
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

"I think they want to do it now, and I think that Russia wants to do it. But every time one wants to do it, the other doesn’t," Trump told the New York Post in a Dec. 26 phone call.

Russia's mass missile attack targets Kyiv ahead of upcoming Trump-Zelensky meeting
Several waves of explosions were heard across the capital, according to Kyiv Independent reporters on the ground, as well as in Kyiv Oblast, where power outages were reported in the town of Brovary and surrounding areas following the strikes.

Russian officials claim 16 drones headed for Moscow were downed on Christmas Eve
Russia's Defense Ministry reported that between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Moscow time on Dec. 24, its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 132 Ukrainian drones.

'May he perish,' — Zelensky voices Ukrainians' wish in his Christmas Eve address
"'May he perish,' each of us may think to ourselves," Zelensky said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "But when we turn to God, of course, we ask for something greater. We ask for peace for Ukraine."

US Senator Graham says Tomahawks should go to Ukraine if Putin rejects peace deal
"If Putin says no, we need to dramatically change the game, including giving Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to hit the drone and missile factories that exist in Russia. I would go all in if Putin says no," U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on Dec. 21.

Ukraine confirms 2 ships, oil pipeline damaged in drone strike on Russia's Krasnodar Krai
Drone debris hit a pipeline at a terminal in Volna, a village in the region's Temryuk district, the Krasnodar Krai Emergency Headquarters said. A fire broke out as a result of the attack.

Explosions near Veliky Novgorod chemical plant as Russia reports mass drone attack
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.





