Washington and Kyiv will invest $75 million each to kickstart the Ukraine reconstruction investment fund that gives the U.S. special access to mineral sites and other projects in Ukraine, the Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev told journalists on Sept. 17.

The deal gives the U.S. special access to investment projects in Ukraine, spanning natural resources, related infrastructure, and even defense projects.

The new guidelines, which are still being ironed out, will include general recommendations such as harsher criteria for Russians coming to the EU.

Russia launched a tirade of attacks killing three people in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, and killing one in Borova, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian authorities reported on Sept. 13.

“NATO’s commitment to win has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian oil, by some, has been shocking,” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.

It is the third time Russian forces have used pipelines as a tactic, which they first adopted during the Battle of Avdiivka. Back in March, around 100 troops passed through a gas pipeline to reach Ukrainian positions in Sudzha, in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

"Eastern Sentry is not just a new initiative – it is a clear signal: NATO’s borders are inviolable, and the security of our citizens remains a priority," Poland's General Staff wrote on X.

Ukrainian air defense downed 137 drones in the north, south, east, and center of Ukraine, according to the Air Force.

The top European diplomat described Russia’s three-step negotiation tactic: demanding what it never had, followed by ultimatums and threats, finished off by the West ready to concede to Moscow’s demands.

The number includes 950 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Ukraine is striking oil refineries deep inside Russia — but it’s not really the oil they’re after. The Kyiv Independent’s Dominic Culverwell explains how Ukraine’s drone campaign targets the high-tech equipment Russia cannot easily replace under sanctions.

European countries are scrambling for Ukrainian anti-drone systems following the unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by Russian kamikaze drones on Sept. 10, officials and manufacturers have told the Kyiv Independent. "We were already previously discussing with the Ukrainian side investments in interceptor drones, but now we are even more interested in them," a European military diplomat told the Kyiv Independent, on condition of anonymity. "We need to be prepared for war, so it is high

Ukraine’s biggest private energy firm, DTEK, has launched a major battery storage facility that will bring power to hundreds of thousands of homes and strengthen the grid ahead of expected Russian attacks this winter, the company said. DTEK partnered with American energy firm Fluence Energy Inc. — which provided 698 Gridstack batteries to the project — to build and connect six new battery storage systems to the grid in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. The facility is now the largest in Eastern

Europe's "Coalition of the Willing" summit on Sept. 4 struggled to gain Washington's support for its proposed plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine, and doubts remain over whether or not it can be implemented, European and Ukrainian officials have told the Kyiv Independent. After the Paris summit, French President Emmanuel Macron said that 26 countries are ready to send troops or contribute other support as part of guarantees, but only after a ceasefire. Macron also said that if Russia failed to

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include clarifications about the Dobra lithium mine auction and military assistance as a contribution to the fund. Ukraine and the U.S. held the first board meeting of an investment fund tied to a resources deal that has been a centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s administration’s talks with Kyiv in his second term. The meeting on Sept. 3 launches the operations for the fund, designed to sustain American interest in Ukraine and help its war-to