Travel, property, and local info for Ukraine

9+ min ago (88+ words) A Ukrainian defence start-up has struck a "100mn deal to make tens of thousands of drones in Germany, the first such tie-up under a Kyiv initiative to help boost the output of the country's defence ... Then $75 per month. Complete digital access to quality FT journalism on any device. Cancel anytime during your trial. Premium & FT Weekend Print FT Weekend newspaper delivered Saturday plus complete digital access. Check whether you already have access via your university or organisation. Explore our full range of subscriptions....

28+ min ago (763+ words) A senior Ukrainian official reportedly said that such a scenario would amount to capitulation and "will not be accepted" as peace talks continue in the German capital. Negotiations between President Volodymyr Zelensky and a US delegation ended without agreement on a proposed demilitarized zone in eastern Ukraine during talks in Berlin on Sunday, Dec. 14. This was reported by Bild, citing officials familiar with the discussions. According to Bild, the talks focused on a US-backed 28-point peace framework aimed at freezing the war. The proposal reportedly includes Ukraine's commitment not to seek NATO membership and to hold new elections within 100 days " conditions Kyiv is prepared to consider under specific circumstances. However, negotiations reportedly stalled over territorial issues, particularly a proposal requiring Ukrainian forces to withdraw from parts of the Donetsk region to create what US negotiators described as a "demilitarized economic…...

35+ min ago (856+ words) As Ukraine faces a looming financing gap amid Russia's war, Belgium and the EU must decide whether to act decisively by unlocking Russian assets to support Europe's security. In Ukraine's current war for independence, macro-financial stability has become another front line " less visible than the battles in the trenches or Russian nightly terror attacks on Ukrainian cities, but no less decisive." Keeping Ukraine's budget financed, its banking system liquid, and inflation expectations anchored is an integral part of the same struggle to resist Russia's war of aggression and secure the country's future in the European Union and Europe's defense. So far, Ukraine has performed better than expected, largely because it has built a sustainable triad of actors, each contributing to this interim success." First, Ukraine's authorities have stayed committed to a demanding reform agenda." Second, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)…...

37+ min ago (203+ words) Ukrainian company Frontline Robotics and German-Ukrainian UAV manufacturer Quantum Systems are launching Europe's first joint venture Quantum Frontline Industries for the production of drones in Germany as part of the Build with Ukraine program, Quantum Systems said in a press release on Monday. It is noted that this was announced at the 8th German-Ukrainian Economic Forum in Berlin on Monday. "We see this as an important mission " to build the first Ukrainian-German defence joint venture with our partners Quantum Systems," said Yevhen Tretiak, CEO of Frontline Robotics. The new company will be headed by Matthias Lehna, who has served as Quantum Systems' director of government relations and business development since 2023. He said Quantum Frontline Industries will now focus on three goals: scaling production, expanding its portfolio, and creating new products. Founded in 2023, Frontline Robotics is a Ukrainian defence tech company that…...

52+ min ago (264+ words) The number of freight vehicles in Ukraine used for international transportation has more than doubled since the introduction of transport liberalization with the European Union in June 2022, said Deputy Minister of Communities and Territories Development Serhiy Derkach. "That is, during the war, we bought more trucks than in all the years of independence combined. This illustrates how the trucking market has grown," he said at the Infrastructure Day 2025 event hosted by the European Business Association (EBA), according to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent. According to Derkach, the number of transports increased significantly in 2023, but is decreasing slightly this year. "This is primarily due to the economic situation and not because the maritime corridor is functioning," the deputy minister added. "Poland is currently the main country that considers Ukraine a major competitor for the future, as Poland has become the largest road transport…...

58+ min ago (174+ words) Kyiv Post Delivers Exclusive and In-Depth News and Opinions on Politics, Economics " Get Your Daily News Brief Direct from Ukraine Today! ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 14, 2025 Latest from the Institute for the Study of War. Key Takeaways from the ISW: - The Kremlin is setting conditions to reject the Ukrainian and European peace plan drafts after it previously rejected key points of the US-proposed 28-point peace plan that overwhelmingly benefitted Russia. - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US negotiators in Berlin, Germany on December 14 to continue negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine. - Russian forces will likely continue to struggle to maintain the Kremlin's desired multi-pronged offensive operations in different operational directions due to the long-term materiel and manpower costs of such operations. - Ukraine's long-range strike campaign continues to degrade Russia's oil refining and military capabilities in Russia and occupied…...

1+ hour, 7+ min ago (396+ words) The new government of Czech billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis was sworn in on Monday amid questions about its ties to the EU and aid to war-ravaged Ukraine. Babis's catch-all ANO movement won a general election in the EU and NATO member state of 10.9 million people in October. It has teamed up with two eurosceptic parties, the far-right SPD and right-wing Motorists, to form the cabinet with the backing of 108 lawmakers in the 200-seat parliament. President Petr Pavel swore in Babis's 15 ministers -- 13 men and two women. Babis, who was previously prime minister from 2017 to 2021, has vowed to fight for Czech interests "not only at home, but everywhere in the world. While the SPD recently gave up on its idea of holding a referendum on leaving the EU, the government's policy statement says the EU has "its limits and no right…...

1+ hour, 23+ min ago (340+ words) The Coalition Council considered Ukraine's fulfillment of international obligations, said Danylo Hetmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy (Servant of the People faction). Coalition Council considers Ukraine's fulfillment of international obligations " MP Hetmantsev The Coalition Council considered Ukraine's fulfillment of international obligations, said Danylo Hetmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy (Servant of the People faction). "The Coalition Council held a working meeting on the eve of the plenary week. The key topic is the fulfillment of our international obligations, problematic issues and ways to resolve them. We listened to the government's positions. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, deputy prime ministers, ministers of finance, energy, justice and reconstruction joined the discussion," Hetmantsev wrote on Telegram on Monday following the meeting. He noted that he agrees with Svyrydenko on the…...

1+ hour, 32+ min ago (560+ words) A new documentary reveals how Ukraine became the only country to rescue all its women and children from Islamic State (ISIS) camps in Syria through a five-year covert intelligence operation. A new documentary that premiered in Kyiv this weekend reveals a little-known Ukrainian intelligence operation that rescued dozens of women and children held for years in former Islamic State (ISIS) camps in Syria. The film "10 Lost Years" was shown at a pre-premiere screening in Kyiv on Sunday, Dec. 14, attended by journalists, officials, and the film's protagonists. A Kyiv Post journalist was present at the screening ahead of the film's public release. The documentary recounts a five-year covert operation led by Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) to repatriate 89 Ukrainian citizens, mostly women and children, from camps in northeastern Syria following the collapse of ISIS in 2019. Ukraine is the only country…...

1+ hour, 33+ min ago (213+ words) The second round of meetings between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation with US President Donald Trump's envoys Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner ended in Berlin on Monday, presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn has told reporters. Zelenskyy's talks with US delegation in Berlin ends The second round of meetings between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation with US President Donald Trump's envoys Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner ended in Berlin on Monday, presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn has told reporters. According to him, Zelenskyy has already arrived at German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, with whom the meeting was scheduled after the completion of negotiations with the US delegation. Zelenskyy talks with with released political prisoners from Belarus Berlin talks resume at noon, Zelenskyy to meet Steinmeier and Bundestag president Zelenskyy meets with Finnish president in Berlin…...