Politics

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Berendsen with Foreign Minister Sybiha in Kyiv, Ukraine on Feb. 28, 2026.
Politics

No shortcuts for Ukraine's EU accession, Dutch FM says. Reforms key to progress

by Oleksiy Sorokin

Two points remain high on Ukraine's agenda: surviving the Russian onslaught and joining the European Union. President Volodymyr Zelensky believes the two should be tied together, with his office proposing to engrave a set date for Ukraine's EU membership in a potential peace deal with Russia. Tom Berendsen, the new Dutch foreign minister, disagrees with this approach. "If you set a date, you need to make sure that you get (everything done before) the date. It needs to be a realistic date," Be

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Exclusive: Saudi Arabia prepping 'huge deal' for Ukrainian weapons amid Iranian drone threat

A Saudi Arabian arms company has signed a deal to buy Ukrainian-made interceptor missiles, the Kyiv Independent has learned, with one source within Ukraine's defense industry saying that Riyadh and Kyiv are negotiating a separate "huge deal" for arms that could be finalized this week. Iran’s recent air attacks across neighboring Gulf States amid the U.S. and Israel-led war against Tehran have kicked off a scramble for military equipment to combat ballistic missiles and Shahed attack drones. Wh

'Tinder for the labor market' — How Ukraine is trying to fix a critical shortage

Since Dmytro Volynets studied mechanical engineering at university over a decade ago, he's worked in retail, call centers, and on a warehouse floor. Unable to join the army due to a spine injury, the 35-year-old has struggled to find a coherent career path related to his studies — even as several industries offering high paying jobs face labor shortages. In large part because of Russia's full-scale invasion, Volynets' story is typical right now in Ukraine — despite possessing some of the highe

KSE ProfTech students attend welding training classes at the KSE ProfTech facility in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 25, 2026.
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