After nearly three years of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the future of the country's fight against Vladimir Putin's forces is more uncertain than ever.
Donald Trump's sweeping victory in the US presidential race, off the back of promises to end the war in Eastern Europe in 24 hours seemingly even if that means forcing Kyiv to cede territory to Russia - appears to spell the end of the West's longheld policy of helping Ukraine to defeat Putin entirely.
Negotiations with Russia, after years of silence, are back on the agenda.
This is causing significant stress in Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. As Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian opposition leader, puts it: "The world needs to understand how crucial it is not to end the war on any idea of negotiating with Russia." Others in Kyiv are cautiously hopeful that Trump will quickly realise Putin will not be persuaded to stop his invasion, and that the incoming US president will then respond by substantially increasing American support for Ukraine beyond what the Biden administration has been willing to countenance.
Former US and British officials have discussed with The Independent how negotiations could play out, but in the meantime, Trump's great solution to "end the killing" remains a mystery to everyone - potentially even the president-elect himself.
While the world waits to see what transpires, Ukraine is already facing an array of problems.
Military and frontline
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that the country's military currently lacks the strength to retake the nearly 20 per cent of Ukraine occupied by Russia in the south and east.
Some of that could be blamed on the US and Europe's tentative approach to supporting Ukraine - one that has seen plenty of rhetoric, but has been tempered by a desire to avoid pushing Russia into escalating the war.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin December 28, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin December 28, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Champion Humphries eases through to last 16
World number one Luke Humphries continued his bid for back-to-back World Championship titles after easing through to the last 16 last night.
Contract conundrum won't distract Reds' title charge
New year, new context. Liverpool will enter 2025 top of the Premier League, a year of seismic change that could have sent them spiralling downwards instead sees them ending on a high.
Gunners edge victory against battling Ipswich
Arsenal moved into second place in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Ipswich at the Emirates.
'They are erasing us. They are erasing our history'
Indie filmmaker Arfat Sheikh was increasingly frustrated by mainstream cinema’s depiction of Kashmir and its people so he decided to make his own. Maroosha Muzaffar reports
South Korea’s MPs vote to impeach acting president
South Korea's parliament impeached acting president Han Duck Soo yesterday, just two weeks after similarly punishing president Yoon Suk Yeol for briefly declaring martial law earlier this month.
Russian air defence 'likely' behind crash that killed 38
The deadly Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan was likely caused by a Russian air defence system, military and aviation experts have said.
'We cannot wait for peace before beginning to rebuild'
As fears mount for Ukraine's future in light of the re-election of Trump, Tom Watling speaks to politicians, military experts and aid workers to discover what the coming year could hold
Quad bike crash leaves girl with life-changing injuries
A child has been left with life-changing injuries after the quad bike she was riding on crashed into a telegraph pole outside a high-street pub on Boxing Day.
Christmas travel chaos as fog causes mass flight delays
Airline passengers hoping to jet off ahead of the New Year were hit by severe delays, as thick fog caused chaos at the UK's busiest airports.
Snow could sweep through UK as new year approaches
Britons are bracing for snowfall and a sharp drop in temperatures, which are set to fall to -2C on New Year's Eve in some places.
