Team

Daria Shulzhenko
ReporterDaria Shulzhenko is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She has been a lifestyle reporter at the Kyiv Post until November 2021. She graduated from Kyiv International University with a bachelor’s in linguistics, specializing in translation from English and German languages. She has previously worked as a freelance writer and researcher.
Articles

Analysis: Ahead of Trump's 'major' Russia announcement, what will happen next to Ukraine?
by Francis Farrell, Chris York, Kateryna Denisova, Kollen Post, Alisa Yurchenko, Alex Cadier, Yuliia Taradiuk, Asami Terajima, Daria Shulzhenko
Amid ever-escalating aerial assaults, accelerating Russian advances in the east, and the weariness that comes with nearly 3.5 years of war, all eyes in Ukraine are once again focused upon one man — U.S. President Donald Trump.
"I think I'll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday," Trump said in an interview with NBC News on July 10, the latest development in a tortuously long and so far wholly ineffective U.S.-led peace process.
Short of a massive injection of military aid, or crus

'You think the end has come' — as Russian attacks on Ukraine escalate, Kyiv grapples with terrifying new normal
In the early hours of July 10, many Kyiv residents were jolted awake by the thundering sound of ballistic missiles shaking their buildings.
Others were already lying awake in beds, bathtubs, and underground shelters across the city, as residents endure a new normal of intensified Russian strikes on the capital.
"You lie down, look into the abyss of night, and hear the loudest attack," Hryhorii Matsebok, a 47-year-old artist, told the Kyiv Independent. "And you think the end has already come."

'Ukraine is biggest landmine challenge since World War II,' says head of world’s largest demining organization
Russia's full-scale invasion may have turned Ukraine into the world's largest minefield.
As of March 2025, Ukraine’s mine-affected land spans an estimated 139,000 square kilometers — or 23% of its territory — covering more ground than all of Greece and posing an immense threat to civilian life and recovery efforts.
Clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance is essential to preventing civilian casualties and enabling the safe use of land and infrastructure, fostering the country's recovery and

Operation Spiderweb and Russia’s record drone assault – Ukraine in photos, June 2025
For Ukraine, June began with a celebration — not the one the whole country longs for, victory over Moscow — but a celebration of one of the most stunning drone attacks on Russia, known as Operation Spiderweb.
On June 1, Ukrainian drones targeted four Russian air bases – two of them thousands of miles inside the country – hitting the heavy bombers stationed there. According to estimates from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), the drone strike disabled 34% of Russia’s cruise missile bombers, causi

Explained: How Ukraine negotiates prisoner of war swaps with Russia
Even after Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Russia in 2022, prisoner exchanges have continued as one of the few remaining channels of communication between the two countries.
Negotiated behind closed doors and carried out irregularly, POW swaps — and the decisions surrounding them — have long been shrouded in secrecy. Controversies have repeatedly erupted in Ukraine over whether Kyiv is doing enough to bring back its people and which POWs it prioritizes.
Since the start of the full-scale invas

'It was impossible to look at' — Russian mass missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills at least 9, injures 33
Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and surrounding region overnight on June 23.

‘Beyond cynical’ – Russian doctor carved ‘Glory to Russia’ scar on POW during operation, Ukraine says
After more than three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion, each new revelation of cruel treatment of Ukrainians in Russian captivity hardly surprises anyone.
But when a photo recently emerged online, showing a “Glory to Russia” scar on the body of a Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW), it sent shockwaves across the world.
The words, written in Russian, were branded into the right side of the body alongside the letter "Z," a symbol of the full-scale invasion that many Ukrainians and critics of th

France to produce drones in Ukraine, minister says
"We are going to embark on a completely unprecedented partnership where a large French car company – I won't name it because it's up to them to announce it – will join forces with a French defense SME (small to medium-sized enterprise) to equip production lines in Ukraine to be able to produce drones," French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.

Ukraine refutes Russia’s claims of disrupting POW exchange
"If the Russian side is now backing away from what was promised in Istanbul, it raises serious questions about the reliability and capability of their negotiating team," Ukraine's Defense Ministry said on June 7.

Canada pledges $25.5 million in military aid for Ukraine, including armored vehicles
The country pledged to provide Ukraine with almost $22 million worth of Coyote and Bison armored vehicles, as well as new equipment and ammunition supplied by Canadian companies.

Six people likely trapped under rubble in Kharkiv after Russian attack
Russian forces attacked Kharkiv with drones, missiles, and KAB guided bombs overnight on June 7, killing at least three people and injuring 22, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

'Putin is a murderer' — Zelensky rejects Trump's claim that Russia, Ukraine are like 'kids'
"We are not kids with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin at the playground in the park," Zelensky said, as quoted by the TV network. "He is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids."

Ukraine used only domestic drones in Operation Spiderweb, Zelensky says
"I wanted very much to use only what we produce and to have the separation (be) very clear," Zelensky said, as quoted by the TV network.

Ukraine downs fighter jet in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Air Force says
Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024. Reinforced by North Korean troops, Russia launched a push to recapture the region in early March, with Ukraine being forced to pull back from much of the initially taken territory.

Russia hits Ukraine with 206 drones, 9 missiles overnight, Air Force says
Ukraine also downed 87 Russian combat drones, while 80 drones were neutralized by electronic warfare systems or disappeared from radars, the Air Force said.
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