Editor’s note: In accordance with newsroom policy on reporting on children and the policies of organizations interviewed, the Kyiv Independent is not using the names of children under 18 or the last names of their parents who appear in this story. When the children arrive at a basement shelter
Serhii Mandryk was on a call with acquaintances in Canada in the early hours of May 7. An air raid alert had sounded in Kyiv a few hours earlier but he decided to stay at home and go ahead with it rather than head for a shelter. He assured everyone
Editor's Note: Due to the security protocols of the brigade featured in this story, Ukrainian soldiers and military medics mentioned are identified by their callsigns only. KHARKIV OBLAST – As is usually the case at stabilization points across Ukraine in the fourth year of Russia's full-scale war, peak hour for the
When a Russian drone strike set a high-rise across the street on fire just after midnight on May 4, 34-year-old veteran Petro Kryvoruka shook his wife, Halyna, awake in their Kyiv apartment. As the buzzing of drones continued, he braced for another explosion. "I told (my wife), ‘Something is coming,
Liudmyla Kapatsii, 75, and her daughter lingered in their apartment for a couple of extra minutes, doubting whether to go to the shelter after the air raid alarm woke them up around 1 a.m. on April 24, warning of a potential Russian missile attack. Though they were tired of
Ukraine brought home another 277 soldiers in a major prisoner exchange with Russia ahead of the Easter holiday on April 19.
Zaporizhzhia — During what would usually be evening rush hour in Zaporizhzhia, cars move easily through main streets that were once choked with traffic. As the shadows grow longer, soldiers calmly remove camouflage netting from the air defense weapons they’ll man against Russia’s deadly attacks until the sun rises
Editor's note: This article contains graphic descriptions. SUMY — Valeriia Maksimova and her husband woke up to the first explosion in central Sumy at around 10 a.m. Their house was damaged by the blast wave. The 38-year-old rushed to the kitchen to start clearing the rubble when the second explosion
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 – Scanning an array of nine video feeds from a command point in an abandoned summer, mortar battery commander Tymur “Babai” searches for
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.
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