The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sat down with author, historian, and Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which mark the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II, are one of the country’s biggest public events of the year. President of the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland Andrej Lushnycky who sheds some light on the things Putin would rather you didn’t know about World War II.
The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York discusses with Jonathan Brunstedt, associate professor of history at Texas A&M University, how Russian President Vladimir Putin has weaponized the Soviet myths about World War II to help him justify Russia’s war against Ukraine.
For the second night in a row, the Kremlin has reported downing Ukrainian attack drones on their approach to Moscow. While not an unprecedented event, the timing of these attacks on the Russian capital has not gone unnoticed, coming just days before the much-vaunted Victory Day parade in the center
In a boon for Kyiv's offensive capabilities, France has announced it will manufacture 1,200 AASM Hammer bombs for Ukraine in 2025. Glide bombs have become an integral part of both Russia and Ukraine's arsenals, allowing the delivery of powerful payloads for relatively little cost. The AASM Hammer is one
Pastor Mark Burns, the man described as U.S. President Donald Trump’s “spiritual advisor,” said he believes he played a small part in strengthening U.S.-Ukraine relations after briefing Trump on what he witnessed during a recent visit to Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he believes Ukraine will be "crushed very shortly," as it is up against Russia's "big war machine" that it cannot defeat. "I think I'm saving that nation. I think I'm doing a great service to Ukraine. I believe that," he said in an
U.S. President Donald Trump has once again sent ripples of concern around Ukraine, this time by saying he "thinks" President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to give up occupied Crimea as part of a peace deal to end Russia's full-scale invasion. Trump's comments, if taken at face value, suggest Zelensky
Donald Trump has the chance to become the "greatest president in U.S. history" if he follows the "iconic" examples of previous incumbents such as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, a Ukrainian lawmaker has told the Kyiv Independent. "He wants to be great, and he wants to be remembered
Comments from Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko that Ukraine may be forced to temporarily give up some territories to Russia have been met with dismay by Ukrainian lawmakers who spoke to the Kyiv Independent. "No politician in Ukraine is authorized to change Ukraine's borders — this is the sovereign right of the
U.S. President Donald Trump has once again failed to condemn his Russian counterpart in the aftermath of yet another devastating missile attack on Ukraine, casting further doubt on Washington's ability to fairly broker a peace in the country. "I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not
Ukraine is facing a crossroads in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion, with the possibility of being forced to reject an unfavorable peace deal being imposed under huge pressure from the U.S.
Reports that the U.S. could formally give de jure recognition to Russia's control over Crimea have landed like a bombshell in Kyiv.
The chair of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee compared the potential decision to Western appeasement of Adolf Hitler that led to World War II.
When U.S. President Donald Trump paused military aid to Ukraine last month, the man described as his "spiritual advisor," Pastor Mark Burns, backed the decision. This week, Burns is urging him to send Kyiv more tanks, fighter jets, and air defense. "I now believe that supporting Ukraine is America
He's been "pissed off," "not happy," and "very angry," but so far, U.S. President Donald Trump is yet to take any concrete action to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a full ceasefire. Trump has multiple forms of leverage he could use against the Kremlin — increasing military
Amid the drama and turmoil created by Donald Trump’s second presidency, three Yale University professors last week announced they would be leaving the U.S. for Canada over concerns about the increasingly authoritarian direction their country is heading in. "I could feel the reign of terror spiraling," one of
U.S. President Donald Trump's stated goal of bringing a swift end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is looking evermore distant, with only two tentative partial ceasefires to show after several rounds of talks. Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March
CIA Director John Ratcliffe on March 25 gave a rousing assessment of Kyiv's desire to achieve an acceptable and lasting peace in Ukraine, insisting its people and armed forces would fight Russia with "their bare hands" if they had to. "I want to say that with regard to the Ukrainian
The White House on March 25 announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to "eliminate the use of force" in the Black Sea, returning the spotlight to a theater of battle that has been relatively quiet for more than a year. Throughout 2022 and 2023, Ukrainian strikes against Russian ships,
The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sits down with Marty Latz, an expert negotiator who has spent decades examining the techniques U.S. President Donald Trump has used to make deals, to discuss Trump's negotiation techniques as he tries to broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
Ukraine last week announced the latest advance in the ongoing drone race with Russia, saying its new variant had the longest range of any in its arsenal and had successfully completed testing. "Our drone with a 3,000-kilometer range has passed testing," President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his evening address
Steve Witkoff's controversial comments on the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine have prompted criticism from Ukrainian lawmakers.
U.S. negotiators will meet separately with Ukrainian and Russian delegates in Riyadh on March 24, but although contours of a potential partial ceasefire proposal are beginning to form, Kyiv remains skeptical of Moscow's intentions. The upcoming discussions are meant to flesh out technical details on what this ceasefire, either
The Kremlin on March 18 announced it had agreed to a U.S.-proposed partial ceasefire against certain targets in Ukraine, claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin had "responded favorably to the proposal and immediately" ordered his armed forces to halt attacks. Despite the announcement — made after a call between Putin
The Russian cities of Saratov and Engels were targeted in the heaviest drone attack against Saratov Oblast throughout the entire full-scale war overnight on March 20, Governor Roman Busargin claimed, reporting a fire at a local airfield.
U.S. President Donald Trump said it was a "great call." A Kremlin aide declared the world had "become a much safer place." But in Kyiv, the reaction to the call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 18 has been noticeably more muted. “Judging by the news,
Russia is signaling its intention to reject a U.S. ceasefire proposal already accepted by Ukraine in Jeddah this week, setting the stage for a likely diplomatic standoff between Washington and Moscow. After nearly 48 hours of silence on the issue, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov on March 13 dismissed
The "ball is in (Russia's) court," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 11 after Kyiv and Washington emerged from talks in Saudi Arabia in agreement over a ceasefire proposal. After the negotiations with Washington, Ukraine announced that it was ready to accept a 30-day-long ceasefire if
Over the course of a tumultuous few weeks of talks, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his frustration with Kyiv. On March 7, Trump declared that he finds it "more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine" than Russia. Yet, after weeks of strong-arming Ukraine into submission, the Trump
The Kyiv Independent's Chris York sits down with Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and political scientist, to discuss the Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations, U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the ideological parallels between Putinism and MAGA.
Kyiv officials will meet their Washington counterparts in Jeddah on March 11 for talks which will impact the future of diplomatic relations between the two countries and likely the future of the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian side hopes the meeting would help mend ties with the White House and
Just a few years ago, the biggest purveyors of disinformation on the internet were bots, conspiracy theorists and Russian propaganda outlets. Today the world is a very different place and two of the most prominent sources of lies and mistruths are the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sits down with Eliot Higgins, founder and creative director of the investigative outlet Bellingcat, to discuss how we arrived at this point and what can be done about it.
