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
Over 21,000 civilians, including 115 children, remain in Donetsk Oblast combat zones, official says
Approximately 1.2 million civilians have been evacuated from their permanent residences in the Ukrainian-controlled territory of Donetsk Oblast.
Trump says Armenia, Azerbaijan to sign peace deal, citing success of his administration's efforts
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are scheduled to join U.S. President Donald Trump for an "official Peace Signing Ceremony" on Aug. 8.
Putin, Trump to meet in coming days, Moscow says as US sanctions deadline draws near
Preparations for the meeting are underway, and the venue has already been agreed upon, Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.
'Great progress was made!'— Putin, Witkoff conclude meeting in Moscow as Trump's sanctions deadline looms
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow on Aug. 6 for high-level talks as Trump's deadline for a Ukraine deal draws near.
US greenlights $200 million Ukraine arms sales for M777 howitzer support, logistics
"The first package includes equipment, repairs, and technical support for M777 howitzers, valued at $104 million," Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
Trump weighs sanctions on Russia’s 'shadow fleet' if Putin refuses ceasefire, FT reports
If enacted, the measures would represent the first U.S. sanctions targeting Moscow since Donald Trump returned to the presidency in January.
Ukraine's drone strike reportedly sparks fire at oil depot in Russia’s Sochi
A drone strike resulted in a major fire early on Aug. 3 at an oil depot in Russia’s resort city of Sochi, setting ablaze a 2,000-cubic-meter fuel tank, local authorities said.
Senate leaves without sanctions vote as Republicans urge more pressure on Russia, The Hill reports
Republican senators left Washington for their August recess without passing a major Russia sanctions bill, effectively handing Donald Trump full authority to decide whether to follow through on his threat to penalize Moscow.
Explosions, smoke reported near Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear facility in Europe and one of the ten largest globally, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.
Russian cyberspies hit embassies in Moscow, Microsoft reports
The group is using an "adversary-in-the-middle" technique to deploy its custom "ApolloShadow" malware for intelligence collection. This campaign, active since at least 2024, poses a high risk to diplomatic entities and sensitive organizations in Moscow, particularly those relying on local internet providers.
Russia tightens citizenship law over 'hostile' acts
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new law significantly expanding the grounds for revoking naturalized Russian citizenship, now listing crimes such as extremism, murder, and collaboration against the state.
Sanctioned top Putin ally allowed to fly over EU to attend conference in Geneva, Bloomberg reports
Valentina Matviyenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of Russia’s most senior officials, echoed Kremlin disinformation about Ukraine during her appearance at the Geneva conference earlier this week.
As search efforts conclude, Russia's attack on Kyiv becomes most deadly on capital this year with 31 civilians killed
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, said that as of the morning of Aug. 1, the Russian attack had killed 31 people. At around 10:40 a.m. local time, rescuers recovered three more bodies.
Russia depletes Soviet arms, heavily relies on foreign supplies for Ukraine war, analysis suggests
New data from the Kyiv School of Economics Institute indicates that Russia has significantly depleted its vast Soviet-era weaponry stockpiles since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, causing the flow of military goods to the front lines to revert to pre-2022 levels.
EU urges Ukraine to fortify anti-corruption bodies
"Ukraine has already achieved a lot on its European path. It must build on these solid foundations and preserve independent anti-corruption bodies, which are cornerstones of Ukraine's rule of law," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on July 27.
Editors' Picks
'We spot them, we destroy them' — Ukraine fights for Kostiantynivka as Russia closes in on three sides
With all eyes on Kyiv, its surrounding villages are unspoken victims of Russian attacks
Invisible prisoners — the struggle to free thousands of Ukrainians in Russian captivity
