As Ukraine negotiates a peace agreement with the U.S., soldiers on the ground face a different reality: holding the line with shrinking infantry numbers and almost no rotation. For nearly six months, two Ukrainian soldiers, Oleksandr Tishaiev and Oleksandr Aliksieienko, were trapped in the same battered position on the Zaporizhzhia front, unable to rotate as Russian drones monitored every path in and out.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur reports on another failed round of U.S.-Russia diplomacy over a controversial peace plan, as Moscow presses ahead on the battlefield and advances in and near Pokrovsk.

Russia failed to break Ukraine’s army on the battlefield, and now it’s trying to do it through a peace plan that would cap Ukraine’s forces at 600,000. Some argue that Ukraine would shrink its army — currently estimated at about 800,000 — after the war anyway.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur covers leaked calls showing U.S.-Russia coordination on a controversial peace plan and reports on backlash to Reese Witherspoon’s Moscow-set novel.

As Russia bombards Ukraine with Shahed drones almost every night, the 12th Army Aviation Brigade takes to the skies in decades-old helicopters to intercept them. The Kyiv Independent’s Kollen Post joined the pilots to understand how they fly, maneuver, and shoot down drones in darkness — and what keeps them going.

Ukraine is facing its biggest wartime corruption scandal. The Kyiv Independent’s Dominic Culverwell explains how Energoatom — Ukraine's nuclear energy operator — became a breeding ground for corruption during the war, how a $100 million kickback scheme in the nuclear energy sector reached the highest levels of power, and what this crisis means for President Volodymyr Zelensky and the country.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur reports on a deadly Russian strike that killed Ukrainian soldiers and civilians allegedly during a military ceremony, prompting outrage and an internal investigation into security lapses.

As winter approaches and Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy system intensify, a small unit from the 3rd Army Corps spends sleepless nights hunting long-range Shahed drones on the front line in Kharkiv Oblast — before they reach Ukrainian cities.

The Kyiv Independent’s Dominic Culverwell sits down with Elina Ribakova, a leading expert on the Russian economy, to unpack the latest U.S. sanctions targeting Rosneft and Lukoil — the oil giants fuelling Moscow’s war.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur reports on another Trump–Zelensky meeting in Washington, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intervention to dissuade the U.S. from supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sits down with U.S. defense expert Tom Karako to discuss how the potential provision of the Tomahawk — the U.S.’s most advanced cruise missile — to Ukraine could affect the course of Russia’s war and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calculations.

In Donetsk Oblast, volunteers from across the world serve in the International Battalion of Ukraine’s Azov Corps. On the battlefield dominated by drones, constant surveillance, and high-risk rotations, they navigate daily life and combat in one of the war’s most dangerous sectors.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur breaks down renewed U.S. discussions about supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles — and Russia's reaction.

The Kyiv Independent’s Tim Zadorozhnyy sits down with Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur on the sidelines of the Warsaw Security Forum to discuss Russia’s provocations in European airspace, hybrid threats in the Baltic, and NATO’s response.

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York speaks with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof about Europe’s security and dependence on U.S. support within NATO to deter Russian aggression.