News Feed

12:19 AM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Russia launches largest drone attack on Kyiv; Ukraine to sanction Iran

11:25 PM

Zelensky congratulates Erdogan on victory in presidential election after run-off vote

With almost 99% of ballots counted in the second round of Turkey's presidential election, incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan received 52% of the votes, according to unofficial data published the state-run Anadolu Agency.

10:36 PM

1 wounded in Russian shelling of Kharkiv Oblast.

The Russian military heavily shelled the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv Oblast on May 28, the State Emergency Service reported. As a result of the attack, a 74-year old woman suffered shrapnel wounds in the village of Kucherivka.

9:23 PM

General Staff: Over 100 Russian soldiers desert in occupied Lysychansk and near Bakhmut.

About 80 Russian soldiers in the occupied city of Lysychansk, Luhansk Oblast, as well as about 30 mercenaries of the Wagner Group near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast deserted from the battlefield, the General Staff reported on May 28.

9:10 PM

Official: Ukraine won't join NATO until war ends.

Fedir Venislavskyi, the Ukrainian president's representative in the Ukrainian parliament, said on May 28 that the NATO alliance is unlikely to accept Ukraine until the war with Russia ends.

8:32 PM

Reznikov reports 100% hit rate for new British-made cruise missiles used by Ukraine.

The air-launched Storm Shadow missiles, jointly developed by Great Britain and France and capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than 250 kilometers, were delivered to Ukraine on May 12 from the UK, CNN reported.

Want to partner with the Kyiv Independent?

Contact the Tellers Agency to connect your brand with independent media.

6:50 PM

General Staff: Canadian sappers training Ukrainian soldiers in Poland.

Canadian military sappers have been training Ukrainian soldiers on mine safety in Poland, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on May 28. According to the General Staff, the courses are part of the Canadian UNIFIER training mission.

5:08 PM

Zelensky thanks air defense, first responders after overnight Russian attack.

“The Air Defense Forces of Ukraine. You heard the air raid alarm differently than most people,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the aftermath of Russia's overnight attack on Kyiv on May 28. “You look up to destroy enemy missiles, aircraft, helicopters, and drones. Every time you shoot down enemy drones and missiles, lives are saved.”

4:26 PM

Lukashenko claims Russia will give nukes to any state that joins 'Union State.'

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.

2:54 PM

Lavrov calls move to supply Ukraine with Western fighter jets ‘unacceptable escalation.’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the pledged delivery of fighter jets by some Western states is an "unacceptable escalation," criticizing the West for what he called an attempt to "weaken Russia," according to Russian state-controlled media.

1:51 PM

Russia claims drones targeted oil refinery near Black Sea.

Russia’s Krasnodar regional authorities claimed an overnight attempted drone attack on the Ilsky Oil Refinery. According to the report, the attack caused a fire at the oil refinery.

1:35 PM

Zelensky asks parliament to sanction Iran for 50 years.

The bill includes a complete ban on trade with Iran, investments, and transferring technologies, as well as stopping Iranian transit across the Ukrainian territory, and preventing the withdrawal of Iranian assets from Ukraine.

12:22 PM

Russian attacks kill 1, injure 8 civilians across Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Russian attacks in Kherson, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblast have also damaged housing, infrastructure, and power grid, regional authorities reported on May 28.

11:43 AM

Death toll rises in Russian strike on Dnipro clinic after more body fragments identified.

Authorities identified fragments of the bodies found on the site, proving they belonged to the three people who had been recorded missing.

10:40 AM

Russian attacks kill 2 in Kharkiv Oblast, hit infrastructure in Zhytomyr Oblast.

Russian shelling and airstrike killed two civilians and injured three others in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast over the past day, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on May 28.

9:38 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 206,600 troops in Ukraine.

General Staff added an estimated 400 casualties to its count of Russian losses over the past 24 hours.

7:01 AM

More than 40 Russian drones shot down over Kyiv overnight.

Kyiv's air defenses shot down over 40 drones Russia launched at the capital overnight on May 28, in what the Kyiv City Military Administration says was the largest drone attack on the city since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

6:11 AM

Media: Explosions reported in Zhytomyr.

Explosions were heard in the central city of Zhytomyr early in the morning of May 28, the Suspilne news outlet reported at around 5:30 a.m. local time.

4:22 AM

Zelensky on sanctions: 'Russia and those helping it will gain nothing and lose everything'.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during an address on May 27 that Ukraine would keep up its sanctions regime against Russia and those helping it in its war against Ukraine.

2:56 AM

Russia launches largest drone attack at Kyiv in 14th mass aerial assault this month, killing at least 1.

Debris from an aerial target that was shot down fell onto a gas station in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, killing one person and injuring at least one, the Kyiv City Military Administration reported on Telegram.

2:29 AM

Explosions occur in Kyiv, authorities say air defenses at work.

Explosions were reported in Kyiv just after 1 a.m. local time overnight on May 28, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said on Telegram, adding that air defenses were operating and Russian aerial targets had been shot down.

1:25 AM

Media: Russia hunts down 7 deserters recruited from prisons.

Seven Russian servicemen who were formerly inmates have deserted near Soledar in Donetsk Oblast, Russian state news agency TASS and Baza, a Russian Telegram news channel, reported on May 27, citing their sources.

1:12 AM

Austria to finance demining in Ukraine.

Austria will finance demining equipment worth 2 million euros ($2.2 million) for Ukraine, the Austrian government announced in a statement.

12:34 AM

Russian shelling of Zaporizhzhia Oblast injures two civilians.

Two men in their 60s were injured when Russia shelled a residential area in the settlement of Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on May 27, according to regional governor Yuriy Malashko.

12:05 AM

Poll: two thirds of Ukrainians oppose negotiations with Russia.

A new poll has found that 64% of Ukrainians oppose direct talks with Russia before the war ends, while 23.1% are in favor of negotiations.

MORE NEWS

Illia Ponomarenko: Why some Ukrainian soldiers use Nazi-related insignia

Where does Russia expect Ukraine’s counterattack? Overview of defensive lines

Russia’s Kinzhal missile is not hypersonic. Nor is it invincible

watch us on facebook

News Feed

Edit post

Belarus 'pardons' jailed activist Raman Pratasevich

by The Kyiv Independent news desk May 22, 2023 3:01 PM 2 min read

This audio is created with AI assistance

Belarus has "pardoned" jailed Belarusian activist Raman Pratasevich, Belarusian state news agency BelTA said on May 22.

The Minsk regional court sentenced Pratasevich, a former editor for Belarusian Telegram channel Nexta, to eight years in prison on May 8. The court accused him of participating in a so-called “extremist group,” undermining national security, and other politically motivated charges.

Pratasevich's co-defendants, Yan Rudzik and Stsiapan Putsila, who were tried in absentia, were sentenced to 19 and 20 years in prison, respectively.

“Literally, I just signed all the relevant documents stating that I was pardoned. This, of course, is just great news,” Pratasevich told reporters in Minsk.

Pratasevich fled Belarus but was detained when his commercial flight from Athens to Vilnius was forced to land in Minsk while flying over the country.

On July 19, 2022, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) found Belarus guilty of orchestrating the forced landing of Ryanair Flight FR4978. According to the ICAO, forced landings constitute an offense under the Montreal and Chicago conventions.

Pratasevich has been called the regime’s “hostage,” appearing in official press conferences and on state-owned TV as an alleged “remorseful opposition activist” that is now loyal to Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. Human rights groups say his confessions have been extracted through torture.

The Nexta Telegram channel published videos that criticized Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s regime on topics like the country’s elections, the death penalty, and protests over various government policies.

It extensively covered the protests that followed the fraudulent Belarusian presidential election in 2020.

From Aug. 9 to 16 that year, Nexta’s Telegram channel audience grew from 427,000 to over 2 million subscribers, becoming the mouthpiece and coordinator for protests across the country.

The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Comments