As we mark 1,000 days since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, members of the Kyiv Independent’s staff have paused to reflect. These reflections offer a glimpse into the profound impact of war — not only on a nation’s struggle for survival but on those who bear
Allies are planning to join forces and supply Ukraine with a million drones this year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reportedly said at a press conference in Brussels on Feb. 15.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's statement during a Brussels press conference comes days after Donald Trump, the Republican Party's hopeful for the next U.S. president, raised concerns by anti-NATO comments.
"Today, we decided to create a new NATO-Ukraine joint analysis, training, and education center in Bydgoszcz, Poland," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a press conference the day before the meeting of the NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium.
There will not likely be any major shifts in the war this year as both Ukraine and Russia struggle to assemble a striking force capable of making a major breakthrough, a Kyiv Independent reporter said on Feb. 14, citing a high-ranking NATO official.
NATO’s European allies and Canada have stepped up their defense spending to record levels, but criticism about the Alliance’s members not spending enough is valid, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Feb. 14.
Belarus hosts the CSTO summit, with the notable attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the absence of Armenia’s representative. Ukraine imposes sanctions on Russian and Belarusian defense sectors for 50 years after the end of the war. The OSCE designates Malta as the organization’s head after Russia
Belarus gears up for its first elections since the fraudulent presidential election that triggered mass protests and a brutal regime crackdown three years ago. Experts are under no illusions that the upcoming elections will be free or fair. Russia and Belarus veto Estonia’s OSCE chairmanship – a move that Estonia’
Subscribe to the Newsletter Belarus Weekly Join us Poland deploys a tank battalion near its border with Belarus citing an eastern threat. Belarus develops a new system that would allow it to inspect all mail coming from the European Union. The European Parliament urges the EU to restrict Russian and
Belarus reignites the border crisis spat with Latvia, claiming to have found dead migrants at the countries’ shared border. Latvia denies the claim. The editor-in-chief of an independent Belarusian-language newspaper is sentenced to four years in prison. Human rights groups deem the move politically motivated. Sweden appoints a special envoy
Maria Lvova-Belova, a Russian official wanted by the International Criminal Court for abducting Ukrainian children, visits Minsk to discuss the “protection of children.” Hungary’s foreign minister makes a second controversial visit to Minsk. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko invites Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to visit Belarus. A Belarusian official
A Wall Street Journal analysis sheds light on Russia’s growing nuclear capabilities in Belarus. Belarus expects over $600 million from Russia to compensate for losses sustained from a Russian tax change back in 2018. Poland issues a European arrest warrant against six members of Lukashenko’s security services. A
Lukashenko meets with Iran’s first vice president in Minsk to lament Western sanctions amid the countries’ continued support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. Lukashenko attends the CIS summit in Kyrgyzstan to mark Putin’s first trip abroad since his international arrest warrant was issued. The Belarusian parliament approves
Belarus plans a visit for foreign representatives to places where abducted Ukrainian children are held, in an attempt to evade complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Minsk claims again that a Polish helicopter violated its airspace, a claim Warsaw vehemently denies. Belarusian authorities shut down the last officially registered
Representatives of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s regime attend the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. Belarus’ foreign affairs minister calls for the UN to expand the Security Council. Belarusian democratic forces are also in attendance. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urges Lukashenko to be excluded from UN forums.
Lukashenko proposes creating a trilateral partnership with Russia and North Korea during his meeting with Putin in Sochi. Forty-eight Ukrainian children abducted from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine arrive in Belarus. Latvia closes one of its border crossings with Belarus due to “the most tense situation since 2021” amid the Minsk-engineered
The European Parliament recognizes the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko as an accomplice to the crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, including the mass abduction of children from occupied parts of Ukraine. The Red Cross recommends that the head of its Belarus branch, Dzmitryi Shautsou, step down until the
“Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, is dead.” Such was the false message spread by Russia’s propaganda machine in early May – even Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin joined in. Kyiv was quick to dispel the claim as an intentional effort to “demoralize Ukrainian forces” and undermine
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko claimed Russia will give nuclear weapons to any state that joins the Union State of Russia and Belarus, Russian state-controlled media said.
“Today, at 12 noon, Bahmut was completely taken,” Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed in a video purporting to show him holding a Russian flag in the embattled city. Ukrainian officials have denied his claim.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with world leaders at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima on May 20, including U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and European Council President Charles Michel.
During his address at the annual Victory Day celebration at Moscow’s Red Square to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that “a real war has once again been unleashed against our Motherland.”
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Tehran, Iran, on March 12 to meet with Iranian leaders, according to Lukashenko’s official press service. They will reportedly discuss the countries' bilateral relations with an “emphasis on trade and economic cooperation,” including industry, agriculture, transport, and logistics.
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s team issued a statement on Feb. 20 calling for the restoration of Ukraine’s 1991 borders and the payment of reparations by Moscow, independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported.
Belarus entered 2022 gobbled in its ongoing political crisis and finished it as an accomplice in an unprovoked and brutal Russian aggression toward Ukraine. Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko conceded his country's sovereignty to Russia, becoming entirely reliant on President Vladimir Putin's will. Belarus reached technical default on its foreign debt
