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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Trump signs sweeping Russia sanctions bill into law

Among its provisions, the law requires the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from countries that continue buying Russian crude oil or natural gas and were among the five largest importers of Russian energy by volume over the previous 12 months.

Exclusive: Ukraine, Russia are done with Steve Witkoff. Trump sees no problem

Kyiv and Moscow are growing increasingly frustrated with the U.S.-mediated peace process — and with Washington's Envoy Steve Witkoff, people familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent. Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has emerged as a key peace negotiator, traveled to Russia and Ukraine in early September in an attempt to restart stalled negotiations. They left both countries with little to show for the effort. Behind the scenes, however, several separate efforts are

U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 6, 2026.

Ukraine war latest: Elite Russian drone unit pulls back from northern Donetsk Oblast amid Ukrainian offensive

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