KYIV, Ukraine — On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy affirmed that military assistance from the U.S. to Ukraine has not been halted, despite the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement of a 90-day pause on foreign aid grants.
Zelenskyy did not provide details on whether humanitarian aid had also been paused. Currently, Ukraine depends on American support for approximately 40% of its military requirements. “I am focused on military aid; it has not been stopped, thank God,” he stated during a press conference alongside Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
The two leaders convened in Kyiv to address Moldova’s energy challenges linked to the Russian-occupied Transnistria region, which experienced a halt in natural gas supplies on January 1 due to Ukraine’s decision to cease the transit of Russian gas. Ukraine has offered to supply coal to help the Transnistrian authorities address this shortfall.
Uncertainty looms over the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine as President Donald Trump embarks on his second term. Trump has often claimed that he would have prevented Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had he been in office earlier, although he occupied the presidential seat during escalating conflicts between Kyiv’s forces and Moscow-backed separatists prior to Putin’s 2022 military invasion.
In a recent Fox News interview, Trump suggested that Zelenskyy should have negotiated with Putin to avert the conflict and threatened to impose severe tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn’t reached to end the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine. During his comments in Kyiv, Zelenskyy noted that he had productive discussions with Trump and expressed confidence that the U.S. leader would achieve his goal of ending the war.
“This can only be done with Ukraine, and otherwise it simply will not work because Russia does not want to end the conflict, but Ukraine does,” Zelenskyy emphasized.
Meanwhile, both Moscow and Kyiv are striving for military successes to bolster their negotiating positions ahead of any possible ceasefire talks, especially with Trump emphasizing the urgency of concluding a peace agreement.
Over the past year, Russian forces have intensified their operations in the Donetsk region, aiming to breach Ukraine’s defenses and diminish its influence in eastern territories. This prolonged and expensive campaign has led to Ukraine losing a significant number of towns, villages, and hamlets.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Friday that its troops had penetrated the center of the strategically vital eastern town of Velyka Novosilka, although independent verification of this assertion has not been possible.
In other events, shelling in the Kherson region, which is under Russian control, resulted in the deaths of three civilians on Saturday, according to the Moscow-installed Governor Vladimir Saldo. He advised residents of Oleshky, located near the frontline in southern Ukraine, to remain indoors or take shelter.
Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine with two missiles and 61 Shahed drones overnight Saturday. Ukrainian air defense systems successfully intercepted both missiles and 46 drones, as reported by the air force. Additionally, another 15 drones were thwarted from reaching their targets thanks to Ukrainian defenses.
The intercepted drones caused damage in several regions, including Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Khmelnytskyi, with emergency services in the capital confirming that five individuals had to be evacuated from a nine-story residential building.
Furthermore, drone attacks targeted Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, resulting in casualties and damage, according to local officials. Drones hit the Shevchenkivskyi, Kyivskyi, and Kholodnohirskyi districts, as stated by Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
The Shevchenkivskyi district witnessed a strike from a Molniya drone, a newly deployed and cost-effective weapon from Russia, which ignited a fire and interrupted the city’s water and electricity supply, according to the mayor.
Terekhov mentioned that the overall number of casualties was still being assessed, while Kharkiv’s governor, Oleh Syniehubov, reported that three people, two women and a man, suffered injuries from the attacks.
