Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. POKROVSK DISTRICT, Donetsk Oblast – Marked by wide plumes of gray smoke on the horizon, the open fields stretching out southeast of the city of
At an undisclosed detention facility, the Kyiv Independent interviewed one contract soldier captured in Kursk Oblast. To convey a better idea of what the thoughts and motivations of the average Russian soldier are in 2024, we are publishing this interview in full.
As the world watched Ukraine’s stunning cross-border offensive into Kursk Oblast, celebrating an unexpected blow to Moscow, Russian forces advanced with alarming speed in Ukraine’s east. One month later, new front lines in the Russian border region formed in the wake of the Kursk incursion have begun to
Halfway down a narrow corridor painted all in gray, the guard wrestles with a bulky lock to gain entry to the prison cell. Inside are around twenty young men, sitting on a criss-crossing pattern of metal bunk beds. In the corner of the room, plastic cups and books are stacked
The Kyiv Independent got exclusive access to the POWs captured during the Kursk operation and interviewed them about their motivations and experience of fighting for Russia.
Russian troops were advancing faster in the Pokrovsk sector before the Kursk operation started, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference on Aug. 27 in response to a question by the Kyiv Independent.
The Kyiv Independent traveled into Russia’s Kursk Oblast with Ukrainian soldiers during the ongoing Ukrainian cross-border offensive in the area.
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell spoke with Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow for airpower and technology at RUSI, about the evolving dynamics of airspace in Russia's war against Ukraine.
Editor’s note: The transcript of this interview has been edited for clarity. As it entered its second week, Ukraine’s cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk Oblast is showing no signs of slowing down. Although the element of surprise that overwhelmed the thin Russian defending force in the first
Just over a week ago, Ukraine launched a surprise counteroffensive across the border into Russia's Kursk Oblast. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell discusses what might come next for Ukraine with retired Australian Major General Mick Ryan.
The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell explains what we know about Ukraine's operation so far and what this might mean for the future of the war.
In any and every corner of Ukraine, one would be very hard-pressed to find an ordinary person, civilian or military, who doesn’t want this cruel and brutal war to end. Ukrainians want nothing more than to be able to live without fear of night-time missile attacks, to see their
Russian sovereign territory is once again under attack after Ukrainian forces launched an ambitious operation across the state border in Kursk Oblast in large numbers on Aug. 6. This time, the attack is led not primarily by small units of pro-Ukraine Russian nationals and other assorted foreign formations, like in
The Kyiv Independent's war reporter Francis Farrell sat down to answer questions from our viewers about Russia's war in Ukraine and his experience of covering it.
Watch our exclusive report from Ukrainian infantry positions near Toretsk as Russia continues its push in Donetsk Oblast.
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. DONETSK OBLAST – There was already little resembling a road in front of the driver by the time the old pickup truck’s headlights were
The Kyiv Independent visited a tank company of Ukraine's 110th Mechanized Brigade serving in one of the most intense parts of the eastern front line.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, neighboring Slovakia, with its own experience of decades of Russian occupation in the 20th century, became one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine. Under the guidance of then-Defense Minister Jaroslav
In the first half of May, Russia opened a new front to its war against Ukraine in dramatic fashion. The two-pronged offensive on Kharkiv Oblast unfolded on the back of some of the most difficult months for Ukrainian forces, overstretched and depleted after a brutal winter and early spring campaign
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. KHARKIV OBLAST – In battles fought under a sky swarming with enemy drones, even the most minimal movement, even the quickest dash from one house
Editor's note: This article features graphic photos. Russian forces destroyed one of Ukraine's largest printing presses amid a mass missile attack on the city of Kharkiv on the morning of May 23. According to regional authorities, Russia used S-300 missiles, fired from inside Russian territory, to strike the factory belonging
Russian forces launched attacks against Kharkiv Oblast on May 23, killing at least seven people in Kharkiv and injuring at least 20, as well as at least 11 elsewhere in the oblast, as reported by local officials and a Kyiv Independent reporter.
The Kyiv Independent follows one couple who escaped from embattled Vovchansk after losing their house and former life.
VOVCHANSK, KHARKIV OBLAST – The glide bombs arrive in groups of three. Their flight can be heard from far away, but only in the last second before impact is it clear where it will hit. The explosions, orders of magnitude more powerful than regular artillery shells, shake the ground where the
The Kyiv Independent joined local police on their mission to evacuate civilians from Vovchansk on May 11 — the operation that was constantly interrupted by Russian launches of aerial gliding bombs.
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. CHASIV YAR, DONETSK OBLAST – As he creeps between rubble-strewn garages near the central square of Chasiv Yar, the eyes and ears of the reconnaissance
KARLSKOGA, SWEDEN – In a nondescript industrial area nestled among a forest of Swedish pine, a continent-wide effort to ramp up defense production is playing out in real time. A modest, one-story building is home to a seemingly endless ceiling-mounted rail — essentially an upside-down conveyor belt — snaking through machine halls and
Season 2 Episode 14 is dedicated to Ukraine’s struggles with mobilization. Host Anastasiia Lapatina is joined by Kyiv Independent reporter Francis Farrell.
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed on April 11 the updated mobilization bill in its second reading, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said. The bill was supported by 283 lawmakers.
In March 2024, Sweden became NATO’s 32nd member state after a lengthy application process triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Joining the alliance comes at arguably the most turbulent time in European security since the end of the Cold War, with Russia scaling up its military industrial
"The deliberations are ongoing, and they take place within the fighter jet coalition," Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent in Stockholm on March 28.
CHASIV YAR, DONETSK OBLAST – In the small town of Chasiv Yar, just several kilometers away from the eastern front of Russia's war in Ukraine, a rare house has remained intact. Most of the residents have fled to safer areas. Vitalii, 74, has lived in Chasiv Yar his whole life. He
