It is an almost everyday occurrence in the Russian-occupied parts of eastern and southern Ukraine. Russia’s ammunition depots blow up, with large fires erupting as tons of ordnance detonate for hours. Some of these incidents cause giant blasts with a radius of hundreds of meters. Now that Ukraine has
In the Battle of Donbas, Ukraine’s military has made a painful yet long-anticipated decision — withdrawing from the last patches of the city of Sievierodonetsk. By June 25, the last Ukrainian combat units left their ruined positions in the city’s industrial zone for Lysychansk, a heavily fortified point to
On the eve of the third Ramstein summit, a meeting of over 40 nations backing Ukraine in Russia’s invasion, Kyiv is crying out for more weapons and munitions -- and says the West is failing to send enough assistance on time. Russia’s grand offensive operation in Donbas, ongoing
The Battle of Sievierodonetsk in Ukraine’s Donbas is an emotional see-saw, in which doom and gloom change to joy and hope constantly. As Russia continues its massive offensive, there has been a seemingly inevitable possibility of the local Ukrainian grouping of nearly 10,000 troops being surrounded and defeated.
“Artillery sweat saves infantry blood.” The Ukrainian military has this saying for a reason. It has been weeks since Ukraine began to ask desperately for heavy western weaponry, particularly advanced tubed and rocket artillery, as part of an effort to turn the tide of Russia’s invasion, which is not
SLOVIANSK, Donetsk Oblast — The battlefield stretches through the dense forest on the banks of the Siversky Donets River. Soldiers with Ukraine’s 79th Airborne Brigade crawl out of sandy trenches, preparing their 40 mm under-barrel rounds. Barrels up, they aim at an imperceptible enemy line running some 300 meters away,
Days after Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, reports of the invading troops lacking decent provisions have surfaced on the internet. The Kyiv Independent’s defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko and investigative reporter Igor Kossov compare Russian and Ukrainian MREs, debunking some of the earlier misconceptions about Russia’s readiness
A New York Times editorial article titled “The War in Ukraine Is Getting Complicated, and America Isn’t Ready,” published on May 19, immediately triggered a stir in Ukraine and beyond. Coming from a media outlet that has the reputation of being supportive of U.S. assistance to Ukraine against
Death. Fire. Smoke. Bombs. Joy. Hope. Faith. And pride. Those are the things that spell the days of soldiers at Azovstal, the last Ukrainian fortress in the Russian-besieged city of Mariupol. After almost 80 days of fierce fighting, over 1,000 Ukrainian combatants, hundreds among them injured, are still holding
The Battle of Donbas is raging high, but it’s not going the way Russia wanted it to. Almost 20 days in, the much-anticipated and feared grand offensive falls short of expectations. It is still not even close to achieving its ultimate goal — the encircling and crippling of the core
“Mom, you just have to get out,” I was saying into the phone, again and again. “I’ve bought you a ticket, take the night train and come to Kyiv. It’s for your safety, just leave the town for some time. Nobody knows if the worst is to happen
Ukraine and the world have spent weeks in anticipation of the Battle of Donbas, “the second phase” of Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine. Now, it seems, the wait is over. With the drastic intensification of hostilities in Donbas and neighboring areas, President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 18 finally confirmed
The Russian-Ukrainian war has produced yet another hallmark event in the history of warfare. On April 14, after 49 days of Russia’s all-out war, Ukraine inflicted a devastating blow upon the Kremlin’s pride and the symbol of its naval power in the Black Sea. Missile cruiser Moskva, the
HOSTOMEL, Kyiv Oblast — Like so many pilots across the world, Dmytro Antonov, the crew commander of the Antonov An-225 Mriya aircraft, has his own little pre-flight rituals. The world’s biggest and strongest cargo airplane, the master of many flight records, Mriya required special reverence. It had its own spirit
BUCHA, Kyiv Oblast – Just a bit over a month ago, Bucha was a comfortable, cozy, and rapidly growing suburb just northwest of Kyiv. The town was a place of middle-class apartment complexes and houses, surrounded by woods. Today, Bucha is a synonym of horror known worldwide. Russia’s defeat in
The battle of Kyiv is over, with Ukraine as its victor. After nearly 40 days of fierce hostilities, by April 1 Russian forces had withdrawn from battlefields in northern Ukraine within just days. Despite a massive effort, Russia failed to encircle the Ukrainian capital and install a blockade. After sustaining
Irpin, Kyiv Oblast -- The urban ruins of the Battle of Kyiv contain many secrets. Irpin, a town just northwest of Ukraine’s capital, a battlefield of ruined homes, charred streets and broken glass, now seems forsaken in a lull. But beneath the debris is a living and buzzing underworld.
Russia’s all-out war in Ukraine has subverted a lot of prophecies — doomsday omens and bright hopes alike. It has now been a month of this new reality since Russia’s attacks began early in the morning on Feb. 24, 2022. Yes, the Kremlin really did launch a World War
RUSANIV, Kyiv Oblast — Ukrainian emergency response workers dig into the fresh soil by a riverbank. “Careful,” they tell each other. “Just like that. Remove the upper layer bit by bit.” Every strike of the spade unearths new items in the moist dirt. Parts of cloth tatters, boot bottoms, traces of
No one really expected it — but after three weeks of Russia’s all-out war, Ukraine’s air defense is still exceeding expectations. This branch of service not only managed to largely survive Russia’s massive missile attacks in the invasion’s early hours. It took up the fight and prevented
The operative lull in the battle for Kyiv over the last few days seems to be running to its end. New indications suggest Russia is getting ready to relaunch a massive offensive in the region, the war’s main goal. Despite a very complicated situation with many of its main
IRPIN, Ukraine — Hundreds of terrified people cautiously walk through the debris of concrete and twisted metal, trying to cross the Irpen River on foot. “Come on, no need to rush, careful,” a Ukrainian soldier says while helping civilians onto concrete blocks leading to a stairway. Mothers hold up their crying
Ukraine, as it combats Russia's full-fledged invasion, is rapidly creating its own International Legion, a military force composed of international volunteers enlisting to help defend Ukraine. Three days after the start of Russia's further invasion, on Feb. 27, Ukraine's leadership announced the opportunity for foreign volunteers, expecting the dire need
Seven days into the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it remains unclear how many casualties Russia has sustained. The Ukrainian government said on March 2 the "indicative" number of Russia's losses stands at 5,840 people. Russia has only admitted it had any losses four days after it started the
As Russia fails to inflict quick defeat upon Ukraine after four days of fierce hostilities, Vladimir Putin is about to pull his Belarusian ally, dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko into his war of occupation. Amid many speculations, multiple sources say the decision has been made — and as soon as on Feb. 28
More than 72 hours after the start of the all-out invasion on Feb. 24, Russia has failed to inflict a quick defeat to Ukraine’s armed forces or gain a foothold in any of the country’s key cities. As of Feb. 27, all the biggest cities – Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv,
Russia's blatant "recognition" of its own puppet enclaves in Ukraine's Donbas bears a striking resemblance to the events of 2008, when the Kremlin tore off a part of Georgia and invented the “states” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In its ongoing war in eastern Ukraine, Moscow has so far followed
Ukraine saw yet another tense day on the front line with ongoing shelling and fears of a Russian false flag operation to legitimize the Kremlin’s further invasion of Ukraine. Artillery attacks by Russian-led militants continued all along the front line. As many as 54 shelling incidents have been reported
Cold sleety rain washes against the derelicts of what used to be a big asphalt refinery on the outskirts of Kyiv. Small groups of people in mixed tactical gear and sports jumpsuits bend down in the dirty snow. The motley squad is armed with airsoft guns and fake Kalashnikov models,
Dozens of artillery strikes committed by Russian-led militants in Donbas left two Ukrainian soldiers injured and three civilians concussed, according to official reports from the war zone. Over 47 incidents of enemy shelling have been registered along the 420-kilometer frontline, as of 7 p.m. on Feb. 17. The heaviest
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors. It’s important not to lose the battle before it even begins. Right now, the Russia-instigated security crisis in Ukraine is threatening to become an all-out war of occupation. Against all the voices of reason,
As Russia continues to build up military personnel along Ukraine’s borders many of us are wondering what’s next. We turn to our defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko for answers. The Kyiv Independent’s patrons who have access to a closed chat with the editorial team were able to send
