In a small town in Kyiv Oblast, 10th grader Alina Marynenko just beat her entire class to be the most accurate shooter on an AK-47 simulator. "Fourteen out of fifteen! I set a record! We beat the boys!" Marynenko yells out to her class. Marynenko and her classmates fired the
DRUZHKIVKA, Donetsk Oblast — A loud explosion goes off, followed by a second. People begin to run in different directions. Despite the chaos, taxi driver Serhiy Pohrebnyakov sits calmly behind the wheel, waiting for customers. Pohrebnyakov’s wife and daughter fled Druzhkivka after the start of the full-scale invasion, leaving him
VARNIȚA, Moldova — The buzzing sound of chainsaws and generators is now common in Varnița, a village of 5,000 that borders Moldova's Russian-controlled region of Transnistria. Located next to the Russian-controlled city of Bender (Tighina), the village is subordinated to Chișinău but depends on the neighbouring breakaway region for its
Editor’s note: This story contains scenes and images that some readers might find disturbing. In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. KUPIANSK AREA, Kharkiv Oblast – Snow, sleet, fog, the lot; when the weather
BILOZERSKE, Donetsk Oblast — Less than 30 kilometers north of embattled Pokrovsk, a market was in full swing in the town of Bilozerske. Meters away, however, a crowd has gathered in front of a building, nervously awaiting the doors to open. Tensions were visibly mounting as the doors remained closed and
KUPIANSK — Volodymyr paused his Sunday stroll from a shopping center in Kupiansk to take pictures of rubble from a Russian strike that almost killed his wife late last month. "It was broad daylight when they struck," he said. "Our only luck was that my wife was in the kitchen, so
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. DONETSK OBLAST – Sitting around in the long, dry grass outside an abandoned village house, two dozen men in summer military fatigues listen attentively to
Several months ago, most of these infantrymen were serving their sentences behind bars. Now, they are part of the 1st Separate Assault Battalion, known as "Da Vinci."
SELYDOVE, Donetsk Oblast – “Kostia! Kostia?” Despite their volume, the volunteer’s calls dissipate in the strong winds coursing through the central streets of Selydove. This is the most dangerous part of any evacuation operation in a front-line city: making visual contact with civilians who have agreed to leave. Russian soldiers
Editor’s note: Some of the Kherson locals interviewed for this story refused to be identified by last name due to fear for their safety. KHERSON – On a warm September evening, Olha Chernyshova’s day took a grim turn when she was returning home from work in downtown Kherson. Stepping
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko visited Pokrovsk and joined volunteers evacuating civilians from neighboring Selydove, stranded due to Russia’s rapid advance.
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. POKROVSK DISTRICT, Donetsk Oblast – Marked by wide plumes of gray smoke on the horizon, the open fields stretching out southeast of the city of
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
Halfway down a narrow corridor painted all in gray, the guard wrestles with a bulky lock to gain entry to the prison cell. Inside are around twenty young men, sitting on a criss-crossing pattern of metal bunk beds. In the corner of the room, plastic cups and books are stacked
The Kyiv Independent got exclusive access to the POWs captured during the Kursk operation and interviewed them about their motivations and experience of fighting for Russia.
The Kyiv Independent traveled into Russia’s Kursk Oblast with Ukrainian soldiers during the ongoing Ukrainian cross-border offensive in the area.
Editor’s note: The Kyiv Independent traveled into Russia’s Kursk Oblast with Ukrainian soldiers during the ongoing Ukrainian cross-border offensive in the area. Since the trip constitutes an unsanctioned crossing of the state border between Russia and Ukraine, the identities of the author of the report and of the
DONETSK OBLAST – Along a bumpy highway that used to link the cities of Pokrovsk and now occupied Donetsk, used to lie quiet and picturesque towns and villages whose names only locals would know. Yet – Novohrodivka, Selydove, Petrivka – are now well-known in Ukraine, stuck between the advancing Russian troops and their
Watch our exclusive report from Ukrainian infantry positions near Toretsk as Russia continues its push in Donetsk Oblast.
Since February, Russian forces have steadily advanced across multiple sectors of the front in Donetsk Oblast. They have occupied villages previously liberated by Ukraine, wiped out entire towns, and introduced new threats to the region's overall defense. Alongside Chasiv Yar, Niu York, and other towns, Russia aims to capture Toretsk,
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. DONETSK OBLAST – There was already little resembling a road in front of the driver by the time the old pickup truck’s headlights were
The Kyiv Independent visited a tank company of Ukraine's 110th Mechanized Brigade serving in one of the most intense parts of the eastern front line.
Rescuers of the Mobile Rescue Center of the State Emergency Service come to the sites of aerial attacks to sort through the most difficult rubble in search of living and dead people. We followed them to understand what it takes to be a first responder in wartime Ukraine.
Editor's Note: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on July 9 that nine people were killed in the building in the Syrets neighborhood following a Russian missile strike a day prior. On a Monday morning, Nataliia Fedorenko and her mother felt lucky to survive their daily routine: walking their dog in
Nurse Olesia Filonenko was preparing for the first operation of the day at the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv when she heard explosions "somewhere far away." "Then, in a second, everything was blown away," she told the Kyiv Independent. "Dust, smoke. We were all blown out of the operating rooms
CHERNIHIV, Ukraine – At Ukraine’s 50th Regiment's repair and restoration facility, officers, soldiers, and volunteers watched as a self-loading container truck lowered onto the ground a black shipping container with an installed repair workshop inside. The Tvii Krok (Your Step) charity, which designed this mobile repair complex, known as Workshop
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in recent months, leading to lengthy and almost daily interruptions in electricity supply all over Ukraine. In this video, the Kyiv Independent shows how Kyiv lives amid blackouts in the summertime.
ZHYTOMYR, KYIV OBLASTS — Taras Netavrovanyi, an inmate at the medium-security prison in Zhytomyr Oblast, eagerly seized the chance to break free of his two-and-a-half-year sentence. New Ukrainian legislation allowing military service for prisoners convicted of certain felonies, including manslaughter, offers a unique opportunity: parole in exchange for joining an assault
DNIPRO – Most soldiers are unconscious by the time they arrive at Mechnikov Hospital, the main gateway for the wounded fighting in Donbas. Located in Dnipro, a city of 1 million people 185 kilometers west of the front line, the massive Soviet-era medical facility works around the clock to save as
A verdant green forest has sprouted in one of Ukraine’s most unlikely locations — the Kakhovka reservoir left nearly empty after Russia blew up its dam last year. Following the destruction of the dam on June 6 last year, nearly 20 cubic kilometers of water flooded Ukraine’s four southern
Editor's Note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing soldiers' full names since they disclosed information without authorization from their command. DONETSK OBLAST—As public attention shifted to Moscow's renewed offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces steadily advance in the country's easternmost Donbas region, which remains Moscow's primary target. Moving west
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. KHARKIV OBLAST – In battles fought under a sky swarming with enemy drones, even the most minimal movement, even the quickest dash from one house
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