Germany confirmed on Jan. 25 that it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine after months of delay, and allow other countries, such as Poland, to send their own stocks. The long-awaited tanks will be delivered from the stocks of Bundeswehr armed forces, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Bloomberg in
Key developments on Jan. 24: * Kyiv warns Belarus against directly getting involved in Russia's war * ABC News: 12 countries ready to give about 100 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if Germany approves * CNN: West encourages Ukraine to shift focus from destroyed Bakhmut to counteroffensive in south * Finnish President visits Kyiv,
Key developments on Jan. 23: * Ukraine's intelligence: Russia to intensify Donbas offensive in February-March * Poland says it will seek Germany's approval to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, but ready to do so regardless of Berlin's will * Germany says it hasn't received Poland's request to send Leopards yet * Estonia, Latvia tell
Key developments on Jan. 22: * Russian-controlled militants claim successful advance toward 2 towns in Zaporizhzhia Oblast * Ukraine's General Staff: All Russian advances repelled * Ukraine's military creates new units to equip with Western military hardware * Polish PM: Ukraine, Europe to win the war 'with Germany or without' Chairman of the House
Key developments on Jan. 20: * Germany: No decision yet on Leopard tanks for Ukraine * Germany announces 1 billion euro spring military aid package for Ukraine * US: Ukraine would have opportunity for counteroffensive in spring * Der Spiegel: German intelligence concerned about Ukraine’s casualties near Bakhmut * Washington to designate Wagner Group
Fighting off pressure from allies, Berlin made no decision to provide the long-anticipated Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. "I'm very sure there will be a decision in the short term, but I don't know how the decision will look," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters at the U.S.
Key developments on Jan. 19: * Zelensky pressures allies to send heavy tanks to Ukraine ahead of Ramstein * Poland says it could supply German-made Leopard tanks regardless of Berlin's approval * European Council President Charles Michel visits Kyiv, meets Zelensky * European Parliament seeks to create special tribunal court to prosecute for Russian
DNIPRO – Rushing to the hospital shortly after a Russian missile hit an apartment building in Dnipro on Jan. 14, Mykyta Pavlovskyi prayed that his mother's injury wasn't fatal. "We drove to the hospital hoping that everything will be alright with my mom," the 23-year-old graduate student told the Kyiv Independent.
Key developments on Jan. 18: * Emergency service: At least 14 killed, including Interior Minister, in helicopter crash near Kyiv * PM: Special task force to oversee investigation into helicopter crash that killed minister, child * Putin claims he has 'no doubt' that Russia will win war against Ukraine A helicopter carrying state
DNIPRO – Standing outside a hospital morgue in Dnipro, Yevhen Frantsev, 61, waited for his son to confirm that his missing daughter and grandchildren were killed by Russia. Frantsev's daughter Oksana, 39, was at home with her two daughters – Mykhailyna and Leila, aged three and 13 – when a Russian missile slammed
Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Independent does not publish the last names of all interviewees to protect their identity. DNIPRO – With dark purple bruises around her eyes, 81-year-old Lidiia packed whatever she could fit into a plastic shopping bag and left home in a hurry on Jan. 15. A day
Russia launched a missile strike targeting Kyiv early on Jan. 14, the third attack on the capital in 2023. Authorities say the Russian attack damaged "infrastructure" in the capital and a residential building in Kyiv Oblast. Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported that Russia was targeting Ukraine's
Key developments on Jan. 11: * Zelensky denies Russia captured Soledar, says fighting ‘ongoing’ and front line ‘holding * ’Moscow says Soledar blocked from north and south; Wagner Group founder boasts capturing the town * Poland to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine; Lithuania vows to send more air defense systems * Russia’s Defense
Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko claimed that the fight was unfolding in the western and northern parts of the town, including inside the salt mine. No evacuation or humanitarian aid convoys have been allowed to enter Soledar since Jan. 6 for safety reasons, Kyrylenko said. Some 550 civilians currently remain in Soledar without heating in subzero weather, according to him.
Key developments on Jan. 10: * Russia digs in on Soledar, Donetsk Oblast * German Foreign Minister visits Kharkiv's worst-hit residential district * Kuleba confident Germany will supply Ukraine with Leopard tanks * Canada vows to buy NASAMS air defense system for Ukraine Russian militants in eastern Ukraine said late on Jan. 10 that
The small salt-mining town of Soledar is on the verge of being occupied by Russian troops after months of heavy fighting. Occupying the "practically destroyed" town would constitute the Kremlin's largest success since July, potentially endangering Ukraine's positions in neighboring Bakhmut. It will, however, have little impact on the war's
Key developments on Jan. 8: * Ukraine’s Defense Ministry: Situation ‘very difficult’ in Ukrainian-controlled Soledar, Donetsk Oblast * Ukraine, Russia swap 50 troops each in first prisoner exchange of 2023 * UK Defense Ministry: Russia strengthening defense ahead of potential Ukrainian breakthrough in Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk oblasts * Ukrainain military spokesman claims neither side
Kyiv – Hundreds of kilometers from battles raging in the country's east and south, Ukrainians in Kyiv celebrate Christmas twice to cherish precious moments with their loved ones. While Christmas is widely celebrated across the world on Dec. 25, Orthodox worshippers traditionally mark the festival on Jan. 7 instead. In Ukraine,
Key developments on Jan. 4: * Ukraine says it anticipates ‘hottest’ fighting and ‘major push’ in spring, further strikes ‘deeper’ inside Russia * France vows to transfer first Western-designed tanks to Ukraine * Ukraine’s intelligence: Partisan activity has intensified in Russia to interrupt military logistics since September * General Staff: 80 Russian soldiers
Key developments on Jan. 3: * Ukraine’s intelligence: Russia to likely ‘continue offensive operations this year’ * Air Force: Ukraine has shot down nearly 500 drones launched by Russia * Russia conducts more attacks on civilian areas in Donetsk Oblast * Kuleba urges international sporting events to ban Russian athletes from competing after
Despite Russian air assaults, Olha Kardash, 38, was determined to celebrate New Year's Eve. Spending the day together was always an important tradition for the Kardash family, whose hometown in Luhansk Oblast has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Now, Kardash had to cherish every moment with her younger brother
Key developments on Jan. 1: * Ukraine says it shot down 45 drones on Dec. 31-Jan. 1 * Russian shelling damages regional children's hospital in Kherson; 1 killed, 1 wounded * Ukraine's military: Russian troops need 'operational pause' in Bakhmut, Soledar fronts Russia attacked Ukraine on New Year's Eve with missiles, followed by
As Ukrainians were about to gather to celebrate New Year, hoping for a better year ahead, Russia went the extra mile to deprive people of even the slightest holiday mood. A few kilometers from central Kyiv, multiple ambulances stood waiting. In one ambulance, the crew was trying to calm down
Russia launched a fresh barrage of missiles across Ukraine on Dec. 31, killing at least one person and wounding at least 28, on New Year’s Eve. Multiple regions were targeted during the coordinated strike as Russian missiles slammed into civilian areas in the center, south, east, and west of
Key developments on Dec. 29 * Zaluzhnyi: Russia launches 69 missiles on Ukraine, 54 downed by Air Force * Russia's attacks kill at least 2, wound 7 on Dec. 29 * Belarus claims it shot down 'Ukrainian S-300 missile,' Ukraine calls it Russia's 'deliberate provocation' * Kuleba: There can be no neutrality toward
Editor's Note: This article initially said that 120 Russian missiles were launched at Ukraine on Dec. 29, citing Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the President's Office. The article was updated after Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the chief commander of Ukraine's Armed Forces, published different numbers. According to Zaluzhnyi, 69 Russian cruise missiles
Key developments on Dec. 28: * Kremlin: Peace possible only if Ukraine agrees to Russia's annexation of its regions * Zelensky: Ukraine moving toward victory generations dreamt of * French Defense Minister meets Reznikov in Kyiv, pledges further military support * UK Defense Ministry: Russia strengthens defense near Kreminna, Luhansk Oblast The Kremlin claimed
Key developments on Dec. 27: * Putin, Lukashenko claim to have agreed on ‘many issues’ at regional summit * Ukraine’s State Border Service: Russia has not formed strike force at Ukraine-Belarus border yet * Ukraine’s Defense Ministry: Bakhmut ‘courageously’ standing amid Russia’s non-stop onslaught * Shmyhal: There will be no emergency
CHORNOBAIVKA, Kherson Oblast – Hours before the Ukrainian forces arrived to liberate this village outside Kherson on Nov. 11, a breathless local man sprinted into its one small hospital. The morning’s shelling had hit his neighbor — the local saw him screaming, covered in blood. With no mobile service or any
As Christmas Day approached, the team of one popular restaurant in the heart of Kyiv was running against the clock to bake a large batch of Christmas cakes. The cakes weren’t for sale, though. Restaurateur Tetiana Mytrofanova and her team are on a mission to bake hundreds of Christmas
Key developments on Dec. 25: * Governor: At least 16 killed, 64 wounded due to Russian shelling on Christmas eve in Kherson Oblast * Putin claims readiness for negotiations, blames West for refusing to talk. * World leaders deliver Christmas message to Ukraine * General Staff: Russia shells more than 20 settlements in Bakhmut,
Foreign leaders have voiced their support for Ukraine in their Christmas messages as the Ukrainians are facing their most difficult winter holidays in the country's independent history. Despite the holiday season, Ukrainian soldiers are putting their lives at risk to defend cities from deadly Russian assaults, with the fiercest battle
