Israel's "preemptive" strikes against Iran targeting the country's nuclear program and killing top military officials could have far-reaching implications for Ukraine and could boost Russia's ability to continue its full-scale invasion, experts have told the Kyiv Independent. Iran has been one of Russia's staunchest allies throughout the war, providing thousands
Following the second round of direct peace talks with Ukraine, the Russian side leaked its proposal on how to end its war — effectively a demand for Ukraine's surrender. Yet, if the intentions of the Kremlin are no secret — continue the war until a political or military victory — getting information on
Russian officials and propagandists have chosen different strategies for dealing with the unprecedented Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian airfields that took place on June 1. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that, as part of an operation dubbed Spiderweb, it had destroyed or damaged 41 Russian aircraft parked at
As Ukraine and Russia prepare for peace talks scheduled for June 2 in Istanbul, few observers expect a breakthrough. While the U.S. and Ukraine have pushed for an unconditional ceasefire, the Kremlin has rejected it. Instead, Moscow has regularly voiced maximalist demands that are unlikely to be accepted by
Editor's Note: In 2023, Andriy Portnov filed a lawsuit against Olga Rudenko, the chief editor of the Kyiv Independent, over an article in which he was referenced as being "pro-Russian." A Kyiv court ruled in Portnov's favor in September 2024. In April 2025, an appeal court upheld the ruling. Rudenko
Reports that the U.S. could formally give de jure recognition to Russia's control over Crimea have landed like a bombshell in Kyiv.
As U.S. President Donald Trump is pursuing rapprochement with Russia, the country's embassy in Kyiv is facing internal strain. Following the change in administration, Bridget Brink, who had been the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine since 2022, was put in the hot seat. Brink attempted to align with the
Three weeks ago, Ukraine and the U.S. agreed to implement a full 30-day ceasefire. Russia declined to do so, issuing a list of demands instead. On April 4, Russia hit a residential neighborhood in the city of Kryvyi Rih with ballistic missiles and drones, killing 19 people, including nine
As Ukraine struggles to reform its tainted judiciary, investigators and top officials are allegedly helping controversial judges to keep their seats. As part of the judicial reform, the High Qualification Commission was scheduled to vet 41 judges, including those from Ukraine's two most dubious courts — the Pechersk Court and the
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff recently claimed that the majority of people in Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories had participated in referendums and "indicated that they want to be under Russian rule." Witkoff's claim is false in many ways. Witkoff referred to the Russian sham vote on the annexation of Ukraine's
U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on March 18 to discuss a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal. Putin claimed Russia would pause attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for 30 days, but did not commit to a broader ceasefire. Russia has declined
Russian President Vladimir Putin's conditions for a ceasefire are unrealistic and tantamount to demanding that Ukraine disarm itself and surrender, analysts say. Putin said on March 13 that Russia was ready to agree to the U.S.-backed 30-day-long ceasefire in Ukraine but then followed by listing a number of
As a U.S. delegation in Moscow worked to hammer out a ceasefire agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader responded by demanding extensive concessions in exchange for a ceasefire deal in Ukraine. So far, Trump has made harsh demands on Ukraine while avoiding putting similar pressure on
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
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
As Washington continues to pressure Kyiv into submission, President Volodymyr Zelensky stands at a painful crossroads — agree to U.S. demands or chart a course without Washington, pinning Ukraine's hopes for survival on Europe alone. Neither option seems reassuring for Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump's constant verbal attacks against
European countries have intensified talks on sending peacekeepers to Ukraine to monitor and enforce a possible ceasefire. But the potential deployment of European peacekeepers to Ukraine faces a lot of challenges and uncertainties. There is no unity among European countries on the issue, with some of them openly opposing the
Editor's note: This article was updated on March 5 to include a statement from the U.S. European Command. President Donald Trump’s freeze on weapons is alarming Ukrainians, who look to U.S. air defense to stave off the worst of Russia's missile attacks. A White House representative on
U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that the U.S. spent $350 billion on assistance for Ukraine. He also said he wants it back. Trump has used the sum to pressure Ukraine into signing a deal that would give the U.S. at least a 50% interest in Ukrainian
U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Ukraine's president is an illegitimate "dictator" aligns with Kremlin war objectives and puts Volodymyr Zelensky in an almost impossible situation, experts and analysts have told the Kyiv Independent. "In the last few days we’ve seen how closely Trump has aligned himself with
The emergency Ukraine summit held in Paris by European leaders on Feb. 17 exposed divisions between European countries, highlighting how they have so far failed to agree on a coherent plan for supporting Kyiv, analysts have told the Kyiv Independent. French President Emmanuel Macron convened the summit after Brussels and
As U.S.-Russian talks on ending the war in Ukraine kicked off in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18, Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, appears to have been partially sidelined from the negotiations. Kellogg will focus on talks with Ukraine and Europe,
As diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Russia have kicked off to end Moscow's war in Ukraine – without Kyiv at the table – it is becoming increasingly clear that Ukraine will most likely be pressured by Washington to make concessions to Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump and his team
The late Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary force has been accused of plotting attacks against Western infrastructure in Africa, including U.S. oil company Chevron's pipelines, according to the leaked correspondence of Prigozhin's Concord Group obtained by Ukraine's Channel 24. Another accusation is that Wagner mercenaries have allegedly cooperated
As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office on Jan. 20, Ukraine's fate hangs in the balance. While some potential details of Trump's future peace proposals have been leaked, the overall plan still remains unclear. Since the Nov. 5 presidential election, Trump and his team have sent
The decision highlights the continued presence of officials with ties to Russia in the Ukrainian government.
By halting natural gas supplies to Moldova on Jan. 1, Russia created an unprecedented economic crisis in the Russian-occupied part of the country — Transnistria. The crisis prompted a question: will the breakaway region, occupied by Russia since 1992, survive without Russian gas? Free-of-charge Russian gas had been the backbone of
Russian President Boris Yeltsin officially resigned on Dec. 31, 1999, anointing Vladimir Putin, then prime minister, as his successor. Partially due to his hardline stance against terrorism and the successful conduct of the Second Chechen War, Putin won the March 26, 2000 presidential elections. He has held on to power
The Dec. 25 Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, likely caused by Russian air defense, shines light on a glaring issue the Kremlin has long swept under the rug. By unleashing its war against Ukraine, Russia has made its airspace a dangerous place. While Ukraine banned civilian flights over its territory hours
The Dec. 17 killing of Russian Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov in Moscow — reportedly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) — is the most high-profile assassination of a Russian military official to date. It's not the first one, however. Military officials, propagandists, and those seen as collaborators by Kyiv have been assassinated
In December 1994, Russian troops launched a brutal and eventually unsuccessful military campaign against Chechen rebels, effectively beginning the First Chechen War. Thirty years later and two wars since, Chechnya, under strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, has become a key pillar of Russian President Vladimir Putin's oppressive regime. After losing the first
As Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime collapsed in a matter of days, Russia's influence in the Middle East appeared to wane. Preoccupied with its all-out war against Ukraine, Russia was unable to prevent the Dec. 8 downfall of its main ally in the region. The stunning rapidity of the rebels'
