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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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Fact check: Russia turns to AI to push fakes about 'women's draft' in Ukraine

Russian disinformation yet again targets the sensitive topic of mobilization in Ukraine — this time, pushing falsehoods about an alleged forced draft of women. Pro-Kremlin social media accounts and Russian media have spread AI-generated images alleging that Ukrainian women are being lured to join the Armed Forces by targeted recruitment posters, while others claim they are being outright called up for military service. But though tens of thousands of Ukrainian women enlisted in the army as vol

Servicewomen of Ukraine’s “Fighting Witches” mobile air defense group practice shooting in Kyiv Oblast on Nov. 2, 2024.

Letters to the editor: Readers question Trump's Russian diesel deal and US sanctions policy

This week's letters come from readers questioning the Trump administration's decision to purchase Russian diesel fuel amid rising prices in the United States. An American reader argues the deal benefits Russian President Vladimir Putin at Ukraine's expense, a scholar questions whether a U.S. sanctions bill will meaningfully pressure Moscow, and a British reader raises concerns about Washington's turn to Russian oil. Got an opinion on anything you've read in the Kyiv Independent? Send it to lett

As Russian missiles slip through Kyiv's air defenses without warning, officials say US intelligence sharing remains intact. For now

Despite the recent failure of Kyiv's early warning system and threats to halt U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Washington made no such decision, Ukrainian and American sources told the Kyiv Independent. Five Russian S-400 missiles struck the Ukrainian capital shortly after 10 p.m. local time on Oct. 12, causing "massive explosions," Kyiv Independent journalists reported. Air raid sirens and mobile alerts sounded only after the attack. The attack came as Washington had threatened to susp

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