“Did the War End?” is the Kyiv Independent’s podcast that brings together three young Ukrainians exploring what it means to be a nation at war, speaking with experts and everyday Ukrainians to help them answer pressing questions. (Illustration: Karolina Gulshani)
Azovstal, a steel plant in now Russian-occupied Mariupol, has become a symbol of Ukraine’s fierce resistance to the Russian invasion. Thousands of Ukrainian fighters defended the plant with little to no resources, refusing to surrender for nearly three months.
In this episode of our podcast “Did the War End?” we hear from John Spencer, a leading expert in urban warfare studies, about what it took for Ukrainian soldiers to defend the plant, despite being drastically outnumbered. We also talk to two family members of Azovstal defenders who are now in Russian captivity about what life was like at the besieged plant.
Two of the bombs struck a busy area of the city, with one hitting near a road and a public transport stop, where a 13-year-old girl was killed, according to the Sumy regional police.
Ukroboronprom dismissed two officials on July 12 following an investigation into a deadly explosion at one of its ammunition depots during a Russian attack on the Kyiv suburb of Vyshneve.
During a meeting with Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal on July 12, President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed the need to take additional "more decisive" steps to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure and emphasized the importance of robust winter preparedness plans for communities and regions.
Yulia Svyrydenko, who replaced former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in July 2025, will now take on a new role leading cooperation with Ukraine’s key partners, Zelensky announced on social media.
Once promoted by the Kremlin as a symbol of Russia’s resurgence and a premier tourist destination, the peninsula now faces mounting pressure from Ukrainian drone strikes targeting military infrastructure, logistics, and supply routes.
Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said that his team had destroyed 10 tankers and four ferries, bringing the total number of destroyed Russian shadow fleet vessels to 90 units this week alone.
Russia attacks over the last day have killed at least five people and injured 35 others across the country, mostly frontline regions in the south and east of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials reported on July 12.
The Republican senator from South Carolina was recently in Kyiv, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 10 to discuss strengthening Ukraine's air defense and progress on a Russian sanctions bill in the U.S.
Ukraine's military reportedly struck a major Russian oil refinery in the city of Syzran in Samara Oblast overnight on July 12, Russian Telegram media channels reported.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 11 that he is preparing changes to Ukraine’s “diplomatic efforts” to accelerate weapons deliveries from allies, as Ukraine's stockpile of Patriot air defense missiles has run dry.
Stanislav Luchanov, commander of Ukraine's 155th "Anne of Kyiv" brigade, has been charged with the kidnapping and murder of two civilians in Kyiv Oblast. Several other brigade members have been detained in connection with the crime, the military said.
"It is our shared duty to honor the memory of each victim with dignity," the Ukrainian embassy said on July 11, Poland's National Day of Remembrance for victims of the Volyn massacres.
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