Drones have been flying toward the capital for hours at a time, with explosions and the sound of air defense fire rocking the city throughout the morning and afternoon.

Russia has sharply escalated its attacks on Ukrainian businesses, striking supermarket distribution centers, postal facilities, gas stations, warehouses, railway infrastructure, industrial plants, and Black Sea ports. The Kyiv Independent’s Dominic Culverwell sits down with Hlib Vyshlinsky, executive director of the Kyiv-based Center for Economic Strategy, to discuss why Russia is increasingly targeting Ukraine’s civilian economy — and what the campaign could mean for businesses, consumers, and

Germany could get its first far-right state government since World War II — and Ukraine has reasons to follow it closely. The Alternative for Germany's (AfD) potential victory in Saxony-Anhalt's election on Sept. 6 will not only send a chilling signal to the federal state's 39,000 Ukrainians but also shake the mainstream parties' efforts to keep the Moscow-friendly party out of power. Polling at 41%, the AfD's local branch — classified by the German security service as "confirmed far-right ext

Amid intensifying attacks in the Black Sea from both Ukraine and Russia, a Turkish-operated vessel was hit on Aug. 26 off the coast of Tuapse — a Russian port city with a large oil refinery that Ukraine frequently attacks with drones.

Russia launched nearly 2,000 attack drones, more than 1,600 glide bombs, and 31 missiles, including North Korean ballistic missiles, against Ukraine in just the last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel on Aug. 30.

Ukrainian forces targeted a major oil refinery in northwestern Russia's Leningrad Oblast and an airbase in Krasnodar Krai overnight on Aug. 30, monitoring channels reported.

At around 8:10 p.m. local time on Aug. 28, a Russian drone struck a facility in the village of Myla, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) west of Kyiv along the Kyiv-Chop highway. The attack sparked a large fire, followed by ammunition detonations, the Prosecutor General's Office reported.

Russia continued its near-constant drone attacks on Ukraine's capital for a third consecutive night on Aug. 29-30, with authorities repeatedly issuing air-raid alerts in Kyiv as fires were reported in the city.

The figure includes 1,400 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

"At the moment, Russia's options for escalation are quite limited. The only thing Russia can still escalate with is mobilization. And I believe mobilization would have domestic political repercussions in Russia," Finnish President Alexander Stubb said.

Near-continuous air raid alerts across large swaths of Ukraine stretched into a third consecutive day on Aug. 29, as Russia launched continued waves of attacks targeting the country.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government is expected to announce the measures in the coming week, potentially alongside a new European Union sanctions package, according to Politico.

"Yes, that's the food chain. Children should be taught about this, so that they understand what kind of world we live in and why we are conducting the special military operation," Vladimir Putin said.

The General Staff added that the destruction of a Russian Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system near the town of Klintsy in Russia's Bryansk Oblast on Aug. 28 had also been confirmed.

As of Aug. 29, there had been no reports of Ukrainian citizens being injured or killed, according to the ministry.

"The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has developed possible response scenarios, including measures to defend, protect, and counter these actions," Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa said.

The date, Aug. 29, is linked to the tragedy near the city of Ilovaisk, Donetsk Oblast when Russian forces in 2014 violated an agreement to provide a safe corridor for Ukrainian troops to withdraw from encirclement and opened fire on them.

The figure includes 1,420 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Ukrainian forces struck a warehouse belonging to Russian e-commerce giant Ozon overnight on Aug. 29, the company announced, as sites across southern Russia's Rostov Oblast were reportedly targeted.

"On the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes is criminal negligence," Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said. "And all those responsible, without exception, must face severe punishment so that such situations do not happen again."

"I am grateful for the information and for the necessary tone of the conversation with Russia," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Earlier, Ukraine's Presidential Office issued a warning, saying that Russia plans to mobilize 600,000 recruits over 2026 and 2027, with 300,000 to be called up this year and another 300,000 next year.

"The task is a thousand drones for long-range strikes against Russia every day. Right now, the average is over 300 of our long-range strikes, there must be more," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Fedorov said that, in this role, he "would help Italy develop modern warfare technologies, strengthen its defense sector, and adapt to emerging global security challenges."

According to NABU and SAPO, the organization was involved in the alleged takeover of two companies with combined assets worth Hr 248 million (around $5.6 million).

Key developments on Aug. 28: * Ukraine must mobilize at least 30,000 people per month, Budanov says, warning war won't end soon * Ukrainian drones target one of Russia's largest oil refineries in Yaroslavl, Tu-95 bomber at Engels base in overnight attack * Russia has destroyed 90% of Ukraine's modern storage facilities, minister says * Russia considers placing troops, weapons on civilian ships as it struggles to protect shadow fleet, Zelensky says * Russian attack destroys one of Ukraine's

Under a newly prepared draft law, time spent in the Ukrainian Armed Forces would count toward the five year residency requirement for foreigners.

The comments come as Ukraine's leadership is under increasing pressure from both the military and society to tackle issues in the country's flawed and unpopular mobilization process.

The victim is reportedly Sergei Sechkov, an officer at Russia’s 332nd Separate Helicopter Regiment.

No longer a minor player, Pyongyang has become an essential cog in Russia's war machine. Now, Kyiv warns that its role may grow further still — but not overnight. Ukrainian intelligence in August issued alarming warnings hinting that Russia could soon ask North Korea to contribute up to 50,000 more of its troops for its war against Ukraine, with missiles, drone operators, and technical brigades to follow. This influx of additional troops and materiel would come on top of the soldiers, shells,

Weapons production in Ukraine has a mountain of problems: short contracts, scandals over ammunition and other complex equipment procurement, inefficient drone purchasing, leaky quality control and oversight of manufacturers' capabilities, export rules that don't work, funding shortages, and more. All of this ultimately adds up to poor supply for troops at the front. Neither the dismissed minister Mykhailo Fedorov nor any other "six-month defense minister" has come even close to solving these p

'From Bohdan Khmelnytsky to Ivan Mazepa, there were no hetmans.' This old, hyperbolic Ukrainian saying shows just how large Mazepa looms in the region's history. A man of many worlds, the Orthodox nobleman born near Kyiv climbed from the Polish royal court and studies in Western Europe to become hetman — a military and political leader of the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate, a state that once spanned much of central and eastern Ukraine — and a trusted ally of Russian Tsar Peter I. When he ultimat