained, while Kharkiv’s governor, Oleh Syniehubov, stated that three individuals, including two women and a man, sustained injuries in the attacks.
Published – January 26, 2025 08:32 am IST
