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Russia-Ukraine War

Firefighting helicopter attempts to extinguish a fire at a logistics complex in Elektrostal, Russia, on July 18, 2026.
War

Analysis: Russia doubles down, setting stage for new phase of total war

by Francis Farrell

Two large and heavily armed states locked in an existential armed struggle. Hundreds of thousands of casualties. Mass mobilization. Systematic long-range strike campaigns against the enemy's economy and infrastructure. Defense budgets swallowing huge proportions of state spending. All these factors evoke an image of "total war" — the kind of interstate conflict where state, society, and economy are all not only an active part of the war effort but also a target of enemy strikes. Russia's full-

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'But what did we do?' — How Ukraine's strikes on Wildberries brought Russia's war home

When we started this series in the spring, the idea was simple: every month, to take apart the five most notable Ukrainian strikes deep into Russia and see how Russians themselves are living through them. This is the third installment — and the format had to change substantially. In July, the five "most significant" strikes had already been racked up by around the middle of the month, and the list of noteworthy ones kept growing. So this time there is no strict ranking: first, briefly, about t

Black smoke rises from a distribution warehouse near Moscow, Russia, on August 16, 2026.

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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