In late April 2024, in central Kyiv, heavy cranes began dismantling a sculpture erected to commemorate 17th-century Pereiaslav Treaty between the Cossacks and Muscovites, symbolically closing a chapter of a shared history. It was the very same agreement lauded by Russian President Vladimir Putin as supposed evidence of Ukraine's historical
Editor’s Note: This article was published by the blog “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on March 14, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. Dilaver Saidakhmetov's grandfather wasn’t a practicing Muslim, but that didn’t stop him
President Volodymyr Zelensky passed to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan the list of Ukrainian citizens, including Crimean Tatars, captured by Russia after their meeting on March 8 in Istanbul.
Editor’s Note: The names of Crimea’s former and current residents cited in this article were changed to protect their identity amid security concerns. When Ukrainians talk about Crimea, they often talk about memories. For many, this peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea was a place where they spent
Russia's top propagandist, Olga Skabeeva, interrupted her talk show on May 16 to share "breaking news" with the Russian people. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) uncovered a spy, Skabeeva said, who had been feeding information about Russian military infrastructure and equipment to Ukrainian authorities. "A (criminal) case was opened
Russia's war against Ukraine began in Crimea. In February 2014, as the pro-Russian regime in Kyiv was killing protesters on the barricades of the EuroMaidan Revolution, thousands of Russian troops without insignia began occupying strategic locations and military bases in the Crimean Peninsula. Within a month, Russia had illegally annexed
They usually come at four or five in the morning. Men in uniform and with guns pull up in large vehicles. The dogs start barking. The family wakes up, knowing exactly what is about to happen. The house is searched. Phones and computers are taken away. And so is the
