
Syrskyi withdraws Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi published a statement announcing his decision to withdraw Ukrainian units from the heavily battered city.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi published a statement announcing his decision to withdraw Ukrainian units from the heavily battered city.
After arriving in Avdiivka, some battalions of the Third Assault Brigade raided the Russian-held parts of the city, inflicting "critical losses" to two Russian brigades, the Ukrainian brigade said on Telegram.
Russia launched an attack against Mykolaivka in Donetsk Oblast on Feb. 14, killing two women aged 62 and 74 and injuring one person, said Governor Vadym Filashkin.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained a Russian military intelligence informant who collected data on Ukraine’s military and adjusted Russian fire on civilian infrastructure in Donetsk Oblast, the SBU's press service reported on Feb. 7.
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
AVDIIVKA, Donetsk Oblast – Avdiivka is an eerie city to drive into in March 2023. One year into Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, but nine years into the Donbas war, the compact city just 10 kilometers from the center of occupied Donetsk is barely holding on. There is little choice
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’ 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
Editor’s Note: This piece tells the story of the lives of civilians and first responders in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, directly through the personal experience of a Kyiv Independent reporter who stayed overnight in the embattled city in January, traveling together with a colleague from Moldova. BAKHMUT, Donetsk Oblast – Moments
The small salt-mining town of Soledar is on the verge of being occupied by Russian troops after months of heavy fighting. Occupying the "practically destroyed" town would constitute the Kremlin's largest success since July, potentially endangering Ukraine's positions in neighboring Bakhmut. It will, however, have little impact on the war's
SVIATOHIRSK, Donetsk Oblast – For centuries, the gleaming whitewashed walls of the Sviatohirsk Dormition Lavra, peeking out of the hilly forest above the Siverskyi Donets River, attracted pilgrims from across the Eastern Orthodox world. Now, in an obscene imitation of a Jackson Pollock painting, they stand in many places splattered with
LYMAN, Donetsk Oblast – On a quiet road lined by pine forest leading into the city of Lyman, the remains of a frantic but unsuccessful escape clutter the roadside. Four repurposed civilian cars, burnt-out and upturned, mark the spot where the flight of Russian soldiers met an abrupt end. Just beside
Editor's note: The photos were provided by Alex Chan Tsz Yuk, a Hong Kong-based photojournalist, now covering the war in Ukraine. Heavy Russian bombardment continues to pummel eastern Donetsk Oblast nearly six months into the full-scale war. Russian forces have fired missiles and shells across the entire region, indiscriminately killing
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