KI short logo

Investigations

Investigation: A secret program, 'suicidal' missions, and death, torture in occupied Ukraine
Investigations

Investigation: A secret program, 'suicidal' missions, and death, torture in occupied Ukraine

by Jimmy Rushton

A Western-funded classified program supported a "non-violent resistance" initiative inside Russian-occupied Ukraine for more than three years that encouraged civilians to engage in "suicidal" activities despite credible reports of the deaths, torture, and imprisonment of activists, the Kyiv Independent can reveal. Russian-occupied Ukraine is one of the most heavily surveilled and most repressive territories in the world, and some of the activities Yellow Ribbon and its sister initiative Zla Mav

More from Investigations

NewsLetters

News Feed

Ukraine's point man with Trump tested as corruption probe intensifies

Newly released recordings linked to Ukraine's biggest corruption scandal have put Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, back into the spotlight, prompting renewed scrutiny over his role in U.S.-brokered peace negotiations. The developments come at a particularly sensitive moment. Umerov, a former defense minister, has not been formally charged but is allegedly under investigation. He is reportedly mentioned in the most recent set of leaked recordings, tying him

Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 3, 2026.

Ukraine war latest: Russia's Kirishi oil refinery stops production after drone strikes

Key developments on May 5: * Russia's Kirishi oil refinery stops production after drone strikes * European Commission opens call for proposals to join EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance * Russian fiber-optic FPV drones reach Kramatorsk, Ukraine's Donbas stronghold * EU votes in support of Nuremberg-style tribunal for Russia. Ukrainian Flamingo missiles struck a Russian military production facility in Cheboksary overnight on May 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as part of a large-scale missile

Most Popular

Editors' Picks

News Feed