Expert on Ukraine's defense production boost, future prospects
The Kyiv Independent’s Natalia Yermak interviews Ukrainian-Canadian lawyer and business advisor, Daniel Bilak, about the potential for investment in Ukraine and its defense sector.
Natalia Yermak
Articles
New military app is set to revolutionize how Ukraine runs its army
Ukraine’s fight for survival with a bigger and better-equipped enemy is forcing the country’s army to swiftly seek innovations. The latest modern solution being used to substitute bureaucratic Soviet army operations is the recently launched Army+ app, which aims to make the armed forces “paperless.” Presented with fanfare
Ukraine's Muslims defiant after Russian attack damages mosque — ‘We will clean, restore, then beat them’
"They are barbarians," 80-year-old Mustafa Dzhemilev tells the Kyiv Independent on Sept. 2, as he assesses the damage caused to the Islamic Cultural Center in Kyiv by a Russian missile attack in the early hours of the morning. "If they targeted a children's hospital, why wouldn’t they destroy a
Kursk ‘counteroffensive’ shakes main pillar of Putin’s power grip, retired US general says
Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Kursk Oblast in southwestern Russia helped Kyiv to once again change the narrative of Russia’s invincibility in the war, says retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges. Hodges, who served as commander of the U.S. Army Europe from 2014-2017 and has helped to
Gen. Ben Hodges on Ukraine's Kursk incursion in Russia
Retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges analyzes the early success of Ukraine's Kursk incursion and why Russia did not see it coming. But he shares concerns that the West might still fail Ukraine.
Ukraine to resume scheduled blackouts after 3-week break, says state grid operator
Scheduled blackouts will resume across Ukraine on Aug. 19 for the first time in three weeks, the state grid operator Ukrenergo announced on Aug. 18.
Russia used over 40 missiles, 750 guided bombs against Ukraine this week, Zelensky says
Russia has launched 40 missiles, 750 guided aerial bombs, and 200 combat drones against Ukrainian cities and villages over the past week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 18.
German Foreign Ministry refutes claims that Berlin will not provide Kyiv with assistance next year
The German Foreign Ministry refuted claims that Berlin will not provide Kyiv with assistance next year, Suspilne media outlet reported on Aug. 18.
Memorializing Ukraine’s fallen soldiers: One asked to be cremated so future fighters don’t ‘dig trenches in our bones’
Editor’s Note: The following is the first in a series of reports by the Kyiv Independent about the memorialization of Ukraine’s fallen soldiers. “I'm up for cremation,” Kostiantyn “Kostia” Yuzviuk wrote in a list of funeral requests in his newly created Telegram channel for friends in November 2022
Russian missile used to strike Kyiv children’s hospital was produced recently, investigators say
The missile that struck Okhmatdyt, Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, on July 8 was manufactured in Russia only weeks, and possibly days, before the attack, the Conflict Armament Research (CAR) investigative outlet reported.
Ukrainian forces enter Belgorod Oblast as Kursk incursion continues, media say
The soldiers in a video posted on Aug. 10 held the battalion's flag and a Georgian flag, and the sign on the building behind them reads "Porozovsky Village Club”.
Belarus to send troops and rocket systems near Ukrainian border after alleged drone incursion
“Military units of special operations forces, ground forces, missile forces, including the Polonez rocket systems and Iskander (mid-range ballistic missile) complexes, were tasked with marching to designated areas.” the Belarusian defense minister said.
Ukraine scrambles to reboot reconstruction tender for children’s hospital hit by Russian missile
Ukraine’s government rushed on Aug. 2 to extinguish public uproar over reconstruction efforts at Okhmatdyt, the country’s main children’s hospital based in Kyiv, which was heavily damaged early last month by a Russian missile strike. Health Minister Viktor Liashko announced that a new tender to choose a
Russia will deploy its low, intermediate-range missiles if US deploys missiles in Germany, Putin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would deploy short and intermediate-range nuclear-capable missiles if American missile systems capable of striking Russian territory were deployed in Germany.
Russia's war kills 564 Ukrainian children, wounds 1,487, Prosecutor General’s Office says
Most children were killed or injured in the eastern Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts, where the fighting has been some of the heaviest of the war, with 567 and 407 cases documented by the Ukrainian authorities in each oblast respectively.
2 years after Ukrainian POWs killed in Olenivka camp explosion, no one prosecuted
Two years after an explosion killed at least 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war and injured over 150 more at a penal colony in Russian-occupied Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast on July 28-29, 2022, no one has been held accountable as Russia continues to block investigation efforts.
Ukraine’s mobilization effort gets boost as millions update draft data
By early 2024, 40-year-old Pavlo Kovtoniuk had begun to understand that Russia’s two-year-long full-scale war against his country would require him to serve in the army sooner or later. But it wasn’t until two months ago that he updated his personal information with enlistment authorities – after the government
Russia launches 'double-tap' attack on rescue workers in Sumy Oblast
Russian forces launched a "double-tap" attack on first responders as they were curbing the aftermath of the previous attack in Sumy Oblast on July 21, the State Emergency Service said.
Johnson says Trump has 'the strength and bravery' to bring peace to Ukraine
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised Republican nominee Donald Trump's chances to end the Russian war in Ukraine in a July 19 opinion for Daily Mail.
Most Ukrainian POWs haven’t seen Red Cross while in Russian captivity, ombudsman says
Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets commented on the recent interview of Boris Michel, the head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Russia, with the Russian state-controlled media RIA Novosti.
Ukraine downs 35 of 39 Russian drones overnight, Air Force says
Russian forces also launched three Iskander-M ballistic missiles and two Kh-59/69 cruise missiles overnight on July 21, the Air Force reported.
Hard work underway to reopen Kyiv children’s hospital hit by Russian missile
Just four days after a Russian missile hit Ukraine’s leading hospital for children, the floors of Okhmatdyt’s main building looked surprisingly spotless. The dust and shattered glass from the devastating blast that defaced the building were wiped out. Damaged furniture was removed, and the staff wearing clean scrubs
Ground zero: How a Ukrainian boy battling cancer and his mother survived Russia’s missile strike on children’s hospital
At about 10:30 on the morning of July 8, just minutes before a Russian missile slammed into Kyiv’s main hospital for children, 4-year-old Dima Dorontsov was waiting to receive his final dose of chemotherapy at the oncology department with his mother Viktoria Zavoloka alongside. He’s spent much
Quiet Kyiv neighborhood hit in a mass Russian attack
Editor's Note: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on July 9 that nine people were killed in the building in the Syrets neighborhood following a Russian missile strike a day prior. On a Monday morning, Nataliia Fedorenko and her mother felt lucky to survive their daily routine: walking their dog in
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