Peace talks with Russia remain “out of the question,” a senior Ukrainian official said Saturday. Only a Ukrainian victory would end “the war in Europe,” presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said, as he accused Russia of being unwilling to leave territory it had occupied or take responsibility for the almost year-long conflict.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had “received good signals” after his “diplomatic marathon” this week to London, Paris and Brussels seeking military aid and support. “This applies both to long-range missiles and tanks, and to the next level of our cooperation — combat aircraft. But we still need to work on this,” he said in his nightly address.
Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.
4. From our correspondents
Pentagon looks to restart top-secret programs in Ukraine: The Pentagon is urging Congress to resume funding two top-secret programs in Ukraine that were suspended before Russia’s invasion, U.S. officials told The Washington Post. If resumed, the programs could allow U.S. Special Operations troops to employ Ukrainian operatives to observe Russian military movements and counter disinformation, Wesley Morgan reports.
“When you suspend these things because the scale of the conflict changes, you lose access,” retired three-star general Mark Schwartz said, “and it means you lose information and intelligence about what’s actually going on in the conflict.”
