Veronika Melkozerova, POLITICO Europe Journalist Profile

Articles

China helps Russia pull ahead in lethal drone war race with Ukraine

2 days ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Russia is catching up to Ukraine in drone production thanks to greater financial resources, production lines far from the front lines and especially help from China, a senior Ukrainian official told POLITICO. “Chinese manufacturers provide them with hardware, electronics, navigation, optical and telemetry systems, engines, microcircuits, processor modules, antenna field systems, control boards, navigation.
Ukraine releases new footage of daring AI strikes that crippled Putin’s bomber fleet

2 days ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Ukrainian security services on Wednesday released new video of the audacious "Spider Web" strikes on the Kremlin's nuclear-capable bombers deep inside Russia. “During the operation, modern UAV control technology was used, which combines autonomous artificial intelligence algorithms and manual operator intervention,” said the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, the country’s main counterintelligence agency.
Ukraine launches explosive underwater attack on Crimean bridge

4 days ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Ukrainian spies launched an underwater assault against the pillars of the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia’s mainland with Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow has illegally occupied since 2014. “The underwater supports of the piers were severely damaged at the sea bottom level — 1,100 kg of explosives in TNT equivalent contributed to this.
A massive sanctions threat hangs over Putin

4 days ago | politico.com | Robbie Gramer |Eric Bazail-Eimil |Veronika Melkozerova

Congress’ patience with Moscow is wearing thin as Russian President Vladimir Putin slow-walks peace talks. | Pool photo by Alexey Nikolskiy With help from Felicia Schwartz, Diya Contractor, Jordain Carney, Nahal Toosi and Daniel LippmanSubscribe here | | There’s a major new threat to Russia’s already sanction-battered economy. It’s sitting in procedural limbo in the U.S. Senate — at least for now. Sens.
New Russia-Ukraine talks yield another large POW swap - but no ceasefire

4 days ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Ukraine and Russia agreed to prepare an all-for-all exchange for two categories of prisoners of war as the sides met for the second round of peace negotiations in Istanbul on Monday. “We agreed to exchange all of the severely injured and ill prisoners of war. We will also exchange all young soldiers, aged 18-25. We also agreed to swap 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, told a press conference.
Ukraine says it hit dozens of Russian bombers in daring drone attack

5 days ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — The Security Service of Ukraine sent a barrage of drones to attack four military airfields in Russia on Sunday, hitting 41 of Moscow's strategic bombers, an official with the service told POLITICO. The daring attack came the day before the next round of Russia-Ukraine negotiations is set to take place in Istanbul. "Russia’s military planes are currently burning at the Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya and Ivanovo airfields," said the official from the service, also known as the SBU.
Russia committed war crimes against civilians in Ukraine’s Kherson region, UN concludes

1 week ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Russian armed forces have been “systematically” committing crimes against humanity by hunting civilians using remote-controlled drones, the U.N.’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said.
Zelenskyy: Putin irritates Trump more than I do

1 week ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that despite his rocky relationship with Donald Trump, he thinks the White House is still more irritated by Vladimir Putin than him. “I may say unpleasant things, but I tell the truth. And I say what I think. And he [Putin] may sometimes say very nice things, but those things are lies. And I think that for intelligent people, those who lie are more concerning,” the Ukrainian president told a group of journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Russia pushes forward in Ukraine’s northeast

1 week ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Russia now controls four border villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, regaining a small part of territory that was liberated by Kyiv’s forces in 2022. “The enemy controls the Sumy region’s Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka villages. Residents of those villages were evacuated long ago, so there’s no threat to the civilian population there,” Oleh Hryhorov, head of Sumy’s regional military administration, said in a statement.
Putin continues to batter Ukraine with missiles as Trump calls him ‘CRAZY’

1 week ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Russia hammered Ukraine with another 350 killer drones and nine missiles in the early hours of Monday morning, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement. Kremlin forces have rained down more than 900 drones and 92 missiles of different types in just the last three days — a record in such a short period since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Moscow’s massive attacks lasted for more than six hours every night.

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