
Team

Olena Goncharova
Head of North America deskOlena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Articles

Novgorod Governor Alexander Dronov said 19 drones were shot down over the region — located between Moscow and St. Petersburg — amid what Russia described as a major Ukrainian drone attack.

Ukraine will not accept any peace deal requiring territorial concessions, Syrskyi tells UK broadcaster
“There are no pauses, no delays in (Russia's) operations. They keep pushing their troops forward to seize as much of our territory as possible under the cover of negotiations," Syrskyi said.

Zelensky–Trump envoys call centered on territorial concessions, security guarantees, Axios reported
Territorial concessions and security guarantees were among the most sensitive issues in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent call with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, sources told Axios.

Pope Francis left funds in his will to buy ambulances for Ukraine, nun says
"He did tell me, in our meetings, that he would help me in some way, but I didn't imagine he would do it like this," Dominican nun Lucia Caram said.

Ukraine has brought back 1,859 Russia-abducted children, Zelenska says in Paris
According to Ukraine’s national "Children of War" database, at least 19,546 Ukrainian children have been abducted from Russian-occupied territories and taken to Russia or Russian-controlled areas since February 2022.

EU weighing sanctions on Belarus over alleged hybrid attacks disrupting Lithuania’s airspace
The latest incident occurred on Nov. 30, when Vilnius International Airport suspended operations after unidentified objects — believed to be balloons — appeared in nearby airspace.

NATO may get 'more aggressive' in countering Russia’s hybrid attacks, top military official says
Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, who chairs NATO’s Military Committee, told the Financial Times that the alliance is reassessing how it confronts hybrid threats that have intensified across Europe.

Vilnius airport halts flights again after balloon sightings
Lithuanian authorities extended the latest airspace restrictions until 5 a.m. local time on Dec. 1.

Russia has 'no say' over whether Ukraine can join NATO, Rutte says
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Nov. 26 that Ukraine's accession to the alliance depends on unanimous agreement among member states — not on Russian demands.

Drones strike Russia’s Cheboksary, military claims military electronics factory hit
VNIIR-Progress is a Russian state institute involved in designing electronic warfare systems, including the Kometa antenna used to interfere with satellite, radio, and radar signals.

Trump walks back Ukraine deadline, says 28-point peace plan was 'just a map'
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Nov. 25 that there is no specific deadline for Ukraine to accept the initially drafted 28-point proposal, easing previous statements that implied he hoped for a Thanksgiving agreement. "The deadline for me is when it’s over," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Trump says Zelensky will 'have to approve' US peace plan for Ukraine
U.S. President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office on Nov. 21 that he believes there is "a way of getting peace."

Death toll of November strike on Ternopil rises to 38 after police identify more victims
Search and rescue operations in the western Ukrainian city concluded after four days, with 33 confirmed dead and six people still missing.

NATO has reversed Russia’s edge in ammunition production, Rutte says
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged member states and their defense industries to "outgun, outproduce, and outsmart those that seek to harm or diminish us."

Trump says Orban requested exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil but hasn’t been granted one
While most EU member states have largely phased out Russian fossil-fuel imports since 2022, Hungary and Slovakia have continued to receive pipeline deliveries.





