A man rides a bicycle in front of residential buildings in Chernihiv, a regional capital in northern Ukraine, damaged by Russian fire, on March 3, 2022. Fourty-seven people died when Russian forces hit Chernihiv's residential areas, including a school and high-rise apartment buildings. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called "a special military operation" against Ukraine on Feb. 24, de facto declaring war on the country.
Putin claimed to have “no ill intentions towards neighboring countries” and denied firing missiles on civil infrastructure during what he called a campaign to “disarm and de-Nazify” Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian troops have shelled civilians in residential areas, burned houses, schools, and kindergartens all over Ukraine.
Ten days after Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine began, hundreds of Ukrainians are dead, thousands are injured, and over a million are displaced.
The Kyiv Independent publishes photographs of Ukrainian cities, destroyed by the Kremlin.
People remove personal belongings from a burning house after being shelled in the city of Irpin, outside Kyiv, on March 4, 2022. (Getty Images)A view of the central square of Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, on March 1, 2022, soon after being shelled. (AFP/Getty Images)Ukrainian servicemen assist a civilian, while people cross a destroyed bridge, as they evacuate residents of Irpin, a city northwest of Kyiv, during heavy shelling on March 5, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)Children are being evacuated from the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, during heavy shelling on March 5, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)An injured woman stands in front of a damaged apartment complex outside of Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Getty Images)Destroyed Russian armored vehicles in the city of Bucha, west of Kyiv, on March 4, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)Firefighters try to extinguish a blaze at a damaged residential building at Koshytsia Street, in one of Kyiv's residential neighborhoods, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Getty Images)A man clears debris at a damaged residential building at Koshytsia Street in Kyiv's Pozniaky neighborhood on Feb. 25, 2022. (Getty Images)A child looks on as residents are being evacuated from the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, during heavy shelling on March 5, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)The building of the Vasylkiv Professional College destroyed by Russian rocket fire, Vasylkiv, Kyiv Oblast, on March 1, 2022. (Getty Images)Police officers cover the bodies of people killed in an airstrike that targeted Kyiv's TV tower on March 1, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)A photograph of Constitution Square in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, after being shelled by Russia on March 2, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)A damaged apartment seen after being hit by an early morning missile strike on Feb. 25, 2022 in Kyiv. (Getty Images)A view of a damaged building following the shelling of Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, on March 3, 2022. (AFP/ Getty Images)The view on the damaged building in Kyiv hit by a Russian missile on Feb. 26, 2022. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky lambasted ongoing calls to hold elections in Ukraine during a press conference on Feb. 23 amid an unstable security situation across the country.
"I know that there are people from this Hungarian leader who have contact with people in President Trump's orbit, and are constantly raising questions... in regards to not expanding NATO into eastern Europe," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, criticizing Kremlin talking points that NATO was at fault for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back at the U.S.’ demand for a $500 billion deal for its natural resources, saying that the U.S.’s aid grants are not debts, during the Ukraine: Year 2025 forum in Kyiv on Feb. 23.
Umerov did not specify what the alternatives were or go into details about the discussions. Last month, the Digital Transformation Ministry told the Kyiv Independent that Starlinks were still a critical part of communication on the frontline and that a new order was underway.
The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur breaks down the stories impacting Ukraine this week. The U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg visited Kyiv as the U.S. President Donald Trump’s team started talks with Russia about a ceasefire deal — without Ukraine’s involvement.
Yulia Svyrydenko's comment comes as Kyiv and Washington negotiate a deal for Ukraine’s natural resources in return for support and security guarantees.
Andrii Sybiha noted that this is the goal of President Volodymyr Zelensky and told partners that “it is time to fasten our diplomatic seat belts” and “not give in to emotions.”
Starmer will visit Washington D.C. in the coming week where he will meet Trump and emphasize that Kyiv “must be at the heart of any negotiations to end the war.”
Three of the injured victims have been hospitalized, with one woman reportedly in critical condition. She is being treated in the hospital's intensive care unit.
"The president, his team are very much focused on continuing negotiations with both sides of this war to end the conflict, and the president is very confident we can get it done this week," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Feb. 22.
The two leaders could discuss a broad range of global topics in addition to the war in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. The meeting would be a step toward "normalizing relations" between the U.S. and Russia.
"I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up," Trump said on Feb. 22. "We're asking for rare earth and oil — anything we can get."
"In 2024, Russia had to mobilize thousands of people from the newly occupied territories and those who had previously been under occupation. According to HUR, this plan has been fulfilled by 104%."
The terms of the revised proposal are virtually the same as those of an earlier version rejected by President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to a draft dated Feb. 21.
Following his meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof at the Munich Security Conference, President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses remains a top priority.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has denied reports that the United States threatened to shut off Starlink in Ukraine unless Kyiv agreed to a minerals deal.
Responding to a report by Reuters, Musk called the claim "false" and accused the news agency of lying.
The European Union is discussing how to seize Russia’s frozen central bank assets to provide financial and military aid to Ukraine, as concerns grow that the United States may scale back its support.
U.S. President Donald Trump said a new phase of ceasefire negotiations between American and Russian delegations aimed to stop Russia's war against Ukraine would take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 25.
