On Nov. 11, 2021, a group of young journalists in Ukraine fired for defending their editorial independence decided to launch a new publication that would stand by those principles.
This new publication, without a name at its start, would later become known as the Kyiv Independent.
Three years in, the Kyiv Independent’s coverage of Ukraine has won a dozen domestic and international awards. It has proven crucial for the world’s understanding of Ukraine and the wider region since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched just three months after the Kyiv Independent was created.
Below is a list of the Kyiv Independent’s coverage that has had an impact on how the world sees Ukraine and its fight for freedom.
War reporting
Our reporting on Russia’s full-scale war began at 4 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the largest ground invasion in Europe since World War II.
We were among the first publications to call the invasion a “war,” despite the Kremlin’s attempts to frame it otherwise by euphemistically referring to it as a “special military operation” — terminology many Western outlets parroted at the outset of the war.
We have covered all major stages of the war. We were there to cover the Battle of Kyiv from February–April 2022 when Russian forces withdrew from the region, leaving behind a vast trail of brutal war crimes.
We covered Ukraine’s liberation of Kherson on Nov. 11, 2022, and how Russia has continued to launch near-daily attacks on the city since being pushed out. We have followed the fierce battles of Avdiivka, Bakhmut, Chasiv Yar, and Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast and reported from the front-line cities in the country’s south, east, and north, including from Ukraine-controlled parts of Kursk Oblast in Russia.
The Kyiv Independent has also covered the immense problems that come with fighting a defensive war, from the problems facing Ukrainian medical units to the lack of armor for women serving in the Armed Forces, and the way Ukrainian soldiers are dealing with Russia’s chemical warfare. We have also written about the defense tech industry in Ukraine which has exploded in the wake of the war, and the challenges that it too, faces.
One night in Bakhmut: Civilians wait for the end as Russia draws closer
Eye of the storm: A day in the life of Ukrainian infantry on the zero line near Toretsk
Morning in Sudzha: Inside Ukrainian-occupied Russia as Kursk operation continues
‘Silent killer’: Russia boosts grinding Donbas advance with chemical warfare
Intense fighting, lack of resources leave wounded soldiers on their own
‘She needs armor.’ Female Ukrainian soldiers call for equality
Ukrainian drones are burning Russia’s oil refineries, but not its economy
Russian cities left defenseless as Ukraine ramps up drone attacks
Investigations
Over the three years of the news outlet’s existence, the Kyiv Independent has produced a number of investigations of note. Among them is a three-part award-winning series about the Ukrainian International Legion that uncovered the problems faced by foreigners who have come to Ukraine as volunteers to join the fight against Russia.
For its investigation into the International Legion, the Kyiv Independent won the European Press Prize, the continent’s highest journalism prize.
The Kyiv Independent was also one of the first outlets to look into the Deputy Head of Russia’s FSB Sergey Korolev, who’s been so secretive that almost no photos of him exist online.
Investigation: Shattering the secrecy of Putin’s top spy chief
One of the major problems facing Ukrainian soldiers is a medical system that’s fundamentally broken. The Kyiv Independent covered the problems facing veterans as they seek treatment in an investigation published in 2024.
'Abandon all hope:' Ukraine’s wounded warriors compare military medical system to the Inferno
War crimes
Russia has committed over 130,000 war crimes since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian authorities. In 2023, the Kyiv Independent launched its War Crimes Investigations Unit to document and uncover the atrocities committed by the invading power.
Since its inception, the team has produced six documentaries on Russia’s abduction and murder of children, torture and murder of prisoners of war, sexual violence, and the crimes that continue to happen in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
Uprooted, a documentary about the Russian abduction of Ukrainian children, received the country’s highest investigative journalism award — the Mezhyhirya Award.
Human stories
The Kyiv Independent has been writing not only about the war itself, and the battlefield developments that follow but about the people who endure life in a warzone from families to businesses.
Young Ukrainians killed in Russia’s war inspire others to fight on
Life near Russian-occupied nuclear plant: ‘I don’t know if tomorrow will come’
How has Crimea changed after 10 years of Russian occupation?
48 hours in Kharkiv, Ukraine's most-bombed major city
‘We can't wait for peace:’ Reluctant at first, Denmark takes on rebuilding war-torn Mykolaiv Oblast
Reconstruction in Kyiv suburb sabotaged by local officials, discouraging foreign investors
Ukrainian companies are moving west. It’s changing the country’s economic map
Politics, interviews, and freedom of speech
Despite the war, and the challenges it brings, the Kyiv Independent has remained committed to producing fact-based reports about the domestic challenges that Ukraine is facing from anti-corruption reforms and attacks on freedom of speech to political scandals and government reshuffles.
Reznikov’s tenure as defense chief ends after latest corruption allegations
Old guard pushback continues to haunt Ukraine’s arms procurement cleanup
Are Zelensky and his top general really in discord?
Ukraine’s judicial reform has mixed reviews as it nears key point
Is Telegram, Ukraine’s most popular messenger app, a Russian Trojan horse?
Through the years, the Kyiv Independent’s journalists have been able to speak to powerbrokers, artists, and businesspeople, who shape the world of today and tomorrow.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba: 'Europe doesn't know how to fight wars'
Estonian PM: ‘Our taxpayers shouldn’t pay for damages caused by Russia’
Trump to call Putin, seek quick deal to end Russia-Ukraine war, says Volker
Sikorski: ‘We want to help Ukraine, but you must decide how long you are ready to go on’
How Ukrainian social media influencer raised over $50 million for military thanks to ‘typing’
EBRD president: ‘We decided to continue investing in Ukraine as early as February 2022’
