2025 in 25 stories from the Kyiv Independent
Women walk their dog as smoke rises over Kyiv following mass Russian drones and missile strikes on July 4, 2025 (Oleksii Filippov/AFP via Getty Images)
From the rollercoaster of U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policy to continued Russian attacks on the front line and hundreds of miles beyond, 2025 has been a hell of a year for Ukraine.
As we enter 2026, here are 25 articles that reflected the year, and that our audience loved reading as much as we felt compelled to write.
As Russian losses in Ukraine mount, Putin faces 'devastating' demographic timebomb
News operations editor Chris York reported on how Russia's losses in Ukraine has helped fuel a demographic timebomb that could see the Russian population reduced by half by the end of the century.
What the US-Ukraine mineral deal actually means
Business reporter Dominic Culverwell spoke to experts about the details of the U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal after it was agreed to on Feb. 25, ahead of expectations that it would be signed when President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington, D.C. three days later.
'I'll need more ammo' — Ukraine's soldiers react to Trump-Zelensky Oval Office showdown
The Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump went down in history for all the wrong reasons. While the world focused on the fallout, we spoke to Ukrainian soldiers for their reaction.
‘Talk about an invasion is everywhere’ — How Lithuania is preparing for war with Russia
As NATO grew increasingly alert to the threat posed by Russia in 2025, reporters Yuliia Taradiuk and Andrea Januta spoke with Lithuanians about their concerns over a potential future war.
As Ukraine’s fate hangs in the balance, ‘Soviet’ command culture damages war effort
Reporters Natalia Yermak and Francis Farrell's story takes an in-depth look at the systemic issues in Ukraine's military, stemming from a "Soviet-style culture" that incentivizes lying, dodging responsibility, and a lesser value placed on human life.
The rise and fall of Ukraine's Kursk gambit
Reporter Asami Terajima took stock of Ukraine's seven-month-long incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast and spoke to Ukrainian soldiers and military experts on whether the operation could be considered a success.
Decolonizing Russia — what it means and why it matters
Russia's war in Ukraine and the issues surrounding Russia's colonial history are intrinsically linked. Culture reporter Kate Tsurkan wrote this explainer on the debate surrounding decolonizing Russia after Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza made a remark in April about Russia's ethnic minority groups fighting in Ukraine.
Could Ukraine have stopped Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea?
After President Donald Trump claimed that Ukraine had given up Crimea in 2014 "without firing a shot," Kateryna Hodunova detailed the years of Russian military buildup in the region and the volatile political crisis occurring in Ukraine at the time that left Kyiv ill-equipped to mount a defense.
As Russia’s fiber optic drones flood the battlefield, Ukraine is racing to catch up
2025 was the year that we saw dense tangles of glistening thread appear across the battlefield, left behind by arrival of fiber optic first-person-view drones on the battlefield — their wires making them immune to electronic warfare. Francis Farrell reported on the impact that this latest technological advancement has had on the front line and beyond.
Growing up under missiles – Ukrainian childhoods shaped by war
Russia’s war in Ukraine was the world’s deadliest conflict in 2025, and civilians came under increasing threat from mass aerial attacks as Russia stepped up its launches of drones and missiles to unprecedented levels. Documentary photographer Elena Kalinichenko explored what it's like for Ukrainian children to grow up in this environment through a photo essay.
Find and destroy’ – how Ukraine’s own Peaky Blinders mastered the art of bomber drones
With Russian forces stepping up infantry-based attacks against an overstretched Ukrainian defense, Francis Farrell reported on how the work of Ukraine's top drone units is more crucial than ever.
With no new US aid packages on the horizon, can Ukraine continue to fight Russia?
Following a five-month pause in U.S. military aid announcements for Ukraine, reporter Kateryna Hodunova explored how critical U.S. assistance is to Ukraine’s battlefield needs.
Hungary’s soft power meets Ukraine’s hard reality in Zakarpattia
Journalist Martin Fornusek and documentary photographer Elena Kalinichenko traveled to Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine, where local ethnic Hungarians grapple with questions of loyalty, language, and belonging.
Ukraine's new ground drones are hitting the battlefield in ever-increasing numbers
Reporter Tania Myronyshena reported on how Ukraine's use of unmanned ground vehicles accelerated in 2025, and how these vehicles have helped ease pressure on Kyiv's struggling infantry recruitment.
As Russia closes in on Pokrovsk, battle for key city enters its final act
After holding firm against Russian attacks for the first half of 2025, the situation around Pokrovsk deteriorated as the summer approached. Francis Farrell spent 24 hours inside the city shortly before Russian advances made reporting from the ground impossible.
'We know how to stand up for our rights' — Ukrainians protest law threatening anti-corruption institutions
Thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets in July following parliament's hasty decision to crush independent anti-corruption institutions. Kateryna Denisova spoke to protesters in Kyiv about why they were demanding that President Volodymyr Zelensky veto the law.
Zelensky's big blunder, explained
Despite those protests, Zelensky signed the law, prompting backlash in Ukraine and abroad. Business editor Liliane Bivings and reporter Kateryna Denisova explained why he and his team targeted independent anti-corruption agencies before partially reversing course.
Maker of Ukraine's new Flamingo cruise missile facing corruption probe
Defense industry reporter Kollen Post broke the story that Ukraine's anti-corruption agency had been investigating the country's star deep-strike drone company — Fire Point — over concerns it misled the government on pricing and deliveries.
We asked 5 young Ukrainians why they chose to go to war against Russia
Reporter Tania Myronyshena spoke to five young Ukrainians who voluntarily joined Ukraine's armed forces, some of whom are managing to balance fighting a war with studying for a degree.
In Estonia’s border town, Russian-speaking majority enjoys NATO’s shield, remains mute on Russia’s threat
Freelance reporter Maria Yeryoma visited Narva, Estonia's third-largest city, and spoke to the local Russian-speaking population and Estonian officials about the increased threat from Russia.
Investigation: Top Russian defense industry boss tries to lift sanctions, spills own secrets instead
Investigative reporter Alisa Yurchenko unveiled how a bid to unfreeze a super yacht exposed a Russian defense executive's ties, and showed how Russian elites use complex networks to lift sanctions, including Western law firms.
Rage, panic, and a glimmer of hope in Ukraine as corruption scandal unfolds
We asked Ukrainians for their reaction to the biggest corruption scandal of President Volodymyr Zelensky's term, which broke right as winter set in. The scheme centered around a group of officials getting kickbacks from energy construction and procurement, including building defenses for Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Destroy. Fix. Repeat: Russia is creating a devastating doom loop inside Ukraine’s energy system
Business reporter Dominic Culverwell and economics reporter Luca Lery Moffat examined the dynamics within Ukraine's embattled energy grid and how Ukraine is working to keep the lights on.
Who is Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s closest ally?
Unelected and lacking popular support, President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff amassed a level of power rarely seen in modern Ukraine. Shortly before his resignation, reporter Oleg Sukhov and deputy chief editor Oleksiy Sorokin published a profile on one of the most controversial figures in Ukrainian politics.
How Steve Witkoff pushed Ukraine sympathizers out of White House, and led the US into Russia's arms
Reporter Tim Zadorozhnyy reported on how Steve Witkoff ran a shadow operation inside the White House in an effort to sideline pro-Ukraine officials, and shaped the latest push for peace with Russia in direct coordination with Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin's top economic negotiator.
A note from us
Hi, this is Elsa Court, audience development manager at the Kyiv Independent. It's been a challenging year for Ukrainians, and here at the Kyiv Independent, we've worked hard to provide a platform for Ukraine's perspective. Our journalists have been able to write these stories listed above thanks to the support of our community — 25,000 people from all over the world, who believe in the power of independent journalism from Ukraine. If you'd like to support us as we enter 2026, join us today for as little as $5 a month.
