Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 04-26-2025

Time for Americans, especially Ukrainian ones, to realize the abyss they’ve been plunged into and to resist the secular devils lording over them.

First, let me note, there’s a pall hovering over America at the moment, and it seems many Americans are ill-equipped to name it, much less confront it. We need to see it for what it is.

And now on to the most recent developments concerning Ukraine.

From broken Easter ceasefire to Peace talks at the Pope’s funeral — here’s your complete summary of the week in Ukraine, as of April 26, 2025

After meeting Zelensky and some Western leaders supporting Ukraine in Rome, Trump shows new signs of uncertainty concerning Putin and his intentions.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine in recent days, and said “maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war.”

In a post on Truth Social after his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome, Trump also said maybe Putin “has to be dealt with differently,” possibly through additional sanctions targeting Moscow.

Post-war mobility constraints coupled with cratering living standards and civil liberties back home have reduced Russians’ already mediocre travel document to a cursed booklet.

A recent joint investigation carried out by independent Russian news outlet IStories and the Belgrade-based Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK) unearthed at least 204 citizens of Russia to whom fast-track Serbian nationality had been accorded “in the interests of the Republic” since early 2022.

Among the beneficiaries of Article 19 of Serbia’s citizenship legislation, were Kremlin-affiliated businessmen, defense contractors, FSB personnel, tech executives and professional athletes – all of whose livelihoods entail regular and seamless overseas travel. The Serbian passport is an especially attractive proposition in this regard, not least because its holders enjoy unfettered access to the EU, China, Japan and Iran among other places. In addition, securing short-term visas to the “Five Eyes” nations (US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) is far less bureaucratic for Serbians than applicants from Russia, given the migratory risk and threat to internal security the latter poses.

Moscow’s latest ceasefire “terms” for Ukraine are not a path to peace, but a poisoned chalice, designed to exploit Kyiv’s resilience and freeze the conflict on Russia’s terms.

Moscow’s demands, including Ukraine’s capitulation on territorial claims, demilitarization, and neutrality read like a Kremlin Christmas list. Unable to force these onerous terms by military force, Putin seeks to “win” Ukraine’s surrender at the bargaining table – a grotesque attempt not at diplomacy, but a paperwork project to realize Putin’s imperial ambitions.

Russia’s proposals are as absurd as they are sinister: Russia, the aggressor, demands that Ukraine disarm and cede sovereignty while Russian forces occupy 20% of its land. This is not negotiation; it’s extortion.

Meanwhile, Trump is reported to have already left Italy.

Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron are meeting in Rome.

Says it was positive and could become historic, if...

Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you @POTUS.

Impromptu sideline meeting during Pope Francis’ funeral was deemed “constructive” enough for both Zelensky and Trump to agree to meet a second time today

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump will hold a second meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome, after a first 15-minute exchange described as “constructive” by Kyiv.

“The leaders agreed to continue their discussions today. Teams are working on organizing the continuation of the meeting,” Ukrainian presidential spokesperson Serhiy Nykyforov told reporters. The Ukrainian presidential office released photos of the two men sitting face to face, and also in a four-way exchange with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Europe’s inflation rates are reaching their targets, but increasing US tariffs and elevated uncertainty will constrain growth, according to the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast real GDP growth for the euro area at 0.8% for 2025 and 1.2% for 2026, according to the April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Europe.

“The size of the downgrade relative to our latest forecast in January 2025 is -0.2 percentage points for both years,” Director of the European Department of the International Monetary Fund Alfred Kammer said during a press briefing presenting the report.

Getin Holding returned the funds it had deposited in Idea Bank amounting to $326,400, closing the deal signed in October 2024.

Polish financial group Getin Holding has completed the sale of Ukrainian Idea Bank for $36.5 million. The buyer is Alkemi Limited, a Cyprus-registered company belonging to Ukrainian entrepreneur Serhiy Tihipkoʼs TAS Group, Getin Holding reported.

On April 23, Getin Holding transferred 100% of Idea Bank – 323 million shares – to Alkemi Limited. The transaction follows an agreement signed on Oct. 18, 2024. The parties changed the deal terms several times, up until one day before closing.

White House calls meeting “productive.”

Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent has just sent us this statement from Steven Cheung, White House communications director: “President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately today and had a very productive discussion. More details about the meeting will follow.” 

Zelensky and Trump encounter at funeral of Pope Francis.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his US counterpart Donald Trump met briefly on Saturday in Rome on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral, the Ukrainian presidency announced, after the White House said Kyiv and Moscow were “very close to a deal”.

“The meeting took place and is already over,” Zelensky’s spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov told journalists without elaborating.

Some reflections in the European media on the death of Pope Francis,

In an interview at Easter, the President of the German Bundestag Julia Klöckner (CDU) criticized the churches for commenting too frequently on current issues. Instead of ‘behaving like NGOs’ they should concentrate on pastoral care, she said. In the wake of the death of Pope Francis, the international press asks whether and to what extent churches should take a political stance.

Remaining silent would contradict the Bible

In developing an evacuation plan from any military threat, Vilnius’ authorities have partly used Ukraine’s experience during and following the 2022 full-scale invasion.

City officials, from Lithuania’s capital Vilnius published details of its emergency evacuation plan on Thursday, April 24, which it said addressed how to safeguard its citizens from “military threats, a nuclear accident or other major emergency.”

Lithuania’s national radio and television service published details of the plan along with criticism of what experts termed obvious shortcomings.

A proposed US peace deal under Trump favors Russian terms, offering Ukraine no NATO path or real security. Zelensky faces a dire choice: accept it or keep fighting with uncertain support.

Recent days seem to have all but confirmed the worst-case scenario for Ukraine – that the Trump administration has sold it down the river to Russia.

A Washington Post article seemed to lay out in some detail the contours of the peace plan proposed by the Trump administration.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• Overnight 23-24 April 2025, Russia conducted a large-scale multi-axis, multi-weapon strike package against Ukraine utilising Long Range Aviation (LRA) bombers as well as Black Sea Fleet vessels and Ground Force elements, predominantly targeting Kyiv and Kharkiv as well other cities across Ukraine.
• Russian forces launched at least 200 munitions, including One Way Attack Uncrewed Aerial Systems (OWA UAS), at least 10 Ballistic Missiles (both Russian indigenous and procured from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), their premier KODIAK Air Launched Cruise Missiles, and KALIBR Land Attack Cruise Missiles. This combination of munitions almost certainly sought to complicate and saturate Ukrainian Air Defence efforts. The Ukrainian Air Force reported intercepting 112 munitions, as well as interdicting others via electronic warfare.
• The KODIAK remains the pace-setting missile for Russian large scale strike packages, with the recent 30-day energy ceasefire allowing Russia to replenish its stocks, having been used only twice before this package since the beginning of March. Rebuilding its stockpile enables LRA to sit ready to conduct strikes such as these with little to no notice, at a time of Russias choosing, as Russia continues normal strike operations.

World Bank issues Ukraine damage need estimate.

The private sector has an important role to play in Ukraine’s reconstruction once a peace deal is agreed, the president of the World Bank told AFP in an interview on Friday.

“Over the last three or four years, almost $50 billion plus has come from these countries to us, to go to Ukraine,” World Bank President Ajay Banga said, referring to countries allied with Kyiv.

Overnight Russian drone attack on Kamianske killed one man and left three others wounded, including an 11-year-old girl.

A Russian drone attack on Kamianske claimed the life of one man and left three others injured, including an 11-year-old girl and three women, one of whom is in serious condition.

Serhiy Lysak, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, shared the details on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis. He may meet with US President Zelensky, according to reports,

Despite remarks on Friday that he would send Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, and the Foreign Minister, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Rome Saturday to attend Pope Francis’s funeral.

“Volodymyr Zelensky, First Lady Olena Zelenska ... will take part in the ceremony,” Sergiy Nykyforov said. Zelensky had said on Friday he was not sure if he would have the time to go to Rome for the funeral.

Sergii Mirnyi — a participant in the 1986 Chornobyl disaster cleanup, writer, and one of the pioneers of “Chornobyl tourism” — talks about the Zone and the rescue operations, as they really happened.

Investigators identified the suspect as a 30-year-old unemployed resident of Boryspil, who had been remotely recruited by the FSB via a Telegram channel advertising quick earnings.

Security officers have detained an FSB agent near Kyiv who was coordinating Russian missile and drone strikes targeting locations of Ukraine’s Armed Forces and Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) units in the Kyiv region.

According to the SBU, the suspect had been tasked with adjusting Russian aerial attacks by installing hidden Wi-Fi cameras across from military facilities to stream live footage to Russian intelligence services.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Ukrainian and European representatives reportedly presented the United States with a proposal to end the war in Ukraine during the multilateral talks in London on April 23.

• Reuters also published the full text of the seven-point peace proposal that US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff reportedly presented to Ukrainian and European officials in Paris on April 17, supporting earlier reporting about the US peace proposal.

• US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 25, reportedly to secure a major Russian concession in a future peace deal.

• That the Kremlin is not formally demanding that Ukraine cede most or all of its territory to Russia at this time is not a significant Russian concession, however.

• Russian officials continue to intensify narratives used to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in order to set conditions to justify future Russian aggression against European states and control European defense policy in the Kremlin’s reflexive control campaign.

• Unknown actors assassinated the deputy head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, in Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, on April 25.

• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in western Zaporizhia Oblast. Russian forces recently advanced in Sumy and Kursk oblasts and near Pokrovsk.