This Week in Ukraine S2 E6 – Who is leading Ukraine’s military now?
Season 2 Episode 6 is dedicated to the reshuffle of Ukraine's top military command.
Francis Farrell
Articles
Why did Zelensky fire Zaluzhnyi?
As Russia's all out war in Ukraine races towards its third year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has fired his Commander-in-Chief. The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell here with everything you need to know.
How Ukraine destroys Russia's Black Sea Fleet one ship at a time
At a time when the front line in Russia’s war against Ukraine has not moved much in the last year, success in the Black Sea has been a major silver lining for Ukraine’s military campaign. How does Ukraine manage to do that? The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell
Ukraine struggles to ramp up mobilization as Russia's war enters 3rd year
As Russia’s full-scale war approaches its third year and looks ready to drag on for several more, one topic is dominating the discussion in Ukraine: mobilization. From regional capitals and small villages to the front lines of the east, from the media, the workplace, and the family, Ukraine’s
Inside occupied Ukraine’s most effective resistance movements
Acts of resistance come in many shapes and sizes. From a colored ribbon tied to a tree or a flag raised over a remote mountain face, to a quick tip-off on an encrypted app that sets off a chain of events culminating in the destruction of a warship, everything counts.
From the heroic to the mundane: 12 hours of positional war near Bakhmut
“I’ll let you in on a secret, there will be an assault at dawn tomorrow." Sviatoslav, a 57-year-old sergeant responsible for the mental support of the mortar unit, lowered his voice as he said the words. “Get some sleep, as you can be sure there will be some work
This Week in Ukraine Ep. 39 – After 2023, what's next for Ukraine?
Episode #39 is dedicated to Ukraine’s biggest events of 2023, and what to look forward to in 2024.
Ukraine finally moves to fortify front line, but could it be too little too late?
“If you want to live, dig.” The words, often spoken by Ukrainian troops, are universal advice for trench warfare in general, but especially for both sides in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Normally expressed as advice to the individual soldier, the maxim now applies to the country as a whole.
This Week in Ukraine Ep. 38 – Is Ukraine ready for long war?
Episode #38 is dedicated to Ukraine’s failure to prepare its defensive lines for the long war.
Ukraine holds back Russian assault on Avdiivka as long winter battle looms
DONETSK OBLAST – “Our working hours are as follows: first you do a 12-hour shift, then another one, until you’ve done seven of these 24-hour-shifts, and that’s your week” said Oleksandr Kolesnikov, a 47-year-old surgeon, sitting hunched over on a bench-turned-overflow hospital bed at a Ukrainian stabilization point in
This Week in Ukraine Ep. 36 – Is Ukraine losing the war?
Episode #36 is dedicated to the dark new phase in Russia’s war, and why the possibility of losing is once again a risk for Ukraine.
Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Let’s get some things straight
This November has been a particularly grim one here in Ukraine. Over the past month, two media sensations in big Western magazines served as a sober wake-up call about the state of the war. First, Simon Shuster’s profile in TIME magazine on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “lonely fight”
How Russia’s homegrown Lancet drone became so feared in Ukraine
In the bubble of pro-Ukraine communities on the Internet, the constant inflow of battlefield videos showing the destruction of Russian equipment regularly lifts the moods of hundreds of thousands of supporters of Ukraine’s struggle around the world. Wander over to the Russian side of the internet, whether it’s
This Week in Ukraine Ep. 32 – How Russia is losing superiority in the Black Sea
Episode #32 is dedicated to Ukraine's surprising successes in the Black Sea.
Understanding Russia's offensive on Avdiivka
The Russian offensive in Avdiivka has been an undisputed failure so far. Russian gains have amounted to little more than a handful of treelines on the flanks. The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell explains how it happened and what to expect in the future.
Record Russian armor, personnel losses in failed attempt to take Avdiivka by storm
Starting on Oct. 9, Russian forces launched an offensive at the flanks of the city of Avdiivka. It has been an undisputed failure so far.
This Week in Ukraine Ep. 30 – ATACMS, and Russia's offensive on Avdiivka
Episode #30 is dedicated to recent front-line updates, including Ukraine's first use of ATACMS and Russia's offensive on Avdiivka.
The dead villages: Hope and despair side-by-side in the liberated south
NESKUCHNE, DONETSK OBLAST – Vitalii Ivanov stepped gingerly across the messy floor through the kitchen to what was once the living room of his family home. Scattered across the floor and countertops were the iconic markers of a space that was once occupied by Russian soldiers. Cardboard military ready meals complete
Overcoming setbacks, NATO-trained brigade breaches Surovikin line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Editor’s note: The soldiers featured in this article are identified by first name and callsign only for security reasons. ZAPORIZHZHIA OBLAST – Even months before it started, just the idea of Ukraine’s large-scale counteroffensive in 2023 carried on its shoulders a historic weight. Having held back waves of brutal
This Week in Ukraine Ep. 26 – Is the counteroffensive almost over?
Episode #26 is dedicated to the question of when Ukraine’s counteroffensive might end, and what comes next for Ukraine when it does.
Russia’s ‘peacekeeper’ act crumbles as Azerbaijan overwhelms Nagorno-Karabakh
On Sept. 19, just under three years after the end of the last major war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku moved decisively to finish what it started in 2020. Shortly after the announcement of the launching of “anti-terrorist” measures by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry,
Deadly drone arms race intensifies as Ukraine, Russia embrace the future of war
Editor’s note: The soldiers featured in this article are identified by first name and callsign only for security reasons. DONETSK OBLAST – One sunny day in eastern Ukraine, two grown men in pixel camouflage sit together in the shade of lush summer bushes on the edge of a field, playing
Ukraine bids farewell to legendary volunteer commander killed near Bakhmut
In a scene all too familiar for central Kyiv and for Ukraine as a whole, a large column of mourning soldiers and civilians walked through the capital’s streets on Aug. 28 to say goodbye to another high-profile commander killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Serhii Ilnytskyi, call sign
Inching forward in Bakhmut counteroffensive, Ukraine’s hardened units look ahead to long, grim war
Editor’s note: Though the commanders quoted in this story are public figures, the other soldiers are identified by first names and callsigns only due to security reasons. DONETSK OBLAST — In a wide field in Donetsk Oblast, the silence of what would otherwise be a sleepy August afternoon is broken
This Week in Ukraine Ep. 21 – Counteroffensive progress: Expectations vs. reality
Episode #21 of our weekly video podcast “This Week in Ukraine” is dedicated to Ukraine's counteroffensive, gains and setbacks of the last two months, and what to expect going forward.
Exclusive: New insights point to Hungary’s collaboration with Moscow on transfer of Ukrainian POWs
In early June, a bizarre and mysterious joint operation was carried out between two of Ukraine’s neighbors, one to the east and one to the west. Eleven Ukrainian soldiers, after having been held in Russian captivity for an unknown amount of time, were moved from Russia to Hungary. Although
Ukraine’s counteroffensive lurches forward: Key moment looms as more forces committed
Fresh videos of Western-made armor rolling across open fields, a new settlement liberated, and a lot of noise on Russian military blogger Telegram channels heralded to the world on July 28 that the Ukrainian summer counteroffensive had upped its gear. Almost eight weeks into the long-awaited operation that began on
On the edge of disaster: What could really happen if Russia destroys Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant?
In late June, 16 months into the full-scale Russian invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky alerted his nation of an unprecedented threat. Russia, the president said, had rigged the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with explosives, and was ready to set off the charges and cause radiation to leak into surrounding areas.
Francis Farrell: As the world watches the counteroffensive, a sober hold on reality is Ukraine’s greatest weapon
This June was meant to be all about the great Ukrainian counteroffensive. After months of waiting, dozens of public statements from exasperated Ukrainian officials bound to silence, and even more analyses from experts and commentators in the media, the moment finally came when Ukrainian soldiers on their Leopards and Bradleys
This Week in Ukraine Ep. 14 – Wagner’s mutiny attempt in Russia, and its consequences
Episode #14 of our weekly video podcast “This Week in Ukraine” is dedicated to Wagner mercenary group's failed attempt to take on the Russian military establishment and its consequences.
Russia comes to the brink of civil war: How we got here and what it means
Visually, the scene was a familiar one. Russian armored vehicles emblazoned with the Z logo in the central streets of a once peaceful city, masked soldiers standing at key intersections, and confrontational conversations with bemused local civilians. But this wasn’t a Ukrainian city in the first days of Russia’
Kyiv’s frustration boils as flow of Western chips for Russian missiles continues uninterrupted
Destroyed apartments, burnt-out cars, lives upturned or extinguished altogether: Russia’s June 13 missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih was, in many ways, nothing out of the ordinary for wartime Ukraine. The evening after the attack, which killed 13 civilians, President Volodymyr Zelensky came out in his daily
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