Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 03-07-2025

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky went from journalist to lawmaker whose political career has been marred by a series of accusations from authorities.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky has called for President Volodymyr Zelensky’s impeachment and prosecution for treason following Zelensky’s infamous meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House.

Dubinsky remains one of the few opposition figures who vocally attacked Zelensky after the White House fallout. Even former President Petro Poroshenko – recently sanctioned by authorities – voiced his support for Zelensky and said he recognized Zelensky’s legitimacy as a leader after the White House fallout. 

Trump has wanted a Nobel Peace Prize for years. Now some politicians and reporters have suggested that he could finally get it – if he offers solid security guarantees to Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump said he must “settle the war” in Ukraine before thinking about the Nobel Peace Prize after a reporter asked the president in the Oval Office on Friday what it might take to get security guarantees for Kyiv.

How Trump could up his chances of taking the prize home in 2025 was made clear – as was what Europe might be willing to do in order to get America back on Ukraine’s side.

US President Donald Trump said it has been easier to work with Russia than Ukraine during ongoing peace negotiations during Friday’s surprise Oval Office address.

US President Donald Trump said he believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin during an impromptu Oval Office address on Friday. 

When asked by a reporter about whether he trusts Putin considering Moscow’s latest attack on Ukraine on Friday, Trump said he believes Putin and that the US is “doing pretty well with Russia” in terms of recent talks. 

To imagine that the Trump administration actually thinks Ukrainians would wittingly replace Zelensky with Poroshenko, or Tymoshenko is a fantasy.

Waking up to yet another extraordinary - actually inane story on Ukraine. See this from Politico.

The story I think just underlines how the Trump administration has zero understanding or, perhaps cares, around anything on Ukraine.

As Trump’s administration signaled resumption of normal business relations and undoing of sanctions, foreign investors in Russia are already holding talks to lift restrictions.

Russian business representatives met with head of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Russia Robert Agee to discuss the sectors in which foreign businesses would primarily like to see sanctions lifted. 

Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) told this to Russian media outlet RIA Novosti. 

Ostap Yarysh extensively covered the work of the Trump administration and actively commented on its activities on social media.

Ukrainian columnist and Voice of America correspondent in Washington, Ostap Yarysh, has reportedly been fired due to the so-called “DOGE check.”

The world’s wealthiest man, Elon Musk, heads DOGE – the “Department of State Efficiency,” an advisory group funded by the US government.

“If no one helps us, we are ready to fight with sticks” – Da Vinci Wolves battalion member

Former osteopath Vasyl stood proudly in the Kyiv sun as he swore an oath to defend Ukraine in a war that Kyiv fears the US is forcing it to end on Moscow’s terms.

President Trump’s suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine could shift the battlefield, while secret talks with Kyiv’s opposition and Hamas signal a major geopolitical shift.

Fighters linked to Syria’s ousted leader Bashar al-Assad mounted a deadly attack on government forces on Thursday, authorities said, in some of the worst violence against the government since Islamist-led rebels seized power. At least 13 members of the security forces were killed in the clashes in the coastal region of Jableh, the government-aligned Syria TV reported. The regional security chief said many members of the security forces had been killed and wounded in what he described as a well-planned attack carried out by “remnants of the Assad militias”. It marked a sharp escalation of tensions in the coastal area that forms the heartland of Assad’s Alawite sect and has emerged as a big security challenge for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he works to consolidate his control. Three months since Islamist insurgents led by Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham toppled Assad, his efforts to reunite Syria after 13 years of civil war are facing myriad challenges. Among them are Israel‘s declaration that it won’t tolerate HTS having a presence in the southwestern region near the Israeli frontier. Thursday’s attack involved several groups of Assad-aligned militias who targeted security patrols and checkpoints in the Jableh area and surrounding countryside, the chief of security in Latakia province, Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kunaifati, said - Reuters

US-Ukraine talks will be held in Saudi Arabia next week, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, expressing hopes that it will be “a meaningful meeting”. The Ukrainian leader, who will be in the Gulf kingdom but not take part in the talks, said Kyiv was working to reach a “fast and lasting” peace. US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said the American team wanted to discuss a “framework” for peace to try to end the Russia-Ukraine war - BBC

Orban and his allies have long used the same “hostile narratives” against the West and Ukraine as Russia, but Trump’s victory has emboldened the rhetoric

A country that “never existed” or a “problem called Ukraine”: Hungary’s government and affiliated media have attacked their war-torn neighbor with increased pace since Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s “dear friend” Donald Trump took power.

Orban and his allies have long used the same “hostile narratives” against the West and Ukraine as Russia, Dorka Takacsy, a research fellow at the Budapest-based Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy (CEID) think tank told AFP.

Is Russia walking into a nightmare? Ryan McBeth breaks down Ukraine’s battlefields, the peace talks, the looming insurgency that could haunt Moscow and how the war could shake up the US arms industry

Indications that European security is no longer a priority for the US are prompting traditional European allies to distance themselves from the Americans

European governments should make sure increases in defense spending go to European firms and avoid dependence on US companies, the head of Airbus’s defense division said in an interview published Friday.

“If we spend extra money for defense on products off the shelf from the USA, we are cementing our dependence on others,” Michael Schoellhorn, the head of Airbus Defence and Space, said in an interview with Germany’s Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

Trump’s economic threat comes after Russia launched major drone and missile attacks Friday on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

President Donald Trump on Friday threatened new sanctions and tariffs on Russia over its bombardments of Ukraine, after previously suspending US aid to Kyiv in a stated bid to encourage diplomacy.

“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, conveys a message from the president of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people to a staunch ally and friend.

With every day, the global geopolitical settings are rapidly changing, be it following Oval Office meetings or after the latest statement by US President Donald J. Trump.

They seemingly changed yet again with the US announcing a so-called pause and review of military aid to Ukraine whose details are as yet unclear. Regardless, my government remains very grateful for the aid it has received from the US to this point, and we hope this move is not a total shift away from the international rules-based order and historic alliances that have long been supported by Australia, New Zealand and many other liberal democracies.

At least two NATO countries, Finland and Lithuania – both also bordering Russia – have in the past months mulled exiting from the Ottawa Convention.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday he backed withdrawing his NATO country from a landmark treaty prohibiting the use of anti-personnel landmines as he briefed the parliament on Poland’s security.

Designed to be buried or hidden on the ground, anti-personnel mines often mutilate victims who are not immediately killed, with aid groups decrying their long-term impact on civilians.

Maxar reportedly suspended its mapping services for both government and private customers in Ukraine, but there may already be alternatives to overcome the lack of official intel – as Moscow knows.

Maxar Technologies, a major US satellite imagery provider whose intel is often used on the battlefield, has reportedly suspended its services for users in Ukraine following the suspension of US intel sharing with Kyiv earlier this week. 

Maxar is one of the biggest commercial satellite imagery providers in the world, capable of providing imagery in nearly real-time that helps partners like the Armed Forces of Ukraine coordinate and analyze strikes and weapons efficiency.

On Tuesday, France will host talks with military chiefs of staff whose nations are ready to offer Ukraine military support after any peace deal ending the war with Russia.

France’s defense minister is to hold talks next week with counterparts from Britain, Germany, Italy, and Poland to discuss support for Ukraine, an aide said on Friday.

The ministers from Europe’s five main military powers will meet in Paris on Wednesday, a day after France hosts a key meeting of European military chiefs of staff.

The decision comes as Washington piles new requirements on Kyiv to restart military aid.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that the United States halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine this week.

Speaking on Fox News, he said that the pause is “on the military front and the intelligence front” but did not provide additional details.

The Ukrainian leader said the first steps to establishing real peace should be stopping both Russian and Ukrainian aerial and naval attacks.

Russia launched a “massive” drone and missile attack on Ukrainian energy facilities Friday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed calls for a mutual halt to aerial attacks on critical infrastructure.

The call from Zelensky to halt aerial bombardments on energy facilities builds on growing rhetoric from Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow on halting the war, now in its fourth year.

Attacks by North Korean troops were reported but not confirmed. Several Ukrainian sources said the Russian drone swarms are the worst of the war.

Kremlin forces overwhelmed Ukrainian defensive positions dug into Russia’s western Kursk region and threatened a critical supply line, official and unofficial Russian information sources said Friday.

Ukraine, in August 2024, invaded Russia’s western Kursk region to carve out a Luxembourg-sized salient inside the Russian Federation consolidated around the town of Sudzha. Kremlin forces since then have slowly advanced, often at the price of heavy losses for small ground gains.

Or likely more than one catch, according to local media that cited so-called national consultations the Hungarian government has organized before.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced Friday that his country would hold a poll on whether its citizens think Ukraine should join the EU.

“We have the so-called national consultation scheme, which we use regularly to collect the opinion of the people, so we will use the same scheme just now,” Orbán said on Friday, referring to the proposed poll, according to Politico.

Kyiv Post Editor-in-Chief Bohdan Nahaylo joins TVP World to discuss Europe’s urgent need to bolster Ukraine as the Trump administration reshapes global dynamics ahead of ceasefire talks.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• On 04 March 2025, Russian president Putin stated that Russia had completed issuing passports to Ukrainians living in illegally Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Russia’s Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev stated that 3.5 million Russian passports had been issued to Ukrainians in occupied territory, an increase from the 2.8 million reported in March 2024.
• Russia makes access to services in occupied regions, including social services, healthcare, and financial services, conditional on the receipt of Russian passports. Possession of a Russian passport also constitutes eligibility for conscription into the Russian military. Ukrainians without a Russian passport also face the seizure of their property by the authorities.
• Russian efforts to enforce governance in illegally occupied territory, and to coerce and compel Ukrainians to accept Russian passports, demonstrate the Russian senior leadership’s continuing commitment to, and pursuit of, a Russification policy.

Billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting drive is also set to merge several agencies under the US State Department, closing several American diplomatic outposts.

The US is reportedly eyeing a slash in its diplomatic presence – mainly in Western Europe – as part of its latest cost-cutting drive at the State Department.

Rumors began circulating last month that a major reduction in staff at foreign embassies and consulates could be part of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s larger push to reduce the size of his department under pressure from White House adviser and auditor Elon Musk.

The visit “is a continuation of ongoing engagements” on “an inclusive peace process” between Russia and Ukraine, the South Africa presidency spokesman said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit South Africa next month, the African country’s presidency announced Friday.

“President Zelensky will be visiting South Africa on the 10th of April,” presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya told AFP.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 34 of 67 missiles launched by Russian forces alongside 100 Shahed drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Ukraine’s Mirage-2000 warplanes reportedly flew their first combat sorties repelling a Russian airstrike overnight. 

Between Thursday night and Friday morning, Russian forces launched 67 missiles and 194 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) targeting critical infrastructure, particularly Ukraine’s gas production.

Zelensky’s approval rating rose to 68% after a clash with Trump, as Ukrainians see White House rhetoric as an attack on their country.

The approval rating of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has risen to 68% following a clash with US leader Donald Trump, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

As of early February 2025, before the escalation in Ukraine-US relations, KIIS data showed that 57% of Ukrainians trusted Zelensky, while 37% did not, resulting in a trust-distrust point spread of +20%.

Italian Prime Minister Meloni proposed extending NATO’s Article 5 to Ukraine without formal membership to ensure collective protection and long-term security.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has proposed granting Ukraine the same security guarantees as NATO member states, even without its official accession to the Alliance.

She suggested extending NATO’s Article 5 – the principle of collective defense, which obliges member states to protect one another – to Ukraine. This would mean that an attack on Ukraine would be considered an attack on the entire West.

Trump’s new directive aims to limit Musk’s role to an advisory capacity. However, Trump signaled that Musk remains central to his administration’s efficiency drive.

President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet on Thursday, March 6, to clarify that federal departments answer to their secretaries—not Elon Musk.

According to Politico, citing two administration officials, Trump emphasized that while Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), can offer recommendations, he cannot make unilateral decisions on staffing and policy. Musk, who was present, reportedly agreed.

Russian missile attack hits a facility in Kharkiv amid massive strikes across Ukraine; at least seven casualties reported.

Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure overnight, using missiles and drones. In response, Poland scrambled fighter jets and placed its air defenses on high alert.

The assault began on the evening of March 6 and continued into the early hours of March 7, with Russia deploying Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea and launching drone strikes.

Late Thursday, the Ukrainian emergency service also said “critical infrastructure” was damaged in an attack on the Odesa region, with no injuries reported.

Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure came “under massive missile and drone shelling” by Russia on Friday, a Ukrainian minister said.

“The energy and gas infrastructure in various regions of Ukraine is under massive missile and drone shelling again,” Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said in a post on Facebook.

However, the limited capabilities offered by London and other European countries will make it difficult to replace the flow halted from the US earlier this week.

Britain will continue to supply intelligence to Ukraine, though the more limited capabilities on offer from London and other European countries will make it difficult to replace the flow halted from the U.S. earlier this week.

According to The Guardian, which cites its own sources, the UK will also continue to supply its analysis of the raw data, though in line with normal intelligence practice it will not simply pass on U.S. information obtained via long-established sharing arrangements between the two countries.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin officials explicitly rejected making any concessions in future peace negotiations or accepting any US, European, or Ukrainian peace proposals and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) rejected the possibility of a negotiated ceasefire on March 6.
• Russian officials will likely take advantage of the suspension of US military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine to spread a longstanding Russian information operation meant to falsely portray Russian victory as inevitable.
• The Kremlin welcomed a Trump administration official’s recent comments mischaracterizing Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine as a “proxy war,” and Russian media portrayed the statement as an admission that the United States is a participant in the war.
• US and Ukrainian delegations will conduct bilateral meetings in Saudi Arabia next week.
• Ukrainian opposition politicians rejected the possibility of holding elections in Ukraine before the end of the war.
• European countries continue to announce new military assistance packages and other measures to support the Ukrainian military.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Pokrovsk direction and Russian forces recently advanced in the Kupyansk, Borova, Siversk, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhove directions.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to assuage Russian fears about conscripts going to war amid continued reports that Russian military units are forcing conscripts to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD).

Kremlin says Macron is “detached from reality”, comparing him to Hitler and Bonaparte, after the French leader warns of extending his country’s nuclear deterrent.

Russia views comments by President Emmanuel Macron about extending France’s nuclear deterrent to other European countries as a “threat”, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

Lavrov also reaffirmed his country’s opposition to European forces being deployed in Ukraine if an accord was made to halt the conflict.

“A stronger European defense also provides deterrence for Ukraine,” said the EC president after emergency summit. “Ukraine’s security is at the core of Europe’s security.”

At an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday, assembled in response to the United States pulling back from commitments to Ukraine and questioning Europe’s resolve in its own security, European Union legislators approved a plan to spend the equivalent of about $860 billion on defense, a watershed moment in the 27-country bloc’s history, as defense has never been as much of a top priority in its 31 years as an entity.

European Council President António Costa said the bloc “decided to invest in priority areas” such as air defense, missiles, drone and anti-drone systems, artificial intelligence and more. The agreement sets aside about $160 billion in loans for EU member countries who may not be an immediate position to increase defense spending.