Ukraine was “a blind spot” for Germans up until Moscow’s full-scale invasion, Franziska Davies, a historian of Eastern and Eastern Central Europe, told the Kyiv Independent in an interview. “And if there is a blind spot, propaganda narratives can easily fill it with falsehoods,” Davies said, explaining why Russia-planted
“There was a summer kitchen, a single bedroom, and a little hallway… and behind the wall lived the pigs and goats,” said Maryna Baliasnykova, an internally displaced Ukrainian. She described the accommodation her family was given by local authorities in western Ukraine after evacuation. Baliasnykova, her husband, and their two
Editor’s note: This story was sponsored by Common Sense Communications, a Ukrainian non-profit organization specializing in pro-democracy strategic communications. One of their ongoing projects is “Voices of Civilian Hostages,” which aims to attract the world’s attention to the issue of Russia’s illegal abduction of Ukrainian civilians. Yaroslav
Ambassadors of Germany, Austria, and the U.S. condemned Russia's mass morning attack against Ukraine on July 8 that killed nearly 30 people and wounded around 90 on the eve of the NATO Summit in Washington.
A bus collided with a truck in Rivne Oblast, killing 14 people, including a 6-year-old child, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on July 6.
Russia has lost up to 5,000 service members in the fighting over one district of the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia group of forces, said on July 6.
Russian forces hit mock-ups of warplanes and Patriot air defense launchers during recent missile attacks that Russian sources claimed had destroyed a Mig-29 aircraft and two Patriot batteries, Ukraine's Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on July 6.
The Ukrainian government is working on a new maritime strategy that will be soon approved by the National Security and Defense Council, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 6.
The exercises aim to "exchange experience, coordinate Belarusian and Chinese units, and create a foundation for the further development of Belarusian-Chinese relations in the field of joint training of troops," according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry.
Despite public pressure and condemnation from as high up as President Volodymyr Zelensky, the investigations have yet to lead to any tangible results.
Ukrainian journalists and media watchdogs are continuing to voice concerns over declining press freedoms as their country’s army fights on more than two years into Russia’s full-scale invasion to protect the future of the democracy. Months after attacks on investigative journalists provoked a public outcry and condemnation, media
"It (the agreement) will for the first time establish the commitment of all 27 member states to provide Ukraine with broad support despite any internal institutional changes," Zelensky said via his Telegram channel.
Russian forces launched a missile attack against Kyiv Oblast in the early morning of June 23, wounding two people as well as damaging dozens of houses and several civilian infrastructure facilities, the regional authorities reported.
Ukraine’s military struck a command post of a Russian motorized rifle regiment in Nekhoteyevka in the Belgorod region, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported early on June 23.
Austria allocated an additional 10 million euros ($10.7 million) to humanitarian organizations helping Ukrainians in Ukraine and Moldova, the country's government announced on June 15.
Canada will provide Ukraine with 52.4 million Canadian dollars ($38.1 million) in various aid, the Canadian government announced on June 16 amid the global peace summit in Switzerland.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric pledged to continue supporting "the process of achieving peace (in Ukraine) and preventing other conflicts" and called for Kyiv-Moscow negotiations in his remarks on June 16 following the global peace summit in Switzerland.
The countries notably absent from the list of signatories include India, Armenia, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Indonesia, Bahrain, Colombia, South Africa, Thailand, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.
Russian forces struck the village of Nova Poltavka near Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast, wounding seven people, including two children, the regional prosecutor’s office reported on June 16.
The police and sappers were called to remove the device, according to the ministry.
The death toll of Russia’s May 25 strike on a building materials hypermarket in Kharkiv has risen to 16, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on the afternoon of May 26. Over 40 people are confirmed to have been wounded, and over a dozen more are considered missing, the National Police reported earlier the same day.
"Russia is preparing for offensive actions also 90 kilometers northwest from here – they gather another group of troops near our border... The one who does all this doesn't want peace," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address to the world leaders recorded in Kharkiv on May 26.
Russia’s recent attacks against Ukraine’s Kherson, Donetsk, and Kharkiv oblasts killed one person and wounded another 19, regional authorities reported early on May 26.
After the new law on mobilization came into force in Ukraine on May 18, military-aged men were given 60 days to update their personal data so that the state knew how to find them. One unusual way to do it is through the new online application Rezerv+ (Reserve+), which the
President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Ukraine's partners "are afraid of Russia losing the war" and would like Kyiv "to win in such a way that Russia does not lose," Zelensky said in a meeting with journalists attended by the Kyiv Independent.
Georgia's pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili said on May 18 that she vetoed the controversial "foreign agents" bill previously passed by the parliament despite large-scale protests.
Russian attacks against the villages of Tiahynka and Stanislav in Kherson Oblast killed two people and wounded another one, regional authorities reported on May 18.
Poland plans to invest 10 billion zlotys ($2.55 billion) in strengthening its borders with Russia and Belarus to deter potential aggression, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on May 18, according to Bloomberg.
Two people were killed and two more were injured when a car with civilians trying to evacuate from Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast came under Russian fire, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported on May 18.
Russian forces struck a residential area in the city of Kharkiv on the afternoon of May 18, injuring at least five people, including two children, local officials reported.
Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation reported on May 18 that it had charged Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), and another 20 top officials of Russian special services with curating and aiding the illegal obstruction of protests during Ukraine's EuroMaidan Revolution.
One critical factor in Russia's recent battlefield successes in Ukraine is its extensive use of glide bombs. Every week, hundreds of these large, deadly weapons rain down on Ukraine, creating 20-meter-wide craters and obliterating military positions and entire settlements. Russia has heavily relied on glide bombs in its new offensive
The Kyiv Independent doesn’t depend on a wealthy owner or an oligarch — in 2023, 80% of our revenue was from reader contributions. It’s thanks to them that we don’t have to rely on a single owner.
Support us now and help maintain our independent model and keep our articles free for everyone. Your contributions allow us to cover journalists’ salaries, report from the front lines, and fund projects like our War Crimes Investigations Unit.
