The Air Force said the exact circumstances of his death were being established.

A feeling familiar to millions of Ukrainians was suddenly experienced across the Middle East over the weekend — the terror caused by Shahed drones flying overhead and smashing into buildings. Footage flooded social media as Iran launched drones and missiles in retaliatory strikes in response to the U.S.-Israeli bombardment that began on Feb. 28. "Welcome to the club, guys," Vladislav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president's representative on sanctions policy, told the Kyiv Independent when asked wha

"If they give them to us, we will give them interceptors. It is an equal exchange," he said.

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York speaks with Olha Polishchuk, a conflict data analyst who tracks military and civilian deaths in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The package also includes procurement of ammunition and "expansion of cooperation... on long-range drones."

Serhiy Deineko, who headed the State Border Guard from 2019 to Jan. 4, 2026, was charged last month in relation to a 204,000 euro bribery scheme.

He has been rushed to hospital and the gunman fled the scene, according to reports.

Air raid alerts were issued shortly before 9 a.m. Kyiv time, with Ukraine's Air Force warning of Shahed-type drones and missiles in the country's airspace.

U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that his Russian counterpart "kept his word" by not launching mass missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure for a week has been met with bewilderment and dismay in Kyiv. "I believe this is either a mockery of our misfortune, a lack of understanding of the situation, or wishful thinking," Volodymyr Ariev, a lawmaker from the opposition European Solidarity party, told the Kyiv Independent. The confusing saga of a supposed truce on stri

This is Chris York reporting from Kyiv on day 1,441 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story so far: Ukraine's Armed Forces have regained positions in the embattled city of Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState said on Feb. 3. Russia has been trying  to push across the front by launching heavy offensive operations on multiple axes, including in the Kupiansk sector, to recapture the city it lost to a 2022 Ukrainian counteroffensive. Rus

This is Chris York and Yuliia Taradiuk reporting from Kyiv on day 1,437 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Russian shelling hit central Kherson around midday on Jan. 30, killing the driver of a city bus and wounding five other civilians, according to the Kherson Oblast Prosecutor's Office. According to the office, at around 12 p.m. Kyiv time, Russian troops fired  artillery  at the city of Kherson, striking a bus. The State Emergence Services said one of the shells

This is Chris York reporting from Kyiv on day 1,435 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) on Jan. 28 released a video compilation of what it claimed was the destruction of more than $1 billion worth of Russian military aircraft in long-range drone strikes conducted by its "A" Special Operations Center, also known as "Alpha." "The enemy is used to feeling safe in the deep rear. But for the special forces of 'Alpha,' distance has long ce

The Kyiv Independent's Chris York speaks with Adam Entous, an investigative reporter at The New York Times, about his new investigation into the first year of U.S. President Donald Trump administration's peace efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

"Last month, 35,000 were killed; all these losses are verified on video. If we reach 50,000, we will see what happens to the enemy," Fedorov said.

This is Chris York reporting from Kyiv on day 1,427 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Russia used "updated tactics" during its latest overnight aerial assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Jan. 20, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, adding Kyiv would be informing allies including the U.S. about the development. The overnight strike targeted substations serving nuclear power plants, and triggered widespread outages of electricity, water, and heating, in