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A man in a military uniform checks his mobile phone on a street in Moscow, Russia, on May 6, 2026.
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Why Moscow is afraid this Victory Day

by Karol Luczka

On May 9, Moscow will stage its annual Victory Day parade marking the end of World War II in Europe — but this year, the spectacle is notable not for its grandeur, but for what's missing. For the first time in Vladimir Putin's Russia, no missiles, tanks, or armored vehicles are expected to appear in Saturday's Red Square parade. Although the Kremlin offered no explanation for the dramatic scale-back, recent Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory have suggested that even Putin's militar

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Lithuanian PM Ruginiene: The urgent case for returning Ukraine's children

Some moments in politics go beyond statistics and charts. What remains is the human story underneath it all. The fate of Ukraine's children is one of those moments. As a mother and as a representative of a nation that knows the cost of occupation, I cannot speak about deported, separated, and traumatized children in abstract terms. These are not numbers. These are sons and daughters taken from their homes, separated from their families, stripped of their identity, and placed into systems design

Ukraine fears US will again push a deal giving Russia 'a lot' and Kyiv nothing

The U.S. is attempting to broker a temporary ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia in exchange for sanctions relief for Moscow, the Kyiv Independent has learned, trying to revive stalled talks as Washington looks for a foreign policy breakthrough. The effort is already triggering alarm in Kyiv. Sources familiar with the talks say the framework lacks one thing that Kyiv considers essential: security guarantees to prevent Russia from resuming the war. "They want Ukraine to agree to as much

About Russia

The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

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