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Oleg Sukhov photo

Oleg Sukhov

Reporter

Oleg Sukhov is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He is a former editor and reporter at the Moscow Times. He has a master's degree in history from the Moscow State University. He moved to Ukraine in 2014 due to the crackdown on independent media in Russia and covered war, corruption, reforms and law enforcement for the Kyiv Post.

Articles

Trump (R) walks with Zelensky (L) the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 18, 2025.

Security guarantees for Ukraine explained: What's on the table and what's realistic?

by Oleg Sukhov, Andrea Januta
As peace talks to end the war in Ukraine gather speed toward a potential trilateral meeting between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, the question of what kind of security guarantees Kyiv might receive continues to loom over the flurry of diplomatic meetings. After President Volodymyr Zelensky's Aug. 18 appearance at the White House, European leaders are now expected to draft a skeleton proposal for security guarantees over the next week, according to Kyiv Independent sources. The proposal will ex
U.S. President Trump (L) greets President Zelensky (R) at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 18, 2025.

Warm words, thin results: White House meeting lifts Ukraine, but tough road ahead

When President Volodymyr Zelensky joined U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Aug. 18, the positive mood between the leaders stood in stark contrast to their disastrous encounter in February in the same spot. This shift alone was seen as a victory for Ukraine — offering many of its citizens and allies relief, though the meeting itself was largely inconclusive and failed to secure concrete decisions on the security guarantees and the ceasefire that Ukraine has pushed for. "I think
President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin, Germany, on Aug. 13, 2025.

As Zelensky, Trump prepare to talk about peace, most Russian demands are non-starters for Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid out a number of demands that he would require to stop his country's war against Ukraine. Most of these demands are non-starters for Ukraine, analysts say. Russia has demanded a full Ukrainian withdrawal from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, de jure recognition of the occupied territories as Russian, a special status for the Russian-backed church and the Russian language in Ukraine, Kyiv's demilitarization, and a ban on Kyiv's NATO membership. In exchange,

Russian-linked church faces potential ban in Ukraine as it remains reluctant to officially cut ties with Moscow

by Oleg Sukhov
Three and a half years into Russia's full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian branch of the Russian Orthodox Church is finally facing its judgment day. Under a law passed in 2024, the branch — the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate —  is supposed to either sever its ties with Russia or be banned. Neither has happened so far. Due to the invasion, the church has faced an escalating crisis due to its affiliation with Russia and some of its priests' collaboration with the Russian auth
The Bering Strait, which separates Russia and the U.S.

Why is Russia so obsessed with Alaska?

by Oleg Sukhov
The scene of the planned Aug. 15 meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin — the U.S. state of Alaska — has played an outsized role in Russian propaganda and mythology. The choice of Alaska for the summit has re-ignited imperialist narratives, with Kremlin propagandists emphasizing again that the peninsula used to be a Russian territory. Some imperialist Russians have perceived the sale of Russian Alaska to the U.S. in 1867 as treason or a tragic mi

Breakthrough unlikely at Putin-Trump meeting as US, Russia, Ukraine differ on key issues

by Oleg Sukhov, Asami Terajima
As U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, prepare for a bilateral meeting on Aug. 15 in Alaska, the aims of the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine appear to contradict each other. "At the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made," Trump told reporters on Aug. 11. Experts say the hastily organized summit will most likely fail to bring Trump, Putin, and President Volodymyr Zelensky to an agreement on a fu
Protesters hold placards during a demonstration in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 22, 2025

Zelensky restores anti-corruption agencies’ independence — but leaves one key change intact

by Oleg Sukhov
As President Volodymyr Zelensky was restoring the independence of anti-corruption agencies days after he himself took that independence away, one crucial amendment was not overturned. On July 22, Zelensky signed a bill that subordinated the country's anti-corruption agencies to the prosecutor general, a political appointee, and eliminated prosecutors' procedural independence as a side effect. Following protests in Kyiv and pressure from Brussels, the president on July 31 signed a new bill that

How effective were Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies targeted by Zelensky, and who were they investigating?

by Oleg Sukhov
Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to sign a bill targeting the independence of anti-corruption agencies followed mounting investigations that involved high-ranking officials and those close to the president. Zelensky's critics argue that the corruption cases against his associates and top incumbents were the real reason behind the bill. The President's Office did not respond to requests for comment. The officials under investigation have denied the accusations of wrongdoing. On July 25, Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 13, 2025.

Explainer: Does Zelensky’s crackdown on anti-corruption agencies have anything to do with Russian influence?

by Oleg Sukhov
President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that the purpose of the law dismantling Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure was to curtail Russian influence. However, the law passed and signed on July 22 does not have anything to do with Russian influence. Its clauses deprive anti-corruption agencies of their independence, and there is nothing in the law that targets Russian agents in or outside the agencies. "The clause that the prosecutor general can take cases away from the National Anti-Corrupti
President Volodymyr Zelensky walks past the European Union flag in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023.

Zelensky dismantles Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure, brings law enforcement agencies under his thumb

Ukraine faced a watershed moment on July 22 as parliament passed, and the president signed, a bill that effectively eliminates the independence of the country's anti-corruption institutions. The bill will subordinate the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) to the prosecutor general. Activists and opposition lawmakers say that this will make it impossible for the anti-corruption agencies to investigate top incumbent officials without
President Volodymyr Zelensky during the 76th NATO Summit at the World Forum in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24, 2025.

The crackdown on Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies, explained

by Oleg Sukhov
Editor's note: President Zelensky signed the bill into law on the evening of July 22, which you can read about here. Ukraine's independent anti-corruption institutions had a rough Monday. The Prosecutor General's Office, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the State Investigation Bureau conducted at least 70 searches in premises connected to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), which investigates top-level corruption. The opened probes target at least 15 NABU employees. Most of
U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S. on June 27, 2025.

Ukraine scrambles to clarify extent of US military aid pause and 'whether everything will continue'

When the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) halted the transfer of critical air defense missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, Kyiv and its partners were caught off-guard and are now left scrambling for clarity on the scope and length of the Trump administration's decision. The White House confirmed the halt after a July 1 report by Politico said shipments were paused due to concerns over the size of domestic stockpiles. The decision "was made to put America's interests first following a DOD rev
Putin (R) and Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Aug. 19, 2024.

Arrests, raids, beaten and bloodied suspects — how Russia-Azerbaijan relations have unravelled

Deaths in custody, media offices raided, and beaten and bloodied suspects paraded in court — relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, once considered close, have sharply deteriorated in recent days amid a series of high-profile incidents. The latest tensions erupted over the weekend when Russian law enforcement officers detained over 50 Azerbaijani nationals in Yekaterinburg, Russia, as part of an investigation into a murder case from 2001. Two men — brothers Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov — were
Putin meets with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 17, 2025.

Russia-Iran alliance wavers as Tehran suffers major blows

by Oleg Sukhov
Tehran, Russia's main ally in the Middle East, has been dealt a heavy blow as Israel dismantled its network of proxies and then struck targets in Iran. The recent Iranian-Israeli war, which ended with a ceasefire on June 24, showed that the regional balance of power has shifted in Israel's favor. This could have a major impact on Russian-Iranian relations as Moscow will have to recalibrate its approach to the region. Russian-Iranian cooperation is likely to continue but Iran's ability to help
Ruslan Kravchenko attends a plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 17, 2025.

Ukraine’s new top prosecutor known for high-profile cases, seen as Zelensky loyalist

by Oleg Sukhov
Loyalty to the incumbent administration has been the key requirement for prosecutor generals in Ukraine. Ruslan Kravchenko, who was appointed as prosecutor general on June 21, appears to be no exception. Previously he had been appointed as a military governor by President Volodymyr Zelensky and is seen as a presidential loyalist. Kravchenko became Ukraine's top prosecutor after a lengthy hiatus during which the position of prosecutor general remained vacant. His predecessor, Andriy Kostin, r