This week’s bonus episode is an extended interview with Bektour Iskender, a journalist and co-founder of Kloop, an NGO and leading news publication in Kyrgyzstan. Through his work with Kloop, Bektour trains young journalists to cover politics and investigate corruption, while also reporting on the most significant stories happening in his home country and near abroad.
We spoke to Bektour about his work in journalism and the history of Russian colonial aggression in Kyrgyzstan, creating a snapshot of a country whose past mirrors Ukraine’s, and whose present is also being determined by Russia’s war.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said the Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant in Russian-occupied Luhansk oblast was hit during overnight operations on March 20.
The latest strike brings the total number of Russian helicopters shot down by Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion to 350, according to the General Staff.
Russia is extensively militarizing Ukrainian children and youth in the occupied territories to "raise future soldiers" and involve them in the fight against their own people, Taya Avram, a lawyer within the Donbas SOS NGO, told the Kyiv Independent on March 20.
Russia’s takeover of Crimea did not begin in 2014. In the second part of "Crimea: The War Before the War," the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit examines how Moscow moved from early pressure to direct attempts to seize Ukrainian territory.
"The war involving Iran will not deflect France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia’s war of aggression continues unabated," French President Emmanuel Macron said on March 20.
Yaroslav Lysenko allegedly ordered at least seven service members to leave their units beginning in September 2024 and assigned them to renovation and construction work, according to the State Investigation Bureau (DBR).
Russian forces launched 156 drones against Ukraine overnight, of which over 90 were Shahed-type, the Air Force said, reporting that Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 133.
As global attention shifts to the Middle East, Russia’s war against Ukraine hasn’t stopped — and the Kremlin benefits from the world looking elsewhere. Our newsroom reports from Kyiv to help you understand what’s happening and why it matters. Support our work by becoming a member.
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