Investigations

An illustration of a man talking to a woman on an online dating site.

Investigation: The romance scam tricking men into ‘rescuing’ Ukrainian women from Russian occupation

by Linda HouraniOctober 16, 2026

Stefan, a 48-year-old Austrian national whose name has been changed at his request, had been looking for a Ukrainian partner. Having previously dated a Ukrainian woman, he said he was drawn to what he viewed as the importance of family in Ukrainian culture. He met "Alona Panchenko," who claimed to be from the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on the international dating website Christian Cupid. Soon after they matched, she suggested moving their conversation to email.

Investigation: Western machinery at the heart of Russian arms producers like Kalashnikov

by Alisa YurchenkoSeptember 21, 2026

Investigation: Inside Russia's FSB prison system in Crimea

by Olesia BidaSeptember 11, 2026

Investigation: How EU machinery keeps feeding Russian missile makers

by Alisa YurchenkoJune 19, 2026

Poster for Last Seen in Crimea, new the Kyiv Independent documentary

Last Seen in Crimea: Kyiv Independent documentary investigates Russia's secret detention system for Ukrainian civilians

by Kyiv IndependentOctober 13, 2026

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

by Jimmy RushtonApril 24, 2026

Watchdog calls for EU sanctions on raw glycerin exports to Russia after Kyiv Independent investigation

by Lucas TonksApril 23, 2026

Investigation: Western companies miss deadline to exit Russia’s main drone production site

by Alisa YurchenkoApril 13, 2026

NewsLetters

News Feed

Wednesday, October 21

04:58 PM

Kremlin 'ready' to resume trilateral peace talks with US, Ukraine, Putin claims

During their meeting, Putin and Witkoff discussed a "specific framework" by which the trilateral talks could take place in mid-November, according to Russian state media.

12:59 PM

Witkoff lauds Putin as 'humanitarian' as Russia releases US prisoner Stephen Hubbard

Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced the release of Hubbard during his meeting with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

04:04 PM

The net gun built for civilians in Ukraine’s kill zone

At a training with the Ukrainian National Guard’s Omega unit, engineers from the defense tech company BlueBird Tech describe how to use their net gun, named Chipa, to entangle an approaching drone’s propellers. The soldiers rehearse encounters with approaching first-person-view (FPV) drones, monitoring a handheld detector as they walk. Once they spot a drone, one soldier who goes by the callsign Poliak (Ukrainian for "Pole"), pulls the safety pin and takes aim with the net gun, while the others

A Ukrainian National Guard soldier holds an FPV drone caught in a net in an unnamed location, Ukraine, on Oct. 20, 2026.

02:02 PM

Editors' Picks

Emergency services deal with the aftermath of a massive Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 8, 2026.

Investigations

Investigation: The romance scam tricking men into ‘rescuing’ Ukrainian women from Russian occupation

Investigation: Western machinery at the heart of Russian arms producers like Kalashnikov

Investigation: Inside Russia's FSB prison system in Crimea

Investigation: How EU machinery keeps feeding Russian missile makers

Last Seen in Crimea: Kyiv Independent documentary investigates Russia's secret detention system for Ukrainian civilians

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

Watchdog calls for EU sanctions on raw glycerin exports to Russia after Kyiv Independent investigation

Investigation: Western companies miss deadline to exit Russia’s main drone production site

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Exclusive: American, European microchips found in Russia's latest missile-like drone

Investigation: Sick Ukrainian children exploited in fraudulent charity campaigns linked to US, Israel

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Russia is preparing Ukrainian children from occupied territories to fight in its war

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Kremlin 'ready' to resume trilateral peace talks with US, Ukraine, Putin claims

Witkoff lauds Putin as 'humanitarian' as Russia releases US prisoner Stephen Hubbard

The net gun built for civilians in Ukraine’s kill zone

Lockheed Martin delegation meets Ukraine's defense chiefs in Kyiv amid severe Patriot shortage

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Editors' Picks

The political calculus of peace in Ukraine

Why Russia's war on Ukraine's data centers could backfire on Moscow

Investigation: The romance scam tricking men into ‘rescuing’ Ukrainian women from Russian occupation

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