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Investigations

Investigation: Inside Russia's FSB prison system in Crimea
Investigations

Investigation: Inside Russia's FSB prison system in Crimea

by Olesia Bida

Two new Russian pretrial detention centers in occupied Crimea form part of a system in which Ukrainian civilians are held for months without formal charges, access to lawyers, or family contact, and detainees report torture and abuse under the watch of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), a new investigation by the Kyiv Independent reveals. Former detainees told the Kyiv Independent that their relatives sometimes did not know whether their abducted loved ones were still alive. Russia's Fed

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Exclusive: Putin puts a price on Trump's Ukraine energy truce — Kyiv fears the cost

Russia has demanded sanctions relief from the U.S. as part of talks over a possible energy ceasefire with Ukraine, while also seeking to link the initiative to a ceasefire in the Black Sea, U.S. and Ukrainian officials familiar with the talks told the Kyiv Independent. The demands come as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with one senior Ukrainian defense official saying Moscow is trying to inflict as much damage as possible to gain leverage before potential negotia

Food court flop? Kyiv’s historic market empties after million-dollar makeover

Bessarabskyi Market has stood in Kyiv for 114 years. Its upscale makeover lasted less than one. Less than a year after the late-2025 reopening, most of the restaurants are gone, and the hall is quieter than before the renovation. Before the makeover, Bessarabskyi was a labyrinth of produce stalls, offering everything from churchkhela — a sweet from the Caucasus — and watermelons from southern Ukraine to pigs' feet and sauerkraut craft beer. But by the end of 2025, the maze of vendors had shru

A man walks past a closed bar at the Bessarabskyi  Market in Kyiv, Ukraine on Oct. 6, 2026.
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