Editor’s Note: The following is a personal account of the Kyiv Independent’s journalist describing spending a day with a small group of volunteers helping people get out of some of the most dangerous areas outside Kyiv. IRPIN AND STOYANKA, Kyiv Oblast – A clear, frigid day rises over Irpin.
A Russian missile strike reduced Kyiv’s Retroville shopping mall to a smoldering ruin, killing at least eight people in one of the most powerful explosions yet seen in the capital. The strike occurred in the northern part of Kyiv around 11 p.m. on March 20, flattening one part
Six days after a Russian missile destroyed their homes, residents of one nine-story apartment building in Kyiv’s northern district Obolon are back to the site of the tragedy. It’s a short visit as the building is falling apart and it's dangerous to stay for long. Despite the risks,
Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Independent isn’t revealing last names of the people from the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine interviewed for this story for safety reasons. Nearly every man that Oleksii, a 24-year-old resident of Russian-occupied Khrestivka in Donetsk Oblast, knows – friends, school classmates, and former colleagues from a
Ukrainian activists are currently blocking trucks from crossing the border from Poland to Belarus. The activists demanded that the European Union stop its trade with Russia. "Every product and every euro that feeds the Russian economy kills Ukrainians," they said on a Facebook page devoted to the protest. One of
Days after launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ordered to put his country's nuclear deterrent forces on alert, effectively threatening the world with a nuclear war. With the ongoing military invasion proving to be extremely costly for Russia, the key question now is whether Putin is
Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes as Russian forces continue to bombard residential areas across the country. While more than 3 million have gone abroad, many have relocated to western Ukraine, which is currently safer than the rest of the country. English teacher Oleksiy Shpak and
In the early morning of March 1, Svitlana Zhulina was driving her family away from war-torn Kyiv Oblast. Her husband, Andriy Vilson, was sitting next to her, their two sons of eight and 10 in the back seat. They were driving along Zhytomyr Highway, a westbound road very familiar to
On March 16, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its order on Ukraine’s request for indication of provisional measures against Russia. By 13 votes to two, it ordered Russia to immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on Feb. 24 in the territory of Ukraine and ensure
"Today the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine. We are fighting for the values of Europe and the world, sacrificing our lives in the name of the future."
When Mariupol journalist Artem Popov speaks about his hometown, it sounds like he has a lump in his throat. The southeastern city of Mariupol has turned into a front line of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine. It’s dangerous to move around the city because Russian warplanes are flying
BORYSPIL, KYIV OBLAST – About a hundred people gathered in a city memorial park to say their last goodbyes to an outstanding combat commander, colonel Valeriy Gudz, who had been killed in a battle near Russian-occupied Luhansk on March 12. Gudz, 51, had defended Ukraine from Russia’s army since the
It is widely believed that Russian leadership expected its all-out invasion of Ukraine to succeed within days. Twenty days later, Ukraine still stands, and Russia has no major victories to claim. It seized only one large city and regional center, Kherson in southern Ukraine. To force Ukraine to surrender, Russia
In late February, Kyiv resident Serhii Fokin had a tough decision to make: walk into a bomb shelter during an air raid and risk infecting those around him, or stay at home, risking being killed by a Russian missile. Fokin chose the second option, staying in his apartment’s corridor
While Ukrainian forces have, so far, successfully held off the Russian troops from taking Kyiv, the towns around the capital have become some of the most intense battlegrounds of the ongoing war. Russia seized the outlying suburban towns with vehicles and infantry, setting up checkpoints and, in many cases, cutting
Editor’s note: The Kyiv Independent isn’t sharing the names of the restaurants in this story for security reasons. Before the war, this restaurant in central Kyiv was always packed, no matter the time of the day. It was a popular spot among creative youth and foreigners. In usual
Spring. As the winter softens, Ukraine’s farmers used to take to their fields, sowing the seeds of wheat, sunflowers, and buckwheat and tending to poultry farms whose yields are sent across the world. This year, planting has become a luxury, in many cases fields and livestock have been abandoned.
The day of March 9 started with the Ukrainian authorities making a hopeful announcement that they expect a temporary ceasefire to evacuate civilians from 10 Ukrainian cities, the besieged ones and those that have been hot spots of Russia’s war. According to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian
When surgeon Oleh Godik woke up on Feb. 24, he knew that life had changed fundamentally. A day later, when he had to operate on a boy who'd been critically wounded in the neck by shrapnel from Russian forces, he knew he had been right. Despite his best attempts to
On March 7, or the 12th day of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held the first hearing in the “Ukraine v. Russian Federation” case. One of the six United Nations principal organs based in The Hague, ICJ heard Ukraine’s request for indication
At noon on March 4, an SUV drove through the streets of Bucha, formerly a cozy green town near Kyiv, now a hotspot of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Three people were in the car: Serhiy Ustymenko, 25, a co-founder of a car repair shop, Maxym Kuzmenko, 28, a hookah
Editor’s Note: Ukrainians mentioned in this story were reluctant to have their full names published in the press due to security risks brought by the Russian invasion. Thousands of people spend hours at Kyiv’s central railway station, each day, hanging onto a slim hope of boarding a train
Following a call with the Russian President on 3 March 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron indicated that “the worst is yet to come” and that Putin wanted to take all of Ukraine. It is difficult to imagine what could be worse than perpetrating war crimes by indiscriminate daily bombardment of
IRPIN, Ukraine — Hundreds of terrified people cautiously walk through the debris of concrete and twisted metal, trying to cross the Irpen River on foot. “Come on, no need to rush, careful,” a Ukrainian soldier says while helping civilians onto concrete blocks leading to a stairway. Mothers hold up their crying
A cold basement with a corridor and small rooms on both sides, previously used as a wardrobe for the hospital staff. Chairs, worn benches, and cradles for newborns. This is where Mariia Shostak, 25, met her son for the first time. He was born in Kyiv on Feb. 25, or
“I woke up from a call from a friend. He told me Russia was bombing Kyiv," says Artem Basistiy, a 29-year-old from Crimea, who had lived in Kyiv for the last four years. "Then I heard a siren going off, quickly grabbed the dog, and ran to the shelter. After
Ukraine, as it combats Russia's full-fledged invasion, is rapidly creating its own International Legion, a military force composed of international volunteers enlisting to help defend Ukraine. Three days after the start of Russia's further invasion, on Feb. 27, Ukraine's leadership announced the opportunity for foreign volunteers, expecting the dire need
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing economic crisis caused by Western sanctions have already transformed Russia. The country's economy is expected to shrink by 20% in the second quarter and by around 3.5% for the full year following intensified sanctions, JPMorgan said on Feb. 28. However, analysts
TYSA, Ukraine – Upon arrival at the Tysa border checkpoint between Ukraine and Hungary, one is struck by the shortness of the vehicle queue. Fewer than a hundred cars stand in line, a sharp contrast to the 30-kilometer queues at some crossings into Poland. However, to the side of the road
Russian forces have captured Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at Enerhodar in Zaporizhia Oblast, according to state nuclear operator Energoatom. An earlier fire at a non-critical building, caused by a Russian 'projectile,' was contained, without any damage to the plant, the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) reported. The
Sixteen-year-old Ukrainian Anna Liutyk will never forget that early morning when she woke up to her mother screaming the most terrifying words she had ever heard. “The war has started,” Liutyk's mother cried out.“ (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putin started a war.” Multiple Ukrainian cities were shelled that same day on
One week since Russia began its full-scale war against Ukraine, the civilian death toll is in the hundreds, while thousands have been left injured. According to the United Nations, over 600 civilians have died as a result of Russia's aggression. Russian troops have shelled residential areas, hitting civilian targets such
