Russia-Ukraine War

Fire burning at Russia's Volgograd oil refinery in Volgograd, Russia, on Feb. 11, 2026.
War

Ukraine’s deep strikes make Russians feel the war

by Tania Myronyshena

Ukraine has increasingly pursued a strategy of "bringing the war back to Russia" — aiming to erode the perception that the full-scale invasion is distant and cost-free for Russian society. This approach was explicitly articulated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2025, as Ukraine significantly expanded its deep-strike campaign inside Russia. "The war was brought from Russia, and it is to Russia that the war must be pushed back. They must be the ones forced into peace. They are the ones who mu

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Exclusive: US envoy suggests 'big deal' could normalize relations with Belarus

A potential "big deal" between Belarus and the United States would effectively normalize relations between Washington and Minsk, U.S. Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale told the Kyiv Independent in a phone interview. The remarks follow growing outreach from Washington to Minsk and come days after Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko said that the U.S. had proposed a "big deal," claiming the initiative came from U.S. President Donald Trump. Coale confirmed that normalization is part of the b

'We want justice and his body' — Months after Brazilian recruit's death in Kyiv, his mother pleads body to be returned home

The mother of Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva, a 23-year-old Brazilian recruit whose death at a Kyiv military base in December 2025 is being investigated by police, is pleading for his body to be returned home to Brazil. Leal da Silva died overnight on Dec. 28-29, 2025, after a group of soldiers in positions of authority took him from the sleeping area to a small room and began beating him, former fellow fighters told the Kyiv Independent in a February investigation. They reported hearing him screa

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