As Trump’s deadline for additional sanctions on Russia looms, Robert Person, a professor of international relations specializing in Russian and post-Soviet politics, discusses why Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to end the war against Ukraine in response to the threat — and what might actually motivate him to stop the aggression.

President Volodymyr Zelensky's sudden move to strip the country's anti-corruption infrastructure of its independence stunned the European Union. Even as the Ukrainian authorities now attempt to reverse the controversial move that faced a harsh backlash from the EU and the wider public, the damage to Kyiv's potential accession to the union has already been done, experts say. Two days after hastily signing a controversial bill that subordinates the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the

Member of Zelensky’s Servant of the People faction, Anastasia Radina, discusses signing of controversial bill impacting Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions.

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

The Kyiv Independent's Deputy Chief Editor Oleksiy Sorokin spoke with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her visit to Kyiv on July 15, following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of his deal with NATO to arm Ukraine and his threat to impose severe sanctions on Russia if it doesn't reach a peace deal with Ukraine within the next 50 days.

Oksana Markarova has held the post since April 2021, and played a central role in coordinating U.S. military and financial support during the early phases of Russia's full-scale invasion.

The Kyiv Independent’s Oleksiy Sorokin sat down with Eivind Vad Petersson, state secretary to the Norwegian foreign minister and co-chair of the joint Norwegian-Ukrainian Working Group on Nuclear Safety and Security.

"Both teams are working to ensure we meet," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

A source in the President's Office told the Kyiv Independent that Trump and Zelensky spoke twice on May 19 — once before the scheduled call with Putin and again after it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin may have gotten more than he bargained for when, on May 11, he rejected calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire and invited Ukraine to engage in direct talks in Istanbul later this week. In what may have been a surprise for the Russian leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by accepting the invitation, saying he was ready to meet Putin in Turkey on May 15. "This is not what Putin was expecting," Oleksandr Merezhko, a Ukrainian lawmaker and

"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.

The documents, obtained by the Kyiv Independent, list the names, personal data, brigades, and ranks of Chinese nationals fighting for Russia.

Ukrainian and U.S. government and legal teams continue discussions on the mineral deal, a source in the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent on March 31 as U.S. President Donald Trump is escalating his rhetoric on the agreement.

Speaking at a press conference attended by the Kyiv Independent, Deputy Prime Minister and National Unity Minister Oleksii Chernyshov stressed the demographic challenges facing Ukraine in the fourth year of the full-scale war.

Kyiv officials will meet their Washington counterparts in Jeddah on March 11 for talks which will impact the future of diplomatic relations between the two countries and likely the future of the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian side hopes the meeting would help mend ties with the White House and ensure that the future U.S.-led peace process doesn't pose an existential threat to Ukraine. "The advice for Ukraine is just get yourself aligned with the United States," Ambassador Kurt Volker, who serve