Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is going to Washington DC to try to rescue a threatened US defense package to Kyiv worth billions of dollars. The aid has become embroiled in US domestic, partisan politics.

It will be Mr Zelensky’s third visit to the US since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Voting for the Russian presidential election, which is likely to see Vladimir Putin re-elected, will be held in four Ukrainian regions the Kremlin claimed to have annexed last year.

The Central Elections Commission said on Monday voting in March would go ahead in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — regions of Ukraine over which Russia still does not have full military control.

The election will be held over a three-day period from March 15 to 17, a move that
Kremlin critics have argued makes guaranteeing transparency more difficult.