Team
Dominic Culverwell
Business ReporterDominic is the business reporter for the Kyiv Independent, reporting on Ukrainian companies, investment, energy, corruption, and reforms. Based in Kyiv, Dominic joined the Kyiv Independent team in 2023, having previously worked as a freelancer. He has written articles for a number of publications, including the Financial Times, bne IntelliNews, Radio Free Europe/Liberty, Euronews and New Eastern Europe. Previously, Dominic worked with StopFake as a disinformation expert, debunking Russian fake news in Europe.
Articles
Chornobyl protective shield 'lost its primary safety functions' after Russian drone strike, UN nuclear agency warns
Russia’s drone strike caused a fire that burned the outer cladding of the shelter.
Zelensky to visit London amid push for peace
Zelensky will also meet with the leaders of France and Germany in the British capital on Monday.
'Happy Ukrainian Armed Forces Day' — hackers deface website of Russian company delivering military goods, HUR source claims
The cyberattack took down over 700 computers and servers and deleted accounts of more than 1,000 Eltrans+ users, HUR claimed.
G7, EU mull ban on Russian oil maritime services, but experts sceptical
If the ban goes through, Russia would likely have to expand its shadow fleet to transport crude oil instead.
'Quite severe' damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure after massive Russian drone, missile strike
Three people have been injured in a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv Oblast overnight on Dec. 6, local officials reported.
Ukraine merges military procurement agencies, defying previous NATO advice
Ukraine’s lethal and non-lethal military equipment procurement agencies will merge into one under the Defense Ministry from Jan. 1, going against NATO’s recommendations last year and raising eyebrows among anti-corruption activists.
Youth exodus — Ukraine's young people are increasingly quitting their jobs to go abroad
Young people are quitting their jobs en masse following Kyiv’s decision to allow men aged 18-22 to leave Ukraine, according to a new survey from Robota.ua, a Ukrainian recruitment platform.
Ukraine had banned men aged 18-60 from leaving the country at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, unless they had an exemption, like fathers with three or more children, and disabled men and their carers.
That changed in August 2025 when the government partially lifted the ban for 18-22-year-
Popular Kyiv mall to reopen amid legal tug of war
One of Kyiv’s biggest shopping malls will slowly reopen this month after a dramatic lockdown shut out hundreds of businesses amid a dispute over the building’s management.
The Gulliver shopping and entertainment complex will open up in stages from Dec. 12, starting with the bottom two floors, the mall’s owner, state-owned Oschadbank, said in a statement.
The lockdown on Oct. 31, just before the holiday season, shocked Kyiv residents who frequent its 250 stores and rely on its large supermarket
Zelensky's chief of staff Yermak resigns amid Ukraine's biggest corruption scandal
Andriy Yermak, head of the President's Office, submitted his resignation following searches by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) at his premises earlier on Nov. 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
European officials welcome Ukraine’s anti-corruption searches of Zelensky's top aide
As law enforcement raids the house of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s closest aide, European officials are voicing support for Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies — with one even expressing relief that a figure seen a toxic among some in Europe is being investigated.
'Expect charges very soon' — Investigators search Zelensky's closest ally in Ukraine's biggest corruption case
Editor's note: Andriy Yermak later submitted his resignation, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said on Nov. 28 that it was conducting searches at the premises of President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak.
Yermak is being investigated by the NABU in a corruption case involving state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom, the biggest corruption investigation during Zelensky's presidency. Eight suspects have been charged in the Energ
Ukraine ex-energy chief saga drags on as political pressure stalls case, critics say
A Kyiv court delayed the appeal of the former head of Ukraine's state-owned national power company until mid-December, a step that seems aimed at dragging out what is widely considered a politically motivated case.
Splitting Europe's largest nuclear plant between Russia, Ukraine in peace deal won't work, experts say
Restarting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant under both Russian and Ukrainian control as part of any peace deal would be practically impossible in the plant’s current condition, several experts told the Kyiv Independent.
Under a 28-point peace proposal put forth by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and leaked to the public last week, the plant would generate electricity equally for both countries with supervision from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
It is un
How $100 million nuclear scandal derailed Zelensky
Ukraine is facing its biggest wartime corruption scandal. The Kyiv Independent’s Dominic Culverwell explains how Energoatom — Ukraine's nuclear energy operator — became a breeding ground for corruption during the war, how a $100 million kickback scheme in the nuclear energy sector reached the highest levels of power, and what this crisis means for President Volodymyr Zelensky and the country.
Built during war, shattered overnight — Kyiv distribution center hit hard by Russian strike
The facility, Ukraine's first green distribution center with freon and ammonia-free refrigeration, opened in 2024.