Key developments on Nov. 12: * Starshield speed restrictions return, hampering efforts to intercept Russian drones, Zelensky says * Russia attacks Kyiv with ballistic missiles, drones hours after peace talks end * Russian colonel reportedly killed in car explosion near St. Petersburg * Ukraine captures first Indonesian prisoner of war as Russia steps up foreign recruitment * Electric shock, beating, choking — Russian commander tortured civilians in occupied Oleshky, prosecutors say Ukrain

On my way back to Kyiv in October after visiting my partners in eastern Ukraine, I had to get off the train in the middle of the night because Russian drones were headed our way. The foundation I chair teaches displaced Ukrainian women to operate farm machinery through accredited schools, and lately I have been asking myself whether that work makes sense right now. Mobilization and emigration have pulled many of the men who drove tractors and combines out of the fields, and in May, Taras Vysot

"When it comes to European security, then the treaties are very concrete. It is (Council President) Antonio Costa, and it is the High Representative and Vice President (Kaja Kallas) who is representing Europe in security matters," Kallas said. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, however, stopped short of endorsing the Costa-Kallas ticket.

Luo Haizhou had once asked to be referred to only by his call sign "Brunko," but his reticence has since gone. Luo recruits fellow Chinese volunteers for Ukraine's military, despite warnings from Chinese state security officers to his family back home. He knows that returning to his native Shenzhen is now impossible. "For the few dozen Chinese who have joined Ukraine's military, the choice may have cost them the option of ever returning home." Luo met with the Kyiv Independent a day before

The debris was reportedly found a few hours after Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper reported a "massive" Russian drone attack on Odesa and its surrounding areas at around noon local time.

The U.K. announced a major new sanctions package targeting Russia's energy and shipping sectors on Nov. 12, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying now is the time to "continue to ramp up pressure on Russia to agree a full and immediate ceasefire."

Putin claimed that Russian forces control the town and said Moscow was ready to halt fighting in the area to allow civilians to evacuate. He added that if Ukrainian forces control the town, Kyiv should take similar steps, including demining the area.

The Russian soldiers detained two unarmed local residents in June 2023. The civilians endured ten days of torture in dire conditions, deprived of sufficient food, water, and basic sanitation.

As the U.S., Ukraine and Russia wrap up trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the war, Russian battlefield losses continue to mount for another week. After October saw Russian forces suffer their highest monthly personnel losses since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Kremlin set another grim record in November, losing 2,980 troops in a single day on Nov. 8. The intensification of Russian military operations ahead of renewed peace efforts is far from unprecedented, following a p

The investigation revealed that the serviceman "attracted the attention" of Russian intelligence while seeking romantic relationships on Telegram dating channels.

Russian police detained hundreds of young people in Moscow on Nov. 7, handing some of them military summonses, as Russia struggles to recruit enough men for its war against Ukraine. While the raid sparked questions about whether the Kremlin is trying to recruit more soldiers through its crackdown on youth gatherings, experts say the raids may be another tool to control young Russians. Russia has developed several ways to pressure people into joining the military, including offering military co

The number includes 2,150 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The Omsk oil refinery, a Gazprom facility in Siberia, has a processing capacity of over 21 million metric tons of crude per year.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that one person was killed, and eight others were injured as a result of Russian drone strikes.

Russian military officials and other figures involved in Moscow's full-scale invasion have previously been targeted in car bombings and other attacks, sometimes in Ukrainian-led operations.

"Without a free and democratic Belarus, there will be no security, neither for Ukraine nor for European countries," Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said.

"Unfortunately, this is helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes against Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Spain imported 138,000 metric tonnes of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in October despite having phased out imports from Moscow in September, according to a Nov. 12 report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Russian forces launched Iskander-M/KN-23/S-400 ballistic missiles, Zircon anti-ship missiles, Gerbera, Banderol/Dan-T and 123 long-range attack drones at Ukraine overnight on Nov. 12.

The European bloc has already paid over one-fifth more for Yamal LNG this year than throughout the entire 2025, according to Urgewald.

"As a result of the Russian attack, energy infrastructure was damaged, causing emergency power outages in the Shepetivka district," Khmelnytskyi Oblast Governor Serhii Tiurin said.

"We have opened three negotiating clusters and will do all that we can to ensure that the remaining two are opened before the end of the presidency," Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Nov. 11 alongside President Zelensky.

"We see some openings and some opportunities," Jared Kushner told the press, adding that the U.S. envoys would then travel to Dublin to debrief President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will be attending an informal meeting of EU leaders scheduled for Nov. 13.

Key developments on Nov. 11: * 'Large-scale' prisoner exchange agreed as 2nd day of Abu Dhabi talks concludes, Umerov says * Zelensky reveals when Ukraine expects first delivery of Swedish Gripen fighter jets * Russia strikes 6 major power substations, causing outages across Ukraine * Hackers target Ukraine's state news agency Ukrinform, replace website with anti-Ukrainian messages * Ukrainian drones reportedly target Russia's largest oil refinery, strike Baltic Sea port, missile boat * R

The man, originally from the Indonesian island of Java, was sent to participate in a Russian assault in southern Ukraine. After his unit came under a Ukrainian drone attack, he managed to reach Ukrainian-held territory, where he was taken prisoner, according to the I Want to Live project.

Ukrainian drones struck the Ust-Luga Baltic Sea port in western Russia's Leningrad Oblast overnight on Nov. 11, monitoring channels reported.

An air raid alert sounded in the region at around 11 a.m. local time. At the time, Ukraine's Air Force reported that a jet-powered drone was heading toward Chornomorsk.

President Volodymyr Zelensky added that a meeting with U.S. special envoys — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — will also take place in Ireland, following the envoys' trip to Russia.

Five years ago today, a group of journalists in Kyiv was fired for standing up to their newspaper's owner. He wanted to take control of editorial decisions and end their critical coverage of Ukrainian authorities. These journalists faced a choice — to accept it quietly or attempt to start something completely new. Driven by the belief that Ukraine needed a truly independent voice in English, they dared to launch the Kyiv Independent. “This was a perfect moment to sigh, tuck our tails and walk

The hackers replaced the agency's homepage with the word ZELENET, an image of a crossed-out Ukrainian flag, and a link to a Telegram channel. Ukrinform's account on X was also renamed ZELENET, while its biography was changed to include a pro-Russian slogan.

Anti-corruption activists and legal experts have lambasted the recent prosecution reform bill because it does not envisage the participation of any independent or international experts. Prosecutors will dominate in all the bodies supposed to reform the prosecution service.

Imagine your family has survived World War I, a nationwide revolution marked by brutal violence and constantly changing governments, and a famine. Then, less than a decade later, another, even more devastating famine strikes your land under its new rulers. You and the people around you have suffered for years, and many have died. No end to the suffering is in sight.   Yet, on the eve of an important religious holiday, you sit down and decide to continue one of your people's most beautiful and h