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Russia-Ukraine War

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 29, 2026.
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Putin repeats maximalist war claims as battlefield reality shifts

by Tania Myronyshena

Against the backdrop of Ukrainian drone strikes on St. Petersburg that sent plumes of smoke over the city, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in a lengthy discussion at Russia's flagship economic forum. Both the setting and the battlefield situation have changed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but Putin's vision of the war appears largely unchanged. His rhetoric remained the same: Russia is advancing. Its goals remain the same. Any negotiations must happen on Moscow's t

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About War

The Kyiv Independent's coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, after eight years of aggression against Ukraine that began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and fighting in Donbas. The war has resulted in tens of thousands of military and civilian casualties and displaced millions of Ukrainians. NATO and Western allies have provided military aid to Ukraine while the conflict continues across fronts in Ukraine’s south and east.

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