As casualties in Ukraine continue to mount, the Kremlin is seeking new sources of manpower while trying to avoid the political shock of full mobilization. Just days before the New Year, Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed laws expanding military conscription. The changes allow year-round drafting and authorize the use of reservists to guard critical infrastructure. At the same time, a growing trend is drawing attention — the share of ethnic Russians among the dead is rising, as is the number

This is Tania Myronyshena reporting from Kyiv on day 1,442 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) agency has called on employees of Russia's defense industry to share information about missile research and production, warning of personal responsibility for their role in supporting the war against Ukraine. In a statement released on Feb. 5, HUR urged workers at Russian defense enterprises to establish direct, secure, and anonymous c

Russian forces launched a mass ballistic missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on Feb. 3, striking multiple residential buildings across the city and injuring at least three people, officials said.

"They are trying to kill us with hunger and cold," one Kyiv resident told the Kyiv Independent.

Russia struck a coal mine operated by Ukraine's biggest private energy firm, DTEK, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast for the second time over the past day, the company said on Feb. 2.

The Ukrainian government approved a resolution on Feb. 2 mandating the registration of Starlink terminals to prevent their use by Russian forces, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced.

This is Tania Myronyshena reporting from Kyiv on day 1,429 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: President Volodymyr Zelensky said Jan. 22, 2026, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Russia is producing about 500 attack drones and "dozens" of ballistic missiles every day, calling on Europe to strengthen its own defenses as the war in Ukraine grinds on. Zelensky said Ukraine is manufacturing about 1,000 interceptor drones per day and using them again

The ministry said that despite overnight missile and drone strikes targeting key energy hubs supplying the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, all facilities at the plant — including the New Safe Confinement and spent nuclear fuel storage sites — are now receiving power from Ukraine's unified energy system and are operating as required.

"Russia plans to have an army of 2 to 2.5 million personnel by 2030. So a European army, while each country keeps its own sovereign forces, must be able to respond. It should be no smaller than 3 million," Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists.

At least one person in Kyiv has been injured, local authorities reported. Ukraine's Air Force has warned that Russian ballistic missiles are targeting multiple regions, including the capital.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur breaks down Russia’s intensified winter assault on Ukraine’s energy grid, as sustained missile and drone strikes push the system to the brink.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a response from the German embassy. Foreign embassies based in Kyiv say they are not evacuating staff despite worsening power outages, damage to energy infrastructure, and forecasts of extreme cold, according to responses obtained by the Kyiv Independent. The statements come as Ukraine’s energy situation worsens amid repeated Russian mass strikes, with a state of emergency declared on Jan. 14 and weather forecasts warning that late January temper

Pechersk is a leafy, affluent neighborhood in central Kyiv. Its prerevolutionary buildings are tucked away from the main roads, surrounded by quiet courtyards and trees. In peacetime, it's where many Ukrainians dreamed of living. Now, in the fourth winter of the war, it's 3 degrees celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit) inside some apartments without additional heating, and the temperature continues to drop. Thick brick walls once insulated the well-off residents from the city's noise — now they make

Latest: 70% of Kyiv without electricity after Russia hammers Ukraine once again with drones, cruise, ballistic missiles. As Kyiv faces prolonged blackouts and subzero temperatures, officials and energy experts warn that the city's infrastructure is nearing its limits. Although the number of buildings without heat has decreased since the Jan. 9 mass missile and drone attack, the broader impact of the crisis on daily life is only deepening. According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, about 800 re

In what could be a huge boost for Ukraine's offensive capabilities, the U.K. announced on Jan. 11 it had launched Project Nightfall, a competition to rapidly develop new long-range ballistic missiles for Kyiv. Ukraine has repeatedly stressed the need to reinforce its ability to target Russian military sites and energy infrastructure with long-range weapons, aiming to increase the economic costs of Moscow's war while strengthening its own air defense network against Russian strikes on Ukraine's