It was a beautiful wedding ceremony at the St. Michael’s monastery in Kyiv downtown. Lit with dozens of candles, the usually crowded church was almost empty when Sviatoslav Fursin and Yaryna Arieva, both dressed in traditional Ukrainian vyshyvanka embroidered shirts, were pronounced husband and wife. But there were no
Editor's Note: The Kyiv Independent isn't revealing last name of the person interviewed for this story and the name of his native village for safety reasons. Ukrainian farmer Ihor escaped the “living hell” of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine in late March after he had spent a month in
Sixteen-year-old Ukrainian Anna Liutyk will never forget that early morning when she woke up to her mother screaming the most terrifying words she had ever heard. “The war has started,” Liutyk's mother cried out.“ (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putin started a war.” Multiple Ukrainian cities were shelled that same day on
Ukraine has been defending itself from Russia's all-out invasion since Feb. 24. While Ukraine has so far been successful at pushing back Russian forces, Russia's advance into Ukraine continues on multiple fronts as heavy fighting takes place in different cities and regions. There are several options to help the Ukrainian
The National Security and Defense Council proposed a state of emergency on Feb. 23, following the escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine. If approved by parliament, the state of emergency will be declared in all of Ukraine except for Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The two eastern regions already have
One cold day in early February, Ukrainian Maria Giedroyc put her two sons to bed for a daytime nap, just like she usually does. She spent the next two hours packing backpacks for the entire family. But they were not going on vacation. Giedroyc packed those go-bags with essentials so
The report shows that Ukraine has lost $280 billion in output during its ongoing war with Russia.
Our picks of the best art, music, film and more in the capital. All listed venues require one of the following: certificate of vaccination, negative PCR or antigen test, or proof of recovery from Covid-19. * Traveling carnivals with stomach-turning attractions, exceptional psychoanalysis, and blood-curdling violence scenes is only a small
Renowned Ukrainian theater director Eugene Lavrenchuk, 39, who was detained in Italy in December due to a Russian extradition request, was removed from the Interpol wanted list, Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights Ludmila Denisova wrote on Facebook on Jan. 29. Interpol found that his wanted status was "inconsistent"
Ukraine’s gross domestic product was $200 billion in 2021, the highest it's ever been since the country became independent in 1991, Deputy Minister of Economy Denys Kudin said on Jan. 28. The country managed to hit this peak in spite of the setbacks from the Covid-19 pandemic and close
Ukraine has registered 32,393 new cases of Covid-19 on Jan. 27. It is the highest-ever number detected in the country since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Out of them, the largest number of cases have been recorded in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (2,862), Lviv Oblast (2,696), Zhytomyr
Kyiv is seeing a rapid increase in new coronavirus cases, as another Covid-19 wave is gripping Ukraine. The capital detected 1,919 new daily cases on Jan. 25, the highest number since early November. Kyiv also registered the highest number of Covid-19 deaths compared to any region in Ukraine on
Our picks of the best art, music, film and more in the capital. All listed venues require one of the following: certificate of vaccination, negative PCR or antigen test, or proof of recovery from Covid-19. * British action film “The King’s Man,” set as a prequel to the Kingsman franchise,
One early September 16 years ago, U.S. Presbyterian minister Robert Gamble got off the train in Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest port city, where he had chosen to spend his sabbatical. He did not speak any Ukrainian or Russian, and had neither relatives nor friends in the region. His only
Ukrainian electronic duo Artbat will perform at one of the world’s biggest and most influential music festivals, Coachella. The festival announced its lineup on Jan. 12. It shows that the Kyiv-based duo of Artur Kryvenko and Vitaliy Limarenko will perform on Fridays during the dual-weekend event, alongside world-known musicians
Renowned Ukrainian theater director Eugene Lavrenchuk, 39, was detained in Italy on Dec. 17 based on a Russian extradition request. According to Oleh Nikolenko, Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson, a court in Naples chose to keep Lavrenchuk behind bars amid the court's hearing of the extradition request. Lavrenchuk can spend up
Living next to Russia causes headaches worse than migraine, according to the meme posted on Ukraine’s official Twitter account on Dec. 7. The joke was published amid the looming threat of a large-scale Russian military action against Ukraine. The meme lists four different types of headaches caused by migraine,
Thirteen people were killed and seven more were severely injured when a cargo truck slammed into a passenger minibus outside Chernihiv, a regional capital in northern Ukraine. The crash happened on the Н-27 highway near Brusyliv village in Chernihiv Oblast at around 8 a.m. on Dec. 7. The force
Grammy-winning singer Ed Sheeran has visited Kyiv, where he presumably filmed a new music video. Late on Nov. 25, Sheeran posted a photograph on Instagram saying he had spent three nights shooting in Kyiv. The pop star did not specify whether it was a music video he was filming and
Ukrainian director Tanu Muiño’s video “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” made for and co-directed by U.S. rapper Lil Nas X, has been nominated for the 2022 Grammy Awards in the best music video category. It will compete for the prize with entries by AC/DC, Justin Bieber,
Ukrainian crime drama “Rhino,” directed by filmmaker and former political prisoner in Russia Oleg Sentsov, won the best film prize at the Stockholm International Film Festival on Nov. 18. The picture is set in Ukraine’s “wild 1990s,” the time of economic and political crisis fueled by gang wars across
The Oscar-winning U.S. actor and director Sean Penn plans to make a documentary to spotlight the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine, the country’s Joint Forces Operation said on Nov. 18. Penn will team up with Ukrainian producers for the film. The director visited a city in eastern Ukraine
Tanu Muiño’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” made for and co-directed by U.S. rapper Lil Nas X, became the best music video of 2021. It beat entries by Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and Normani. The Ukrainian director won three MTV Video Music Awards
