Editor’s note: Due to the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified solely by first names and call signs. SUMY OBLAST – Soldiers from one of Ukraine’s 117th Territorial Defense Brigade mobile air defense squads call themselves fowlers. The unit’s task is
SUMY OBLAST – A group of military officers, local police chiefs, border guards, emergency service workers, and farmers gather around a map of Sumy Oblast’s Myropillia community in an undisclosed location around a mile from Russia. The air raid siren doesn’t interrupt the meeting, which is devoted to reinforcing
KARLSKOGA, SWEDEN – In a nondescript industrial area nestled among a forest of Swedish pine, a continent-wide effort to ramp up defense production is playing out in real time. A modest, one-story building is home to a seemingly endless ceiling-mounted rail — essentially an upside-down conveyor belt — snaking through machine halls and
Editor’s note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing the full names of the soldiers introduced in the story, as they didn’t have a formal authorization to speak to the press. DONETSK OBLAST – Mykhailo arrived at a dugout less than an hour after it was hit by Russian drones.
Every weekend, Ukrainians rally to support the families of prisoners of war and advocate for the release of those still in Russian captivity. We spoke to former prisoners of war and relatives of POWs at one of the recent protests in Kyiv.
TORSKE-ZAKINTE, DONETSK OBLAST – An armored minibus speeds through the rubble-lined streets of Torske, a front-line village in Donetsk Oblast precariously close to Russian positions. The bus, which belongs to the White Angels — a special unit of Ukraine’s National Police — is on its way to the village to deliver aid
Editor’s note: Due to fear caused by the tense environment in Krasnohorivka and the possibility of their city being occupied by Russian forces in the future, some subjects interviewed declined to give their last names. KRASNOHORIVKA, DONETSK OBLAST – On the streets of the small industrial city of Krasnohorivka, just
The Kyiv Independent visited Krasnohorivka, just 15 kilometers west of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, in February 2024, just two weeks before Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to break into the city.
Editor's note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing the full names of soldiers due to what they cited as security concerns and their unit's protocol amid the war in Ukraine. KHARKIV OBLAST — As Russia rolls past now-occupied Avdiivka further west, other parts of the front have seen quieter days. But
DONETSK OBLAST – Hiding beneath sparse winter cover in a crude, muddy ditch, a great steel monster lies in wait for an opportunity to attack. Adorned on either side with painted plus signs, the gun’s huge barrel looks up at the sky over the Bakhmut front line, across which thousands
Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Independent does not disclose the soldiers’ full names since they were not authorized to speak with the press. DONETSK OBLAST – As Russian forces closed in on a Ukrainian pocket southeast of Avdiivka, infantryman Oleh heard the order clearly: “There will be no evacuation. Leave 300
Editor's note: The full names of the soldiers introduced in the story are not disclosed due to security concerns amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. DONETSK OBLAST – As artillery began pounding the cold-hardened ground ahead of them, two Ukrainian soldiers listened warily to shell impacts creep closer. They were squeezed
Semen Nedanov could hardly hold back his tears when he showed the Kyiv Independent what was left of his flat in the central Solomiansky district after a Russian attack on Kyiv early on Jan. 2. “I’m in shock,” the 48-year-old told the Kyiv Independent as he waited for first
Thick columns of smoke were rising in Kyiv after several sites were hit by Russia early on Dec. 29. In Kyiv, Russia hit three locations, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Local authorities reported nine people killed and 30 injured. Russia unleashed a barrage of 158 attack drones and missiles
“I’ll let you in on a secret, there will be an assault at dawn tomorrow." Sviatoslav, a 57-year-old sergeant responsible for the mental support of the mortar unit, lowered his voice as he said the words. “Get some sleep, as you can be sure there will be some work
Editor’s note: Full names and the deployment locations of the soldiers interviewed for this story are not disclosed since they weren't authorized to speak to the press. KHERSON OBLAST – Mortars are the first things that greet the Ukrainian soldiers who are lucky enough to make it across the Dnipro
KYIV – Alina, her 9-year-old son, and 80-year-old grandmother were sitting outside. Their apartment was burned down, window frames were blown out, and the three were cut by shattered glass. “We were lucky (to survive). A fire quickly broke out, smoke around. The child was half naked. I managed to grab
DONETSK OBLAST – “Our working hours are as follows: first you do a 12-hour shift, then another one, until you’ve done seven of these 24-hour-shifts, and that’s your week” said Oleksandr Kolesnikov, a 47-year-old surgeon, sitting hunched over on a bench-turned-overflow hospital bed at a Ukrainian stabilization point in
KHERSON – Sitting in a pitch-dark kitchen with just the flashlight on, 70-year-old Viacheslav Bezprozvanyi warned of an incoming shelling as soon as he heard a swish over him. Split seconds later, a thick thud of shelling hit the ground a few hundred meters away. The house shook, knocking off a
Editor’s note: The location of the prisoner of the war camp the Kyiv Independent visited is undisclosed for security reasons. The Kyiv Independent got vocal recorded agreement from the prisoners of the war to be interviewed and identified in the story. When Yevhen Kalashnikov found an opening to surrender
Editor’s note: Some soldiers interviewed for this story declined to give their last names due to security issues amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. DONETSK OBLAST – More than a month after his first assault operation near Bakhmut, 23-year-old soldier Oleksandr Mikulak still blames himself for not saving a comrade.
NESKUCHNE, DONETSK OBLAST – Vitalii Ivanov stepped gingerly across the messy floor through the kitchen to what was once the living room of his family home. Scattered across the floor and countertops were the iconic markers of a space that was once occupied by Russian soldiers. Cardboard military ready meals complete
Editor’s note: The location of the prisoner of the war detention center is undisclosed for security reasons. The Kyiv Independent got vocal recorded agreement from the prisoners of the war to be interviewed and identified in the story. Undisclosed location in Western Ukraine – Private Alexey Strelkov massages his knee
Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast - Serhii Pletinka rushed to the scene just after a Russian Iskander-M missile struck a packed cafe in the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast. A soldier on vacation who lives just across the street from the cafe was the first to witness the fire, screams, and
Editor’s note: The soldiers featured in this article are identified by first name and callsign only for security reasons. ZAPORIZHZHIA OBLAST – Even months before it started, just the idea of Ukraine’s large-scale counteroffensive in 2023 carried on its shoulders a historic weight. Having held back waves of brutal
DONETSK OBLAST – Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Navarenko says his unit was under heavy Russian tank fire last summer in Zaporizhzhia Oblast when the idea for a life-saving robot came to him. “Why use people when you can use machines?” the 59-year-old combat engineer told the Kyiv Independent, wondering why humans still
Editor’s note: The soldiers featured in this article are identified by first name and callsign only for security reasons. DONETSK OBLAST – One sunny day in eastern Ukraine, two grown men in pixel camouflage sit together in the shade of lush summer bushes on the edge of a field, playing
Editor’s Note: Soldiers in this story are stationed on the front and are identified only by their first name due to the nature of the information they are sharing. KHARKIV OBLAST – Fighting throughout Ukraine is grueling, even for hardened veterans. For inexperienced troops recently plucked from civilian life, it's
Editor's note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing the soldiers interviewed in the story by their full names due to security concerns amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The article also contains photos that some readers may find disturbing. DONETSK OBLAST – Twenty-nine-year-old assault company commander Bohdan knows what’s at
Editor’s note: Though the commanders quoted in this story are public figures, the other soldiers are identified by first names and callsigns only due to security reasons. DONETSK OBLAST — In a wide field in Donetsk Oblast, the silence of what would otherwise be a sleepy August afternoon is broken
Editor’s note: Due to security concerns, the Kyiv Independent isn’t publishing the real name or the photo of the police officer at the center of this story. He is identified in the story as Oleksandr. KUPIANSK, Kharkiv Oblast – Kupiansk police officer Oleksandr doesn’t like remembering the time
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
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