Team

Anastasiia Malenko
ReporterAnastasiia Malenko is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, Anastasiia covered Russia’s war against Ukraine at The Wall Street Journal. She has also written for USAFacts and the Ukrainian media outlet Studway. Anastasiia graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science and economics.
Articles

Von der Leyen: EU to find 'operational solution' for Ukraine funding by next Council meeting
As Hungary opposed the EU's multi-annual financial framework that included 50 billion ($55 billion) for Ukraine, the European Commission will ensure an "operational solution" by the next meeting early next year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a press briefing on Dec. 15.

BREAKING: European Council agrees to open accession talks with Ukraine, Moldova
The European Council has agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, European Council President Charles Michel announced on Dec. 14.

EU determined to persuade Hungary to support Ukraine aid, accession talks
The 26 European Union member states are determined to overcome Hungary's objections and move forward with several key priorities for Ukraine in one of the most "complex, complicated, and difficult European Councils."
Ukraine’s fight to heal millions of children scarred by Russia’s war
Editor’s note: The children’s full names are not revealed in this story to protect their identity. The location of the camp they attend is also not revealed for security reasons.
Western Ukraine — At the Gen.Camp tucked away in western Ukraine, children spend much of their day throwing frisbees across the playground, waiting for turns on the swing, and dancing to American pop music.
Their daily rhythm is punctuated by therapy. Every camper here has lost a parent in Russia’s war.
The children

Historian Serhii Plokhy: ‘The better we prepare for the long war, the sooner it will end’
As a Harvard historian, Serhii Plokhy comfortably analyzes timelines that span centuries. But in his work on the war in Ukraine, keeping up with monthly developments has been a challenge.
After finishing his latest book “The Russo-Ukrainian War” early this year, Plokhy wrote a new afterword at the end of August about the failure of Russia’s offensives and internal divisions illuminated by Wagner boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s abortive mutiny in June.
Since summer, however, his outlook has grown mor

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 33 – Ukraine makes “substantial progress” in its EU bid
Episode #33 is dedicated to Ukraine’s recent successes in its decade-long journey towards the European Union.

Ukraine moves one step closer to joining EU. What’s next?
The European Commission’s historic decision on Nov. 8 recommending formal talks on Ukraine’s EU membership may be a milestone, but political hurdles, reforms, and years of negotiations still await before the country can finally join.
After applying for EU membership on Feb. 28, 2022, just four days after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine received candidate status in June of that year.
Since then, the country has embarked on a reform path in hopes of opening negotiations to
Clooney Foundation for Justice brings alleged Russian crimes to German prosecutors
Over the past week, the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), a non-governmental organization founded by Amal and George Clooney, filed three cases with German federal prosecutors to investigate crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Submitted on Oct. 26, the cases rely on absolute universal jurisdiction in Germany, which allows the country to open investigations for international crimes – including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity – committed outside its borders.
The

Media: Oil reservoir fire kills 1, injures 2 in Russia
An oil reservoir fire killed one person and injured two more in the Usinsk district of Russia’s Komi Republic on Oct. 29, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Air Force: Russia launches drone attack on Ukraine
Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine on Oct. 29, according to updates from Ukraine’s Air Force on Telegram.

Source: Ukraine's SBU behind drone strike on Russian oil refinery
The Oct. 29 drone attack on the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodarsk Krai was organized by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing a law enforcement source.

Antisemitic protesters storm airport in Russia's Dagestan, looking for Jews
Antisemitic protesters on Oct. 29 stormed Makhachkala Airport in the Russian republic of Dagestan in an effort to find Jews on a plane that had arrived from Tel Aviv. The rioters shouted antisemitic slogans as they protested against Israel amid its ongoing military conflict with the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

Russian parliament speaker threatens to confiscate European assets in Russia
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian parliament's lower house, on Oct. 29 called for confiscating European assets in response to an EU proposal to use Russian assets for rebuilding Ukraine.

'We can't allow Putin to prevail,' says Speaker Johnson after being elected, but his track record says opposite
Representative Mike Johnson, elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 25, has been deemed bad news for Ukraine.
Johnson regularly voted against aid for Ukraine and was backed by the Ukraine-skeptic hard-right in his bid for speakership after the weeks-long scramble to replace the ousted Representative Kevin McCarthy.
The previously low-profile representative has suddenly found himself to be a key decision-maker in Congress, deciding which bills are introduced to the floor o

Southern Command: Russian forces launch drone attacks over Mykolaiv, Odesa oblasts
Russian forces have launched an air strike over Mykolaiv and Odesa oblasts using Shahed-136/131 drones, Ukraine’s Southern Command reported in the early hours of June 10.
Editors' Picks

‘Neither side wasted time' — Ukraine's economy minister on minerals deal negotiations with Trump’s ‘business-oriented’ administration

Russia increasingly targets Ukraine's cities with cluster munitions, raising civilian toll

As US aid to Ukraine dries up, new platform connects American investors with Ukrainian startups
