Donald Trump claimed victory in the U.S. presidential elections on Nov. 6, bringing additional uncertainty for many Ukrainian soldiers who already struggle to see the future of the war. Though doubt looms over Trump's moves in the coming months, his warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his
Russia’s invading army is racing against the weather clock, trying to seize yet more towns in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region before the ground gets muddy this autumn and temperatures later plunge. The coal mining town of Toretsk is on the verge of falling to Moscow’s forces, an
As President Volodymyr Zelensky kicked off a visit to the U.S. this week in a bid to secure more firepower for his army, Ukrainian soldiers on the ground monitored the news with half-hearted hope, questioning whether Kyiv’s top Western ally would provide enough to help them defeat Russia.
As Russian troops approach Pokrovsk, fear mounts over a possible loss of what had long been a key logistic hub tucked away in safety in Donetsk Oblast. The war has arrived in Pokrovsk, once home to 60,000 people, with the Russians estimated to be about eight kilometers away. Thousands
DONETSK OBLAST – Gasping for air from a trench in eastern Ukraine, an infantryman was ready for the worst when a suffocating white smoke spread into his position. A Russian drone had just dropped a gas grenade into the trench, an internationally banned practice in warfare used to suffocate Ukrainian soldiers
The "planned, cynical Russian war crime" during the battle of Ilovaisk in 2014 "will never (be allowed) to go unpunished," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the day of commemoration of fallen Ukrainian soldiers on Aug. 29.
Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast over the past week is lifting some hopes for Ukrainian soldiers losing ground on the eastern front amid worsening manpower and ammunition shortages. Ukraine launched its stunning counterattack in the northeast into Russian territory 10 months into Russia’s renewed large-scale
Outgunned and outmanned, Ukrainian soldiers struggling to hold the front line in a brutal, months-long Russian siege of Chasiv Yar are increasingly worried about their army's ability to protect their rear. If key supply lines from the west are cut off and if troops to their south are overrun, they
Key developments on April 27-28: * Syrskyi: Ukrainian forces retreat from 3 villages in Donetsk Oblast * Military: Russia gains foothold in Ocheretyne in Donetsk Oblast * Politico: Zelensky told Johnson Ukraine could only hold on until 'March or April' without US aid * Ukraine strikes oil refineries, airfield in Russia * Russia attacks Ukraine's
Editor’s note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing the full names of the soldiers introduced in the story, as they didn’t have a formal authorization to speak to the press. DONETSK OBLAST – Mykhailo arrived at a dugout less than an hour after it was hit by Russian drones.
Editor’s note: Some soldiers interviewed for this story declined to give their last names due to security issues amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. DONETSK OBLAST – More than a month after his first assault operation near Bakhmut, 23-year-old soldier Oleksandr Mikulak still blames himself for not saving a comrade.
Editor’s note: Military medics interviewed for this story are only identified by first name due to security reasons. DONETSK OBLAST – With its sirens blaring through the narrow and bumpy road, an ambulance speeds off to the closest front-line makeshift hospital in northeastern Ukraine. “How many more minutes?” wounded 39-year-old
Editor’s Note: This story is based on interviews with Ukrainian soldiers, conducted in Donetsk Oblast, near the eastern front line, in late March. Some of the soldiers declined to give their last names for security reasons, and are identified by first names and callsigns instead. DONETSK OBLAST – Under the
Editor’s note: In this story, the Kyiv Independent is not disclosing the Ukrainian soldiers’ full names or their deployed positions due to security concerns amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Donetsk Oblast – At an abandoned building about 20 minutes drive from Bakhmut, wounded Ukrainian soldiers pour in from the
Editor's note: The Kyiv Independent is not revealing the soldiers' full names or the exact location of their deployment due to security concerns amid the ongoing war. Donetsk Oblast – Just a few dozen kilometers from Bakhmut, Ukrainian infantry train to ready themselves for brutal days ahead. Nearly 20 soldiers from
Editor's note: The Kyiv Independent is not revealing the soldiers' surnames or the exact location of their deployment due to security concerns amid the ongoing war. Some military personnel spoke without the authorization of their commanders or a press officer. DONETSK OBLAST – Just days before heading back to fight in
Editor’s note: The Kyiv Independent is not revealing the soldiers’ full names or the exact location of their deployment due to security concerns amid the ongoing war. DONETSK OBLAST – At a cottage-turned-base some two kilometers from the front lines in Donetsk Oblast, soldiers from Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade lay
Water-logged trenches, shredded tree lines, and an undulating, colorless landscape of mud: The visual experience of the battles outside Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast have proved to transcend centuries. When Ukrainian machine-gunner Viktor Borinets’ photos of conditions on the first line of defense went viral, the comparisons to the notoriously grim
After weeks of bloody street fighting and months of withering bombardment, Sievierodonetsk is now “fully occupied” by Russian forces, its mayor, Oleksandr Striuk, said on June 25. With Ukrainian troops’ withdrawal from Sievierodonetsk, the fighting now shifts to neighboring Lysychansk, the last Ukrainian-held city in the region. Capturing Sievierodonetsk brings
KRAMATORSK, Donetsk Oblast – The perfect sunny spring morning in Donetsk Oblast was marred by the constant explosions going off every few minutes a dozen kilometers away. The blasts were varied, coming from artillery and rocket barrages from both sides. A half-dozen soldiers held this outpost a short distance away from
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