Key developments on June 13: * Ukrainian MiG-29 strikes Russian drone hub, ammo depot in Zaporizhzhia direction, releases video * Ukrainian military denies NYT claims about Russian presence in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast * Russia preparing strategic reserves for conflicts beyond Ukraine, Ukraine warns * Ukraine repatriates bodies of 1,200 citizens, soldiers under Istanbul deal
The Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported a hit in Simferopol, Crimea's capital, sharing a photo of a plume of smoke rising in the vicinity of a local power station and of the village of Perevalne.
On March 4, 2025, the Russian-backed authorities officially transferred part of the airport's land to Russia's Defense Ministry for indefinite use, according to the investigation.
Some 48% of Ukrainians oppose even a "de facto" recognition of Russian occupation of Ukraine's territories to achieve peace, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology published on June 10.
"There indeed was an explosion. There was no damage, the bridge continues to function," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed.
"The Muscovites' key logistical artery on the occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Crimea has been destroyed," HUR's statement said.
Former U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo acknowledged frustrations over the current front lines but cautioned against ceding Ukrainian land to Russia.
A Ukrainian citizen disappeared in Russian-occupied Crimea earlier in May after being detained by people who presented themselves as Federal Security Service (FSB) officers, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on May 29.
Editor's note: This story is based on the Kyiv Independent's investigative documentary, "Curated Theft" – watch it in English here, for free. As Ukraine's liberating forces advanced in the fall of 2022, several trucks stopped near the rear yard of the Kherson Local History Museum. Inside the building itself, dozens of
The depot, located near a key highway between Simferopol and Alushta, reportedly housed military equipment, ammunition, and fuel storage facilities. Local residents reportedly described thick smoke over the military compound.
Key developments on May 16: * Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul end, Moscow demands Kyiv withdraw from 4 regions, no ceasefire agreement * Up to 640,000 Russian troops fighting against Ukraine, Syrskyi says * Ukraine 'lost contact' with F-16 during combat, pilot ejected, Air Force says * Putin appoints general who led Mariupol assault
A fire broke out at an ammunition depot in the village of Perevalne in Russian-occupied Crimea following a series of explosions during a drone attack on the morning of May 16, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported, citing local residents.
Nariman Dzhelial, deputy chair of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, was released in a prisoner exchange with Russia on June 28, 2024.
Editor’s Note: The identities of Yellow Ribbon activists who live in Russian-occupied territory have been withheld for security reasons. "When my child hears about May 9 they almost scream, and so do I," an activist with the Ukrainian Yellow Ribbon civil resistance group currently living in the Russian-occupied town
Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said the Victory Day parade, to be held on May 9, would not take place due to safety risks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 3 that Ukraine's military destroyed a second Russian military aircraft within a 24-hour time period, having struck military airfield in occupied Crimea.
Russia built up its military presence in Crimea for decades, allowing it to swiftly capture the peninsula amid revolution in Ukraine.
The pro-Ukrainian Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported explosions in several key locations, including Sevastopol, Dzhankoy, Saki, Novofedorivka, and Kacha — sites that host Russian military airfields.
EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the EU is also drawing up a “plan B” to maintain economic sanctions on Russia in case the Trump administration pulls out of Ukraine peace negotiations and moves to restore ties with Moscow.
Key developments on April 28: * Putin announces 3-day truce on Victory Day's 80th anniversary * Trump says he believes Zelensky is ready to give up Crimea to Russia * Russia demands recognition of Crimea, other Ukrainian regions' annexation in any peace talks * Drones reportedly strike Russian plant producing parts for missiles, radars
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
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Lavrov listed other conditions for Russia to enter into peace talks, namely a ban on Ukraine's entry into NATO, the country's demilitarization, and changes to Ukraine's legislation that would restore the position of the Russian language, culture, and religious organization.
Germany will continue to support Ukraine with military aid even if the U.S. cuts back its assistance, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.
When asked whether he thought Zelensky was willing to cede the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, Donald Trump responded: "I think so."
Investigators said the vessel had loaded around 5,000 tons of stolen Ukrainian wheat from the Russian-occupied port city of Sevastopol in late 2024 and attempted to disguise its operations by sailing under the flag of an Asian country.
U.S. President Donald Trump believes the Ukrainian leader “really has no choice” but to agree to the terms, according to a source close to U.S Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
"We are ready for dialogue in any... format, at any time, but only after a real signal that Russia is ready to end the war," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Key developments on April 25: * High-ranking Russian general killed in car bombing near Moscow, as Witkoff meets with Putin * Full text of US peace proposal at odds with Ukrainian, EU positions, Reuters reports * Trump says Crimea 'will stay with Russia,' blames Ukraine's NATO aspirations for war * Putin, US envoy
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
For nearly two years in Russian captivity, Leniie Umerova clung to a single hope: that one day, she would return home — to Crimea. “I thought about Crimea all the time,” Umerova told the Kyiv Independent. “I dreamed of going there without the permission of the occupying forces, without going through
An unnamed senior European official told the FT that the Trump administration had already been informed that European capitals would not recognize Crimea as Russian.
The post seems to refer to the U.S. reportedly proposing de jure recognition of Russian control over the southern Ukrainian peninsula, which Russia has occupied since 2014.
Russia invaded Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in February 2014 amid the deadliest days of the EuroMaidan Revolution that eventually ousted pro-Russian ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. Around 30,000 Russian troops crossed into Crimea, taking hold of the peninsula by early March 2014.
This event effectively began Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine. The Russian military has continued to occupy Crimea ever since. Many countries have openly opposed the illegal annexation of Crimea and continue to recognize Crimea as being part of Ukraine.
Crimea covers an area of around 27,000 square kilometers (10,400 square miles), which is roughly the same size as the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
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