Author

Alexander Zabolotnyi
VideographerAlexander Zabolotnyi is a videographer at the Kyiv Independent. He started his career as a freelance videographer after studying filmmaking courses at the Ukrainian Leadership Academy and Kyiv Academy of Media Arts. His main work included filming interviews, podcasts, and commercials. Before joining the Kyiv Independent, he worked at Prjctr Institute as a videographer.
Articles

Russia tests NATO defenses | Ukraine This Week
In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur breaks down Russia’s largest drone and missile attack on Ukraine, as well as the shocking incursion of Russian drones into Poland, which marked the first direct NATO engagement with Moscow since the full-scale invasion began.

Can Ukraine’s oil strikes shift Russia's war?
Ukraine is striking oil refineries deep inside Russia — but it’s not really the oil they’re after. The Kyiv Independent’s Dominic Culverwell explains how Ukraine’s drone campaign targets the high-tech equipment Russia cannot easily replace under sanctions.

China backs Russia as Trump's peace talks stall | Ukraine This Week
In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur looks at the two summits that took place in China and France, delivering two starkly different messages about the future of Russia’s war — and the world.

Russia yet to achieve breakthrough in Ukraine, expert says
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, assesses the state of Russia’s war in Ukraine three and a half years into the full-scale invasion.

Russia’s oil infrastructure under fire | Ukraine This Week
U.S.-Ukraine peace talks, Russia’s massive missile strike on Kyiv that killed 25 civilians, and Moscow’s first reported occupation of villages in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Also, Ukraine’s escalating drone attacks on Russian oil refineries.

Russia prepares for long war
Russia has quietly expanded its Votkinsk missile plant to produce intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. Its output has reportedly tripled since 2022, strengthening Russia’s capacity to wage war.

Russia slams Ukraine in wake of Trump-Zelensky meeting | Ukraine This Week
In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur breaks down Monday’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which came just a few days after Trump’s Aug. 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump, Putin to meet in Alaska, Kherson in crisis | Ukraine This Week
A high-profile meeting in Moscow between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a burgeoning humanitarian crisis in the battered Ukrainian city of Kherson and U.S President Trump and Putin to meet in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine.

Russia sanctions work — just not how you think
Ukraine’s Western allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia since its full-scale war, but its economy has not crashed yet – why?

Trump’s Russia ultimatum and controversial investigation | Ukraine This Week
Trump's ultimatum to Russia, Ukraine’s largest government reshuffle, and allegations launched against prominent anti-corruption activist that many claim are politically motivated.

Zelensky doesn't see corruption as a problem, prosecuted activist says
In an exclusive interview, Ukrainian anti-corruption activist Vitaliy Shabunin speaks out on what he says is a politically motivated criminal case against him, as well as corruption and the democratic backsliding in Ukraine.
Latvian prime minister on Trump's NATO deal and new Russia sanctions
The Kyiv Independent's Deputy Chief Editor Oleksiy Sorokin spoke with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her visit to Kyiv on July 15, following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of his deal with NATO to arm Ukraine and his threat to impose severe sanctions on Russia if it doesn't reach a peace deal with Ukraine within the next 50 days.

US aid swings and mysterious deaths in Russia | Ukraine This Week
In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur breaks down a recent string of mysterious deaths and arrests among Russia’s elite, as well as and explains the implications Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have for a future conflict between China and Taiwan. Also in this episode: The U.S. resumes some military aid to Ukraine after an abrupt halt by the Defense Department last week.

What Russian bombardment feels like in Kyiv
The Kyiv Independent staff documented what it feels like to live and sleep in Kyiv, Ukraine, as Russia intensifies its drone and missile attacks on the city. Filmed over several weeks in June and July, our journalists take shelter in bathrooms, basements, and parking garages as explosions ring out overhead.
Trump to exit Ukraine peace effort, Bolton says
The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York speaks with former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton about U.S. President Donald Trump’s failure to bring peace to Ukraine — and his next steps on Russia's war.



