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PMCs legally don't exist in Ukraine. They're booming anyway
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PMCs legally don't exist in Ukraine. They're booming anyway

by Polina Moroziuk

Across Ukraine, dozens of private firms train drone operators, clear minefields, maintain military hardware, and teach foreign clients how to fight a modern war. Some go as far as calling themselves private military companies. Yet, in the eyes of Ukrainian law, they do not exist. Ukrainian legislation prohibits armed formations outside state control and has never recognized PMCs, even as most of the activities associated with them carry on under ordinary licenses, permits, and commercial contr

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Monday, June 15

From Soviet explosives to Russian drones: The long assault on Kyiv Pechersk Lavra

The Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Orthodox Christianity's oldest and most sacred monasteries, was among the targets in Russia's latest overnight attack on June 15. Images of the religious site in flames sparked outrage and horror throughout Ukraine and the world. "(T)he roof of one of the holiest places in the Christian world — the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra — is burning," Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, wrote on X o

Ukraine war latest: Russian double-tap strike kills 4 rescuers in Kharkiv amid large-scale attack on Ukraine

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Where drone developers see the EU getting it right, and wrong, on defense

BERLIN, Germany — In a former hangar at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport, German and Ukrainian drone companies turned out in force at a new defense conference to cut deals, discuss their role in shaping the future of warfare, and make clear their needs from the EU and national governments. "It's a really positive shift that Europe is investing more effort, specifically upping financial resources," Maximilian Enders of Tytan Technologies told the Kyiv Independent in an interview at the New Age Defense

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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Russia's recruitment system nears breaking point, forcing debate over forced mobilization

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, on May 21, 2026.

As Russian battlefield gains slow and recruitment drive falters, Ukraine is warning that the Kremlin may finally reach for the measure it has long resisted — a forced mobilization. According to Kyiv, Moscow is preparing to call up tens of thousands of fresh soldiers to offset its climbing battlefield losses. But analysts believe Russia would only take that gamble in case of an imminent front-line collapse, or a sweeping pivot to a war economy — one that could signal preparations to push the co

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