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Friday, January 23, 2026
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Team

Francis Farrell photo

Francis Farrell

Reporter

Francis Farrell is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He is the co-author of War Notes, the Kyiv Independent's weekly newsletter about the war. For the second year in a row, the Kyiv Independent received a grant from the Charles Douglas-Home Memorial Trust to support his front-line reporting for the year 2025-2026. Francis won the Prix Bayeux Calvados-Normandy for war correspondents in the young reporter category in 2023, and was nominated for the European Press Prize in 2024. Francis speaks Ukrainian and Hungarian and is an alumnus of Leiden University in The Hague and University College London. He has previously worked as a managing editor at the online media project Lossi 36, as a freelance journalist and documentary photographer, and at the OSCE and Council of Europe field missions in Albania and Ukraine.

f.farrell@kyivindependent.com

Articles

War

Analysis: Why effective use of manpower will define who is winning the war in Ukraine in 2026

by Francis Farrell
In a dimly-lit wooden bunker, a tall, formidably-built Ukrainian officer is filmed from behind, wishing his men good fortune one by one with firm handshakes before a mission. The soldiers in question — a few dozen mobilized Ukrainian men mostly in their forties, each dressed in issued pixel fatigues and with a basic rifle by their sides — respond mostly without enthusiasm, looking forward with blank stares as they accept their commander's greetings. With context, this seemingly innocuous bit o
Video

Inside the Battle of the Dnipro River

by Olena Zashko, Francis Farrell
Along the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, the front line has remained largely static, but fighting continues every day. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko embedded with Ukraine’s forces in Kherson Oblast, following FPV drone and night bomber teams tasked with defending river islands.
Video

Between life and death under Russian drones in Kherson

by Olena Zashko, Francis Farrell
Liberated in 2022, Kherson is still under daily attack from Russian forces across the Dnipro River. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko report from a city living under anti-drone nets and constant surveillance, showing how everyday life, from hospitals and schools to aid deliveries and cultural events, continues under threat, and why residents refuse to leave.
War

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian forces say they counterattacked near Lyman — and wiped out a Russian regiment

by Francis Farrell, Jared Goyette
This is Jared Goyette, blogging from Kyiv on the 1,392nd day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Our top stories so far today: * SBU says drones hit Russian equipment worth hundreds of millions at Belbek airfield in occupied Crimea * Zelensky arrives in Brussels to attend crucial EU summit, while a Ukrainian delegation prepares to make another visit to the U.S. * Germany backs Ukraine with $1.4 billion in defense agreements Latest from the War Desk: Russian drone hits civilian c

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