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'Impossible to ban grief' — how Russia tries and fails to hide its casualties in Ukraine
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'Impossible to ban grief' — how Russia tries and fails to hide its casualties in Ukraine

by Karol Luczka

Russia has tightened control over information about its battlefield losses in Ukraine, cutting off data and closing one public loophole after another. The effort has not stopped the evidence of the dead from surfacing. As 2025 came to an end, Western governments and independent groups alike tallied staggering figures for Russia's battlefield losses in Ukraine, reaching no fewer than 400,000 killed, wounded, and missing that year. According to some estimates, Russia could have lost more soldiers

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How to keep an elephant and a gorilla warm during Kyiv's coldest winter of the full-scale war

Life in Kyiv right now is difficult for any 51-year-old, but when you are also a western lowland gorilla more suited to the warmth of central Africa, the ongoing energy crisis is particularly tough. This is the current plight of Tony, one of the oldest residents of Kyiv Zoo, a popular attraction in the capital that is somehow managing to stay functioning even as Russia continues its relentless campaign to freeze Ukraine into submission. Zoo technician Anastasiia Larionova is one of the team of

Kyiv Zoo chief Kyrylo Trantin feeds 20-year-old elephant Horace at the Kyiv Zoo in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 27, 2026.

Ukraine war latest: Russian forces trying to 'bypass and infiltrate' Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, military says

This is Asami Terajima reporting from a very cold Kyiv on day 1,440 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Russian troops are trying to "bypass and infiltrate" the destroyed town of Vovchansk in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, and the situation is "frankly difficult," Viktor Tregubov, a spokesman for Ukraine's Joint Forces in charge of the area, said on Feb. 2. Speaking on national TV, Tregubov said Russian troops are pressing on Ukrainian positions on the outskirts of Vo

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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