Elon Musk on Feb. 21 questioned why Ukraine was still actively defending itself amid the ongoing Russian full-scale invasion, suggesting the country's fight against the Kremlin's imperialist ambitions was, in fact, a giant money-making scam. "What are they dying for? What exactly are they dying for? The line of engagement has barely moved for two years. People are dead in trenches, and for what?" Musk said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Without providing evidence and r

After promising to quickly resolve the war in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump and his top officials’ actions on Feb. 12 appeared to undermine Ukraine’s leverage in peace talks, renewing fears that his plans for a quick resolution could amount to a victory for Russia. Trump announced he had held phone calls with both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying peace negotiations would start "immediately" and a ceasefire is in the "not too distant future." Earlier

Ukraine faces a delicate balancing act — mobilizing enough people to fend off the immediate threat posed by Russia's full-scale invasion, and preserving enough of the country's youth to weather longer-term demographic concerns. On top of this, U.S. lawmakers and NATO allies are reportedly urging Ukraine to lower its draft age from 25 to 18 to address the manpower shortages, a move that President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently resisted. The introduction of "special contracts" for those age