Ukraine War News Today - Top Stories and Breaking Updates from Kyiv Post

Speaking to Kyiv Post, Daniel Fried, former assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs in the Bush and Obama administrations, said “the initial greeting is less important the what happens at the meeting and how Trump portrays it.”

“Trump needs to push Putin to make a serious move to end the war, like a full ceasefire,” he added.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been reportedly enthusiastic about visiting Alaska for the ongoing summit – but how many times has he visited? 

As it turns out, the Alaska summit marks the eighth in Putin’s presidency, a role he has held for roughly 20 years (excluding his brief stint as prime minister).

Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s trip to Alaska would be his eighth stint on American soil since 1999, while he enjoyed six meetings with President Trump during the latter’s first term.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has not set foot on US soil for a decade since attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2015.

His highly anticipated visit to Alaska for a summit with US President Donald Trump on Ukraine is the eighth of his presidency, a role he has held for some 20 years (his brief stint as prime minister notwithstanding).

During a pre-meeting photo-op with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, Putin was asked about civilian killings in Ukraine and gestured as if he didn’t understand the question.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin smirked and gestured when questioned about Ukrainian civilian killings on Friday, soon after landing in Alaska for his meeting with US President Donald Trump. 

During a pre-meeting photo-op with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, Putin was asked about civilian killings in Ukraine and gestured as if he didn’t understand the question.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin smirked and gestured when questioned about Ukrainian civilian killings on Friday, soon after landing in Alaska for his meeting with US President Donald Trump. 

At the far end of the red carpet rolled out for Putin’s arrival, the Russian and US presidents shared a cordial display, enjoying a long handshake in front of the press.

The Trump–Putin summit has started officially

At around 11:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Kyiv time), the highly-awaited summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska had officially started. 

The leaders are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and potential restoration of ties between Washington and Moscow. 

“Thank you,” the US president said in his only remark right before his in-person meeting with Putin.

At around 11:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Kyiv time), the highly-awaited summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska had officially started. 

Putin landed around 15 minutes earlier at Elmendorf Air Force Base, where he was greeted by Trump. 

The two leaders were seated in silence before the press were ushered out.

At 11:26 a.m. local time (10:26 p.m. Kyiv time), the press pool entered a room to find US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin seated in silence. Their respective delegations sat to one side. The two sat before a blue banner with “Pursuing Peace” emblazoned across it.

“Thank you very much. Thank you,” Trump said as the press was ushered out a minute later.

Trump and Putin have arrived at the destination for the summit, according to Kyiv Post’s Chief Washington Correspondent on the scene. 

Russian state-affiliated journalists have complained that they were made to stay overnight in a makeshift camp at a local stadium with folding beds and little internet access ahead of Friday’s Alaska talks.

When journalists from Russia’s state media organizations flocked to Alaska on Thursday to report on the Ukraine war summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, they were told that hotels in Anchorage were booked up.

Both Trump and Putin landed in Alaska on Friday, with the two greeting and shaking hands at Elmendorf Air Force Base. 

Trump, standing on the red carpet, waited for Putin as the latter approached. Both smiled at each other, shook hands, and began walking down the red carpet flanked by the four US stealth fighters, two on each side. 

US President Donald Trump has landed in Anchorage, Alaska, in preparation for his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin scheduled for later today. 

Air Force One departed around 6:45 am (local time) from Washington, DC with Trump and a small delegation, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy to Russia Steve Witkoff. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the meeting will be held in a three-on-three format, with US Donald Trump joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff – rejecting earlier Kremlin claims it would begin as a one-on-one before expanding to full delegations.

Rubio, Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will then take part in a subsequent meeting, according to Leavitt.

As Trump and Putin touch down in Alaska for their meeting later today, Trump warned that US-Russia economic ties are on the table but won’t deepen unless Moscow’s invasion ends.

US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have landed in Anchorage, Alaska, for their planned meeting on the war in Ukraine.

The two warmly shook hands after meeting on the red carpet that is laid out on the tarmac. The two descended from their official aircraft – at the same time – shortly past 11:00 am (local time).

The meeting between the US and Russian heads of state had started at around 10:30 p.m. Kyiv time, which would see the two discuss the war in Ukraine and potential ties restoration – stay tuned.

A prominent American-Ukrainian leader and lawyer assesses the controversial Trump-Putin meeting on US territory.

Let’s get real and cut to the chase. The Alaska Summit is not about ending Russian aggression in Ukraine. Russia, the aggressor, has no such intention. Putin’s purpose is to appear as a peacemaker and have sanctions lifted. Conflicting as it may seem, Trump wants to be the peacemaker as a mediator. So many peacemakers but yet there is no peace.

To use the bizarre metaphor from the Oval Office, the mediator has no cards in this game. Arguably he has nothing to say, demand or concede. He cannot make concessions on the part of the victim here. No doubt, Ukraine is missing so the formula for peace lacks an indispensable component, the aggrieved side.

The journalists also complained of having to queue to brush their teeth and being unable to use their mobile data due to sanctions.

Russian state-affiliated journalists have complained that they were made to stay overnight in a makeshift camp at a local stadium with folding beds and little internet access ahead of Friday’s Alaska talks.

When journalists from Russia’s state media organizations flocked to Alaska on Thursday to report on the Ukraine war summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, they were told that hotels in Anchorage were booked up.

Over eight years, Trump and Putin met six times; their seventh meeting in Alaska comes with war in Ukraine, sanctions and global security hanging in the balance.

They shook hands under the flashes of cameras in Hamburg, held closed-door talks in Helsinki, and exchanged diplomatic pleasantries at international forums. Over eight years, US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have met in person six times, and on Friday a seventh meeting will be added to that list – in Alaska, at a moment when war, sanctions and the future architecture of global security are at stake.

Given that their previous meetings not only shaped US-Russia relations but also had a lasting impact on global diplomacy, this upcoming summit is certain to capture worldwide attention. But how many times have Trump and Putin met before? When did their relationship begin? And what have these personal encounters revealed about their approach to global issues?

Over eight years, Trump and Putin met six times; their seventh meeting in Alaska comes with war in Ukraine, sanctions and global security hanging in the balance.

They shook hands under the flashes of cameras in Hamburg, held closed-door talks in Helsinki, and exchanged diplomatic pleasantries at international forums. Over eight years, US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have met in person six times, and on Friday a seventh meeting will be added to that list – in Alaska, at a moment when war, sanctions and the future architecture of global security are at stake.

Given that their previous meetings not only shaped US-Russia relations but also had a lasting impact on global diplomacy, this upcoming summit is certain to capture worldwide attention. But how many times have Trump and Putin met before? When did their relationship begin? And what have these personal encounters revealed about their approach to global issues?

The upcoming summit between Putin and Trump in Alaska begs a host of questions concerning Ukraine’s many – many of which politicians and media conveniently prefer to ignore.

What too few are talking about in Ukraine war negotiations:

Most media focus is on territory and alliances. But deeper, unresolved issues – ones that could make reaching peace nearly impossible – are being ignored by too many. Let’s break them down:

China and India, key partners of Russia, are buying vast amounts of fossil fuels from Russia, while the EU, a supporter of Ukraine, also continues to purchase Russian energy.

The export of fossil fuels is an important pillar of the Russian economy – and some countries are funding it.

In July 2025, China and India bought respectively €6.2 billion ($7.3 billion) and €3.5 billion ($4.1 billion) of Russian fossil fuels, according to the analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Trump views Ukraine as a real estate deal, not an existential war. He misunderstands Putin’s goals – and lacks the resolve to confront him or secure lasting peace.

Donald Trump probably believed his own spin when, during the US election campaign, he suggested continuously that he could bring an end to the war in Ukraine in 24 hours.

Trump’s confidence was probably related to the fact that he genuinely thought he had a common bond with Vladimir Putin, forged perhaps during his first term during the Russia “hoax” (or not) and his direct meetings with Putin in Helsinki, Osaka et al.

According to Belarus state news agency BELTA, “Lukashenko invited Trump and his family to visit Belarus, and he agreed.”

US President Donald Trump spoke with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko – a close ally of Vladimir Putin – by telephone on Friday, hours ahead of the US and Russian leaders’ summit in Alaska.

Belarus has backed Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and allowed Russia’s army to use its territory as a launchpad for its first wave of attacks in early 2022.

Washington sanctions Russian crypto exchange Garantex, again linked to cybercriminal money laundering. The US State Dept. is offering a $6M reward for information leading to the arrest of its leaders.

The US has sanctioned Garantex for the second time, calling the Russian-operated cryptocurrency exchange a hub for money laundering by cybercriminals and crime groups.

Garantex was founded in 2019 in Estonia. Following the start of Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Estonia revoked its license to operate in the country.

Join Natalka Cmoc for a powerful farewell talk with Norway’s Ambassador to Ukraine on war, diplomacy, and Ukraine’s unbreakable spirit in this special “Off the Record” episode.

US President Donald Trump said aboard Air Force One that he believes Russia wants to do business with the US, but added it would only be possible once the war is over.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the upcoming talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin would likely involve “business” – but only after the war ends.

Trump and Putin are set to meet in Alaska on Friday at 11 a.m. local time (10 p.m. Kyiv time) to discuss the war in Ukraine – the first meeting between US and Russian heads of state since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia has less leverage and is in a worse position today than it was in Istanbul in 2022 – Why?

Russia has less leverage and is in a worse position today than it was in Istanbul in 2022.Yet its demands remain almost unchanged. And peace? Still nowhere in sight. Here’s why :

Russia has never offered Ukraine a serious peace deal during the full-scale war.Why? Because it hasn’t reached its strategic goals. Ending the war now would mean losing. So it keeps demanding surrender—and calling it “peace.”

Overnight, Ukraine struck Russia’s Syzran oil refinery and a command post in Yenakiyevo, part of a campaign to erode Moscow’s military-economic potential totaling $74B in 2025 so far, Kyiv says.

The General Staff of Ukraine confirmed that the Syzran oil refinery in Russia and a Russian command post in the occupied town of Yenakiyevo, Donetsk region, were struck in coordinated attacks, as Kyiv seeks to erode Moscow’s economy with air strikes on energy and infrastructure targets.

According to a statement on Telegram, in the early hours of Friday, Aug. 15, units of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO), in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces, carried out precision strikes on “a number of important objects of the Russian aggressor.”

As Trump meets Putin in Alaska, Global Rights Compliance tells Kyiv Post that stopping Ukraine’s war crimes cases in a peace deal would break international law.

As US President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska today, human rights experts are warning Ukraine’s allies against using accountability for Russian war crimes as a bargaining chip in any political negotiations.

The international human rights foundation Global Rights Compliance (GRC), which works closely with Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General to document and prosecute atrocities, told Kyiv Post that any concessions on justice would violate international law and undermine years of painstaking investigative work.

This is the first-ever US stock exchange listing for a business in Ukraine only, marking a historic milestone in the nation’s economic development.

Ukraine’s largest telecom company and mobile operator, Kyivstar, announced that it has completed its listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market, with the company’s shares to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol KYIV – the first-ever listing of a Ukrainian company on a US stock exchange. 

The listing was approved after Cohen Circle shareholders on Tuesday, Aug. 12, greenlit a $2.2 billion merger between Ukraine’s Kyivstar and the US-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Nasdaq subsequently accepted the company’s documentation for trading.

Trump meets Putin on Friday in the first US-Russia summit since 2021, with the stated aim to end the war. Hopes and doubts mix across Europe as the leaders meet in Alaska.

All eyes are on Alaska, where Donald Trump is meeting Vladimir Putin this Friday - the first such encounter between a sitting US president and the Russian President since 2021. The focus of the talks will be ways to end the war in Ukraine. Commentators alternate between optimism and doubt.

When unpredictability meets cynicism

Ukrainian army spokesmen say the situation is under control, but five days after hundreds of Russian infantry infiltrated more than 10 km behind Ukrainian lines, the salient is still there.

Ukrainian forces are counterattacking a dangerous Russian penetration of defenses in the operationally critical eastern Pokrovsk sector, but a dangerous 10-kilometer (6-mile) deep salient carved out into Ukrainian lines by infiltrating Russian infantry is far from eliminated, news reports and official statements on Friday, Aug. 15 said.

A Friday morning situation report published by Ukraine’s Army General Staff said battles were in progress along the length of the Russian penetration, and reported Russian troops had launched attacks along much of the length of the salient. The Kremlin main effort appeared to be aimed at the hamlet of Mayak, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) northeast of Pokrovsk, where Russian troops were trying to gain a foothold, the statement said.

Russian oppositionist calls for freeing by Kremlin of Russian and Ukrainian political prisoners.

Exiled Russian opposition figure Yulia Navalnaya on Friday urged presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump to strike a deal to free Russian and Ukrainian political prisoners held captive by Moscow for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.

“Release Russian political activists and journalists, Ukrainian civilians, those who were imprisoned for anti-war statements and posts on social media,” Navalnaya, whose husband Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison last year, said in a video message on social media, hours before the two leaders were set to meet in Alaska.

Trump departs for Alaska to meet Putin in a bilateral summit on Friday. The meeting is set for 11 a.m. local time, and Trump will return to Washington later the same day.

US President Donald Trump departs for Anchorage, Alaska, at 6:45 a.m. local time on Friday, Aug. 15, the White House reported.

Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bilateral program at 11:00 a.m. Anchorage time (10:00 p.m. Kyiv time). US President will return to the White House at 5:45 p.m. local time (4:45 a.m. Kyiv time).

More than 200,000 people, overwhelmingly ethnic Georgians, were displaced in the 1992-1993 war.

Giorgi Jincharadze, leader of Russian-occupied Abkhazia’s government-in-exile, laid a wreath in Tbilisi’s Hero Square on Thursday to mark 33 years since Abkhazia’s war of secession from Georgia began.

Russia’s illegal occupation of the Abkhazia and Tshkinvali regions of Georgia in 2008 drew international condemnation. However, Russian-backed separatists first attempted to secede from Georgia 16 years earlier, clashing with Georgian troops in the summer of 1992.

Facing a $61B deficit, Moscow cuts enlistment bonuses in multiple regions by up to threefold, while others raise payouts — a “caste system” valuing lives by region.

Russia, which is waging a protracted war against Ukraine, is now cutting costs even on its main mobilization resource — “cannon fodder.” Against the backdrop of a record federal budget deficit and a deepening financial crisis in the regions, a number of Russian Federation entities have sharply reduced one-time payments for those signing military contracts.

According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR), bonus reductions are being recorded in several regions: in Bashkiria – from 1.6 million rubles (about $18,000) to 1 million ($11,000), in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug — from 3.1 million ($35,000) to 1.9 million ($21,000), in Belgorod region – from 3 million ($34,000) to 800,000 ($9,000), and in Nizhny Novgorod region – from 3 million ($34,000) to 1.5 million rubles ($17,000).

Even if Putin wanted to negotiate a peace in good faith – which does not appear to be the case – the momentum of war inside Russia portends turmoil once the soldiers come home.

Friday’s meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will illustrate the differences in how all parties involved view Ukraine. Putin has staked so much on the war that exiting without something he can call victory is unthinkable. For Ukraine and Europe, deterring Russian aggression is existential. Putin is counting on the American president being consistently transactional.

Putin remains obsessed with restoring Russia’s empire. Analysts who blame NATO enlargement for Putin’s hostility ignore his repeated statements. While deputy mayor in St. Petersburg, Putin told the Economics Counselor in the US Consulate that his mission was to restore the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire. He said the same to a German Consular officer. At the time, only a few Baltic leaders dreamed of expanding NATO.

Excepting to entice Putin with half measures is a recipe for disaster. The only way to a just peace is to make clear exactly how weak Russia really is – with the threat of making them even weaker.

Last week’s negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Envoy Steve Witkoff was an appeasement disaster. Witkoff should have courageously demanded an immediate unconditional ceasefire. Instead, two days later Putin announced he would end hostilities if Ukraine surrenders its sovereign territory.

President Trump also echoed his support for Putin’s peace plan centered around Russia’s planned land heist with no security guarantees. A Trump/Putin summit in Alaska was set for Aug. 15 to solidify the deal, a potential celebratory victory for Russian and Chinese autocrats.

Two artists have joined forces to let art and creativity raise awareness about the ongoing war in Ukraine. The “Flowers from the Front Line” exhibit will appear in the center of Kyiv.

The “Flowers from the Front Line” project is about finding beauty, resilience, and growth amid destruction. It is a creative dialogue between two artists – British artist Phoebe Walsh and Ukrainian artist Olha Morozova – that began in the first days of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

The project was exhibited at the London Garden Museum (2022), the Palo Gallery in New York, and the British Bedales Memorial Library (2023-2024). Its presentation in Ukraine is part of the Bouquet Kyiv Stage Art Festival – 2025.

Aside from the performative element of meeting with Putin, Trump seems to be keen on shaping expectations in the event little or nothing comes out of the encounter.

US President Donald Trump has threatened Russia with “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not make concessions on ending the war in Ukraine during their upcoming meeting in Alaska on Friday.

Trump also suggested there is a strong chance of a second meeting with Putin – this time joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Putin added that the two countries would continue to “make a significant contribution to establishing a just and multi-polarised world order.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed North Korean troops sent to fight in Ukraine as “heroic” in a letter to Kim Jong Un, North Korean state media reported Friday.

In a letter marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule, Putin recalled how Soviet Red Army units and North Korean forces fought together to end Japan’s colonial occupation.

Ukraine will audit subsoil users at strategic sites to ensure resources are developed or returned for investment.

Ukrainian Prime Minster Yuliia Svyrydenko has instructed competent agencies to conduct an audit of subsoil users within strategically important sites.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Prime Minster Yuliia Svyrydenko on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The Alaska meeting comes as experts highlight Putin’s vulnerability to sanctions – and caution that a premature ceasefire might lead to an “even more dangerous conflict.”

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – As US President Donald Trump prepares to meet today with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time in six years, the summit is being framed by analysts not just as a negotiation, but as a critical test of American diplomacy.

While the American president’s unconventional approach has drawn criticism, some analysts suggest he may hold significant, if fragile, leverage over the Kremlin – if he’s willing to use it.

A $50M Russian Su-30SM fighter jet reportedly crashed near Zmiiniy Island, with wreckage found but no trace of the pilots. Ukrainian intel says contact was lost mid-mission for unknown reasons.

A Russian Su-30SM fighter aircraft reportedly crashed near Zmiiniy (Snake) Island, with aircraft wreckage found without its pilots, the Ukrainian Navy said.

Zmiinyi Island, recently visited by Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR), is one of the key sites reclaimed from Russian occupation during successful Ukrainian operations.

Ukraine’s Special Ops struck Russia’s Port Olya, hitting a ship with Shahed UAV parts and Iranian munitions. A suspected drone attack also targeted a refinery in the Samara region.

Ukrainian forces struck the Olya seaport in Russia’s Astrakhan region, hitting a ship loaded with Shahed drone components and ammunition from Iran, according to Friday’s General Staff report.

According to the statement, Special Operations Forces (SSO), in coordination with other units of the Defense Forces, on Thursday, Aug. 14, targeted the port to reduce Russia’s capacity to launch airstrikes.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian and US officials further clarified the details of the upcoming August 15 Alaska summit.
• The Kremlin is likely to use the Alaska summit to try to deflect attention away from peace negotiations with Ukraine and towards the Russia-US relationship in order to court the Trump administration into offering Moscow sorely needed economic rapprochement.
• The Kremlin is coming to Alaska with a severely weakened domestic economy, which affords the Trump administration significant leverage during the summit.
• US President Donald Trump expressed concerns about the success of a potential secondary meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• The Kremlin is also likely to try to distract from the war in Ukraine by pressuring the Trump administration to engage in bilateral arms control talks at the Alaska summit.
• The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) reported that the July 2025 civilian casualties from Russia’s war against Ukraine were the highest on record since May 2022.
• Russian forces have yet to reinforce and consolidate positions east and northeast of Dobropillya, and Ukrainian and Russian sources reported that Ukrainian reinforcements are stabilizing the situation. ISW continues to assess that Russian forces do not control the territory east and northeast of Dobropillya where Russian forces recently infiltrated.
• Ukraine’s European partners continue to provide military aid to Ukraine, including through the purchase of US weapons.
• Ukraine and Russia conducted their 67th prisoner exchange of the war on August 14.
• Ukrainian forces struck a large oil refinery in Volgograd Oblast on the night of August 13 to 14.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Sumy Oblast and near Lyman, and Russian forces recently advanced near Velykomykhailivka.

Putin’s Friday visit to the US has put the spotlight on claims the Kremlin boss might be complicit in massed kidnapping of children, a war crime. Possibly, the US will become an accomplice.

WHAT’S THE LEGAL BOTTOM LINE? WHY WON’T THE US ARREST PUTIN WHEN HE LANDS IN ALASKA?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, on March 17, issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war crime of unlawful deportation of people from their country, specifically Ukrainian children from regions of Ukraine occupied by the Russian army.

US support for aid to Ukraine has increased over the past six months, Pew Research data shows. But, most respondents have little faith in Trump’s role as deal-maker-in-chief – especially with Putin.

A majority of Americans do not believe US President Donald Trumps is capable of making “wise decisions” in negotiations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a new study has found.

Almost 60 percent of respondents in the Pew Research Center poll, conducted between Aug. 4 and Aug. 10, were unconvinced in the US leader’s deal-making prowess, which has been a big part of Trump’s personal brand, often pointing to a ghost-written book “Art of the Deal” with his name on the jacket.

As Wall Street frets about inflation figures, oil traders are watching Anchorage closely for signs about the future of sanctions on Russia.

Wall Street stocks finished little changed Thursday as markets absorbed a disappointing inflation report, while oil prices shot higher on the eve of a US-Russia summit on Ukraine.

After a negative start, major US indices worked their way back up to even following July wholesale price data.

As part of the latest prisoner exchange with Moscow, Bohdan Kovalchuk came home from about nine years in a Russian-run penal colony in Toretsk.

As part of an agreement to release 84 civilians and soldiers from Russian captivity, a young Ukrainian who was kidnapped in the Donetsk region in 2016 at the age of 17 and imprisoned by Russian authorities, returned to his family on Thursday.

Bohdan Kovalchuk’s grandmother, Tetiana Hots, told Ukrainian public broadcaster Hromadske that she had spoken to Bohdan on the phone as he was being released, and that she would be seeing him for the first time since his imprisonment.