Volodymyr Zelenskyy

40-day campaign ended August 4 without Russian concessions; confirmed August 6 strikes on Bashkortostan and Yaroslavl refineries and Black Sea patrol boats

Ukraine's strike campaign didn't pause when Zelenskyy's 40-day pressure operation formally ended on August 4. Two days later, Ukrainian drones hit oil refineries in Bashkortostan and Yaroslavl and struck Russian patrol boats and shadow-fleet tankers in the Black Sea.

Updated 7 days ago

Appealing to the US and allies for Patriot interceptors

For most of the war, Ukraine's Patriot batteries could knock down the ballistic missiles Russia aimed at Kyiv. On August 1, they stopped one out of 27.

Updated Aug 1

Confirmed and defended the Caspian strikes

For five months, the 2026 Iran war stayed in the south — the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf. On July 25, Ukrainian drones struck cargo ships more than 1,000 miles north, in the Caspian Sea.

Updated Jul 26

Ordered the command reshuffle

Ukraine changed the general running its war. On July 22, President Volodymyr Zelensky named Mykhailo Drapatyi, a 43-year-old combat commander, to replace 60-year-old Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Updated Jul 22

Leading the Freyja push inside the new coalition

A single Patriot interceptor costs about $3.8 million, and the US makes only so many each year. On July 14, 2026, Ukraine and nine European countries agreed to build their own, cheaper alternative and share the factories that make them.

Updated Jul 14

Rejecting Russia's capture claim

Russia says it holds Kostiantynivka. Ukraine says its troops are still fighting inside the city. On July 5, 2026, Russia's Defense Ministry offered a six-hour truce there for July 6 to hand back the bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers. Kyiv rejected the offer.

Updated Jul 5

Pursuing deep-strike campaign against Russian refineries as strategic leverage before winter; condemned Russia's July 2 Kyiv bombardment as deliberate escalation

On June 29, Putin publicly acknowledged that Ukrainian drone strikes are causing fuel shortages across Russia—the first time the Kremlin has detailed the campaign's domestic toll. Russia responded two days later with a barrage of 74 missiles and 496 drones that killed at least 21 people in Kyiv, Moscow citing the oil infrastructure attacks as justification.

Updated Jul 2

Building the Drone Deal buyer network that exports now depend on

Ukraine's arms makers now build more weapons than their own government can afford to buy. On July 1, 2026, the Cabinet approved the first formal procedure to sell that surplus abroad, ending a de facto export freeze in place since Russia's full-scale invasion.

Updated Jul 2

Reported 216 drones fired as truce expired; prisoner exchange not completed; proposed extending truce and an 'airport truce'; both rejected by Russia

The Trump-brokered three-day ceasefire expired at midnight on May 12, and Russia launched 216 attack drones at Ukraine within hours. Ukrainian air defenses neutralized 192 of them. At least one person was killed in Dnipropetrovsk, and debris set fire to a 16-storey residential building in Kyiv's Obolon district.

Updated May 31

Secured defense pacts with Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar; expanding drone exports, weapons swaps, and ceasefire leverage across Gulf

Russia began bombing Ukrainian cities with Iranian-made Shahed drones in October 2022. Over three and a half years later, Ukraine has transformed that threat into an exportable edge: low-cost interceptor drones, as cheap as $2,100 each, now handling over 70% of Shahed kills.

Updated May 30

Facing energy ultimatums from two EU neighbors while managing wartime electricity crisis

For decades, Russian oil flowed west through the Druzhba pipeline and European electricity flowed east into Ukraine's war-battered grid. That exchange collapsed after a Russian drone strike knocked out the pipeline's main Ukrainian pumping station on January 27. Slovakia and Hungary, the last European Union members importing Russian crude through the pipeline, then escalated from halting diesel exports to threatening Ukraine's electricity supply.

Updated May 29

Leading war effort and peace negotiations

Russia has spent four years methodically destroying Ukraine's ability to keep the lights on. Since October 2022, over 1,400 missiles and 500 strike drones have hit power plants, substations, and the workers who maintain them—killing at least 160 energy workers and erasing two-thirds of Ukraine's thermal generation capacity.

Updated May 29

Pressed for EU accession timeline at Munich

For six decades, the Munich Security Conference is the West's main annual defense gathering. On February 15, 2026, the 62nd edition closed with NATO allies announcing military commitments—including Britain's Operation Firecrest Arctic carrier deployment—as tensions with Washington and Trump's April China visit loom.

Updated May 29

Pressing for progress on peace negotiations amid US deadline

For seventy-five years, the transatlantic alliance operated on a simple premise: America leads, Europe follows, and collective defense binds them together. That arrangement is being renegotiated: at the Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026, European leaders gather not to coordinate with Washington but to assess how much they can still count on it.

Updated May 29

Visited Kupiansk frontline in December 2025

Russian forces have spent more than two years trying to recapture Kupiansk, a railway hub they lost in five days during Ukraine's 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive. On February 9, 2026, they launched a mechanized assault east of the city, claiming to have captured Petropavlivka and Stepova Novoselivka, though Ukrainian forces said they repelled multiple attacks there.

Updated May 27

Active; leading sanctions policy coordination with Western allies

Ukraine first passed sanctions legislation in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea. Twelve years and a full-scale invasion later, Kyiv is targeting the cryptocurrency networks and third-country shell companies that funnel billions of dollars to Russian missile factories. On February 8, 2026, President Zelenskyy signed decrees sanctioning 128 individuals and 97 legal entities—including the A7 crypto ecosystem, which Ukrainian officials say processed billions for weapons procurement.

Updated May 27

Pursuing domestic weapons production and European defense partnerships

Poland has delivered over 300 tanks, 14 fighter jets, and more than €4.5 billion in military equipment to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. On February 5-6, 2026, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a letter of intent in Kyiv to establish joint production lines for weapons, ammunition, and drones. The agreement, backed by EU SAFE programme funding and Polish government credits, shifts from emergency wartime aid to institutionalized defense industry integration on both sides of the border.

Updated May 27

Leading wartime government and ceasefire negotiations

Russian drone operators watched a bus full of miners leaving their shift in Ternivka on February 1, 2026, deliberately striking the civilian vehicle and killing 15 despite recognizing it as non-military. The attack came on the exact day a Trump-brokered pause expired, drawing international condemnation. EU Ambassador Katarina Mathernova questioned whether explosions and dead civilians represent a ceasefire.

Updated May 26

Delivered scathing critique of European inaction

This year's World Economic Forum (the first in 55 years without founder Klaus Schwab) became an emergency diplomatic summit when Trump's tariff threats over Greenland drew record attendance from 60+ heads of state. By week's end, a NATO 'framework deal' had defused the immediate crisis, and Canadian PM Mark Carney declared to applause from European and middle-power leaders that the U.S.-led rules-based order is over.

Updated May 22

Potential Trump meeting and $800B deal signing unconfirmed; White House says 'no bilateral meetings scheduled' at Davos

For 55 years, the World Economic Forum at Davos was neutral ground where adversaries brokered deals. This year, 65 heads of state and nearly 3,000 leaders arrived just 48 hours after Trump announced 10% tariffs on eight European allies. The tariffs escalate to 25% by June unless Denmark agrees to sell Greenland.

Updated May 22

Leading peace negotiations while criticizing European hesitancy and finalizing security guarantees

For nearly three years after Russia's 2022 invasion, Ukraine relied on American satellites and signals intelligence for roughly 75-80% of its battlefield awareness, but in ten months France claims to have replaced most of that. President Macron announced on January 15, 2026, that France now provides two-thirds of Ukraine's intelligence—a restructuring forced by Washington's March 2025 decision to suspend most intelligence sharing as leverage in peace negotiations. Yet Macron's assertion contradicts Ukraine's own intelligence officials: the former GUR chief stated in December 2025 that the US remained the key provider, and concerns about US intelligence leaks to Moscow have reportedly chilled Kyiv's information sharing with Washington.

Updated May 21

Leading emergency response to energy crisis

Ukraine started the war with 38 GW of power generation capacity; 28 months of Russian strikes cut that to 11 GW. Winter demand hit 18 GW on January 15, 2026. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal told parliament on January 16 that 'not a single power plant left in Ukraine' has escaped Russian attack.

Updated May 21

Confirmed second-tranche preparations underway; authorized retaliatory drone strikes on Russia May 17

Russia and Ukraine each handed back 205 prisoners on May 15, the first tranche of a 1,000-for-1,000 swap Donald Trump brokered in early May. Zelenskyy said on May 16 that work on the next round's prisoner lists is ongoing. The swap is still the only deliverable from months of US-led talks.

Updated May 20

In office since 2019, leading Ukraine through war

At dawn on June 1, 2025, Ukraine's Security Service pulled off the largest covert drone strike in history. One hundred seventeen drones, smuggled into Russia inside fake shipping containers and hidden in truck cabs, launched from five locations spanning five time zones. They hit five Russian air bases simultaneously, destroying or damaging 41 strategic bombers: irreplaceable Soviet-era Tu-95s and Tu-22M3s worth $7 billion.

Updated May 19

Leading Ukraine's war effort and peace negotiations

Russia continues massive winter strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians amid advancing trilateral peace talks. A week after the February 4-5 Abu Dhabi round yielded a 314-POW exchange and US-Russia military dialogue, Russia launched major attacks including 408 drones/39 missiles on February 6-7 targeting energy substations and the February 13 assault with 219 drones/24 missiles killing one in Odesa. Zelenskyy accused Russia of bad faith while confirming a third round of talks for next week.

Updated May 19

Leading Ukraine's defense amid ongoing energy strikes into late Feb 2026 (incl. Feb 17,26 ahead of Geneva talks); warned of imminent attacks and condemned as terror

Russia intensified strikes on Ukraine's energy grid in January and early February 2026, killing at least 13 people and cutting power to 1.2 million properties. President Trump brokered a brief pause that expired February 1. Following attacks on January 9 and 13 that deployed over 500 drones and missiles, Russia struck again on January 24-25, February 2-3, and February 24-26 with hundreds of drones and missiles, including rare ballistic missiles. Targets included power plants, substations, and nuclear-linked infrastructure in Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv, and western Ukraine. The strikes caused repeated blackouts for tens of thousands during subzero temperatures and reduced generation capacity to 14 gigawatts—less than half pre-invasion levels.

Updated May 19

Intensifying air defense appeals; preparing for continued trilateral negotiations

After nearly four years of war, Ukraine's allies are rushing to finalize security commitments amid persistent Russian military pressure and a critical air defense gap. In January 2026, the Coalition of the Willing's Paris summit produced a 35-country declaration backing US-led ceasefire monitoring and British and French pledges to station 15,000 troops in military hubs post-ceasefire.

Updated May 18

Leading war effort and peace negotiations, term extended indefinitely under martial law

On December 28, President Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced 90% agreement on a revised 20-point peace framework at Mar-a-Lago. The next day Russia claimed Ukraine attacked Putin's residence with drones—a charge Kyiv denies, calling it fabricated to sabotage talks. The alleged attack exposes how fragile negotiations are: while diplomats inch toward compromise, the shadow war continues and Moscow weaponizes accusations to 'toughen' its bargaining position. The real question after nearly four years of invasion is whether either side will stop fighting long enough to sign a deal.

Updated May 16

Offering to abandon NATO membership bid in exchange for legally binding guarantees

Zelensky just did something he once treated as untouchable: he offered to drop Ukraine's NATO bid. Not as surrender, but as a trade—Kyiv gives up the alliance path, and the West gives Ukraine legally binding protection strong enough to scare Moscow off for good.

Updated May 15

Leading wartime government; pressing allies for air defense and leverage in talks

Ukrainian officials say more than 450 drones and about 30 missiles hit energy and port infrastructure overnight. Odesa and surrounding areas went dark.

Updated May 15

Deems Geneva outcomes insufficient; plans for follow-up talks and signals 3 more years of war preparation; ready for ceasefire monitoring but territory blocks progress.

Since early December 2025, the war has featured intensified winter ground operations in Kharkiv and Donetsk alongside massive drone and missile campaigns targeting each side's war economies. Russia's February 16-17 barrage of 425 drones and 29 missiles coincided with Geneva talks that concluded February 18 with limited military progress but no political breakthroughs on territorial compromises or security guarantees. Zelenskyy deemed the outcomes 'not sufficient' and requested a follow-up meeting later in February.

Updated May 15

Leading Ukraine’s negotiating position; publicly rejecting territorial concessions

In early 2025, Trump launched an aggressive push to "end the war" in Ukraine. He tied resumed military aid and intelligence sharing to Kyiv's acceptance of a U.S.-drafted peace framework that includes territorial concessions to Russia and long-term limits on Ukraine's sovereignty.

Updated May 10

Ukrainian president balancing domestic constraints with intensive diplomacy; reports 90% agreement on peace framework

By late December 2025, the controversial 28-point plan was replaced by a revised 20-point framework. Zelenskyy said it was '90 percent agreed' with Washington, with '100 percent' consensus on U.S.–Ukraine security guarantees.

Updated May 10

Key stakeholder under pressure in U.S.–Russia–Ukraine peace talks

In early December 2025, the Trump administration published a National Security Strategy abandoning Russia as a primary threat, emphasizing 'flexible realism,' reviving the Monroe Doctrine in the Western Hemisphere, and seeking a negotiated Ukraine peace while re-establishing stability with Moscow. Within days, the Kremlin praised the strategy, saying it 'corresponds in many ways' with Russia's worldview and welcoming the shift from treating Russia as a direct adversary.

Updated May 10

Negotiating under military pressure but rejecting formal territorial concessions

In late 2025, U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine was "really, really close." Two disputes remain: the fate of Donbas, especially Ukrainian-held areas in Donetsk, and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant (Russia-occupied and the largest in Europe).

Updated May 10

Declares formal energy emergency and demands accelerated Western support as grid deteriorates to 60% capacity

Since October 2022, Russia has waged a parallel war on Ukraine's electricity, heating and transport systems, launching repeated waves of missiles and drones at power plants, high-voltage substations, rail hubs and ports. The campaign intensified in winter 2025–26 with near-daily barrages. These destroyed 70% of generating capacity, forced a formal energy emergency on January 15, 2026, and left the grid meeting only 60% of national electricity needs amid temperatures as low as minus 20°C.

Updated May 10