Lesia Ogryzko

Five years into the full-scale conflict, it has become clear that the model of strategic deterrence – the "steel porcupine" that Ursula von der Leyen often invokes when speaking about Ukraine –  offers no guarantee of resilience and long-term peace. The "steel porcupine" model assumes that, given Russia's significant resource advantage, Ukraine's only realistic strategy is to build a defense so strong that continued aggression becomes prohibitively costly for Russia. However, as of 2026, this

The Russian army’s blow-up of the Kakhovka dam, a strategically important facility providing water to southern Ukraine, Crimea, and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, shocked Ukraine and the world. Another shocking development that did not go unnoticed by Ukrainians and the country’s officials was the only tweet by the UN’s official Twitter account that morning, celebrating Russian Language Day. The irony could not be greater. What is already clear to observers is that we are dealing with t

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in our op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent. A year ago, on Feb. 21, just three days before Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the independence of two Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions – self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic.” At the time, many rightly feared that this might serve as a pretext for Russia