Alexandra Brzozowski

BRUSSELS, Belgium — On short notice, the upcoming EU Council meeting is set to become a scramble to contain and counter U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed pressure on Ukraine.Since the start of the week, European diplomats have been searching for a coordinated response to Trump's revived messaging that echoes Vladimir Putin's demand for Ukraine to capitulate and hand over territory in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.EU leaders, meeting in Brussels on Oct. 23, are expected to weigh in on a wide ra

BRUSSELS, Belgium — At a fraught EU summit on funding for Kyiv, leaders asked the European Commission to draw up legal options for a reparations loan backed by Russia's frozen assets, with a final proposal expected by the end of the year.The news follows weeks of political debate over how the reparations loan — which could eventually end up lending up to 140 billion euros to Ukraine, backed by Russian frozen central bank assets — could become a reality.The lack of a breakthrough now pushes

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Commission is pushing to maintain momentum in Ukraine's EU accession bid despite political resistance from Hungary, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said."The main issue now is that we need strong support also in the EU member states," Kos told a group of reporters, including the Kyiv Independent, ahead of the release of the EU annual review of the progress of candidate countries in their accession process set for Nov. 4.According to Ukrainian and Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Ukraine has shown "remarkable commitment" to its bid for EU membership despite Russia's full-scale war, but must urgently reverse negative trends in the fight against corruption and step up rule of law reforms, the European Commission is expected to say in its draft enlargement report, seen by the Kyiv Independent."Despite the very difficult circumstances the country finds itself in on account of Russia's war of aggression, Ukraine continued to demonstrate remarkable commit

BRUSSELS, Belgium — President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine will not accept a second-tier status in the European Union and must be treated as a full member of the bloc once it is invited."If we speak about the EU membership, it has to be fully fledged (…) you cannot be semi-or demi-member of the European Union," Zelensky said in a virtual address at an Euronews enlargement summit, speaking from near wartorn Pokrovsk."It seems to me that it is very important that we have at the same

of 7 BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Tuesday praised Ukraine's progress on reform to join the bloc despite concerns over its efforts

The gathering aims to demonstrate political support for Ukraine's EU aspirations as Kyiv faces opposition from Hungary, which has the power to block any future steps in the accession process.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission on Wednesday delivered another tranche of short-term financial relief to Kyiv as talks over a much larger reparations loan based on frozen Russian assets remain mired in political deadlock.The European Commission on Nov. 13 announced that Ukraine received 5.9 billion euros from existing European initiatives. Similarly, the European Investment Bank on the same day announced over 200 million euros in new grants to support critical infrastructure, inclu

Based on International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates, the EU expects that if the Russia-Ukraine war ends in 2026, Kyiv will face a financial gap of 135.7 billion euros ($157 billion) in the 2026-2027 period.

Alexandra Brzozowski , EU affairs journalist, outlines how Ukraine enters a dangerously uncertain winter as Russian offensives intensify, energy