Ukraine’s Defense Ministry announced on Jan. 18 that it was speeding up the formation of 25 Territorial Defense Force brigades, which will be made up of over 150 battalions in total. The announcement was made in a statement summarizing a meeting held between Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and the
As Ukraine is encircled by Russian forces, it’s relying on Western allies to send weapons or threaten Russia with extreme sanctions to hold an invasion at bay. Many people in the German government don’t want to do either. This weakens the West’s threat of economic retaliation and
Russia has begun sending its troops and combat vehicles to Ukraine’s northern neighbor Belarus ahead of next month’s joint military exercises, in a move likely to stir Western fears that Moscow is preparing to further invade Ukraine. Belarus's defense ministry announced on Jan. 18 that Russian troops have
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Kyiv and Berlin on Jan. 18-20. Blinken will first visit Kyiv, where he will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Jan. 19, to reaffirm the United States' support for Ukraine as Russia is threatening to further
U.K. Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace has announced that his country will provide Ukraine with anti-tank weapons to boost the Eastern European nation's security against escalating Russian threats. "In light of the increasingly threatening behavior from Russia, and in addition to our current support, the UK is
Six hours into ex-President Petro Poroshenko's arrest hearing on Jan. 17, the judge left for the chambers, allegedly for a 20-minute break. He never reappeared in the courtroom. After nearly six hours without the judge, the hearing was postponed until Jan. 19. Poroshenko left the courthouse. "I'll see you all
A group of U.S. senators is visiting Kyiv to show support for Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian military buildup. A bipartisan delegation consisting of seven U.S. senators — Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Murphy, Amy Klobuchar, Richard Blumenthal, Rob Portman, Kevin Cramer, and Roger Wicker — met with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba
Ukraine’s public procurement relies heavily on imports: nearly 40% of items bought by the state come from abroad. In the European Union that figure is five times lower, and in the U.S. its nearly nine times less, according to the Center for Market Economy Development. The problem is
Ukrainian scientists in Antarctica witnessed and registered the effects of a major deep-sea volcanic eruption that occurred on Jan. 14 near Tonga, a Pacific Ocean archipelago nation. The blast was so powerful that it caused an unusual seesaw of icy waters at Ukraine’s Akademik Vernadsky polar research station, 7,
Ex-President Petro Poroshenko returned to Ukraine on Jan. 17 after a one-month absence. He is facing arrest in a treason case. Poroshenko left Ukraine promptly on Dec. 18, after the State Investigation Bureau detectives tried to hand him a summons. Two days later, he was charged with high treason. Poroshenko
The Ministry of Digital Transformation pointed the finger at Russia on Jan. 16, accusing it of being responsible for the massive cyberattack that crashed many government’s websites on the night of Jan. 13-14. “As of now, we can say that all the evidence points to the fact that Russia
The 2022 winter crop harvest will be fruitful, according to experts cited by Agronews, a website specialized in agricultural news in Ukraine. The forecast is based on the weather Ukraine has seen so far, as well as on the results of the tests run by agronomists. The cold winter might
Russian-led militants in the occupied city of Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine released toxic ammonia gas into the atmosphere on Jan. 14, according to a report published on Facebook by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. The intelligence states that the release of chemicals could be part of a
Ukraine proposed to hold trilateral talks with the U.S. and Russia to resolve the conflict in Donbas. Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said so to U.S. diplomat John Herbst during an Atlantic Council webinar on Jan. 14. “We called for U.S. participation and
Russia launched a surprise combat readiness check of its military forces deployed in the Far East, amid an ongoing security crisis which threatens an escalation of Russia’s war with Ukraine. The drills envisage testing the capacity of the country's transportation grid to project military force "by large distances," according
Russia is preparing a pretext for invading Ukraine, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a news briefing on Jan. 13, citing intelligence information. “Russia is laying the groundwork to have the option of fabricating a pretext for an invasion, including through sabotage activities and information operations, by
Ukraine was hit by a major cyberattack on the night of Jan. 13-14, crashing many government websites, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Veterans Affairs, State Emergency Service, Cabinet of Ministers, Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Education and Science. The website of Diia, Ukraine’s e-governance
The week of diplomacy with Russia ended without a clear resolution and Europe teetering on the brink of war. The West and Russia have reached an impasse, neither willing to budge on Russia’s core demand of excluding Ukraine from NATO and pulling NATO members’ forces back from Eastern Europe.
After Ukraine's historic liberalization of its land market on July 1, Ukrainians sold 155,000 hectares of land plots worth $200 million in six months, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy reported on Jan.13. On average, 470 sales were made every day with an average price of $1,420 per
SpaceX, the world's leading private space exploration company headed by Elon Musk, has successfully launched the Sich 2-30, the first Ukrainian satellite in orbit in a decade. Transporter-3 rideshare mission on Jan. 13 saw a Falcon 9 space vehicle take off at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida,
Our picks of the best art, music, film and more in the capital. All listed venues require one of the following: certificate of vaccination, negative PCR or antigen test, or proof of recovery from Covid-19. * Ukrainian hip-hop pioneers Tanok Na Maidani Kongo, or TNMK, will yet again play a show
The State Investigation Bureau seized 100% of the shares of Kyiv’s Bilshovyk machine-building plant on Jan. 11 over suspicions that it may have been knowingly undersold at its privatization auction, according to a post on the bureau's website on Jan. 13. The shares, which are owned by tycoon Vasyl
As Kazakhstan suppresses anti-government protests with the help of Russian-led troops, the Kyiv Independent closely monitors and reports on a situation that could affect Ukraine’s future. Episode #6 of our origin story podcast “Media in Progress” is out: Media in Progress · Popular protest, inter-elite feuds or Russian intervention: What’
Russia has neither accepted nor rejected de-escalation on Ukraine after meeting with NATO in Brussels on Jan. 12, according to U.S. Deputy State Secretary Wendy Sherman. The meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, the first since July 2019, is part of a week-long flurry of diplomacy in Europe. On Jan.
On Jan. 12, the Cabinet of Ministers announced it would manually regulate prices for a number of essential food items amid record inflation in the past three years. The list includes sugar, wheat flour, buckwheat, pasta, milk, butter, chicken eggs, and poultry. Government officials have set a maximum permitted trade
Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky District Court has ordered prosecutors to close a bribery case against President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Deputy Chief of Staff Oleh Tatarov, according to a ruling published in the official register of court decisions. The ruling was issued on Dec. 14 but was published by the Anti-Corruption Action
State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia generated $16 million of profit in 2021, according to the company’s Jan. 12 press release. The company bounced back to profitability after posting a $436 million loss in 2020, but failed to match its 2019 results, when it made a profit of $108 million. Ukrzaliznytsia
Nearly one-third of the alcohol market in Ukraine is unregulated, according to the World Health Organization. This costs the state big bucks. According to a Jan. 11 report by the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, bootleg alcohol sales are costing the country's government $330 million (Hr 9 billion) in excise taxes
When President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Servant of the People party swept into power in 2019, the president’s office famously said it “doesn’t need journalists.” Instead, Andriy Bohdan, the head of the president’s office at the time, said that Zelensky’s team could communicate “directly” with the
A new bill that's about to be introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives advocates for the U.S. to increase military funding to Ukraine and implement strict measures against Russia immediately, according to Politico. The bill, titled "Guaranteeing Ukrainian Autonomy by Reinforcing its Defense Act" (GUARD), is signed
Electric cars have continued to grow in popularity in Ukraine last year. A total of 8,541 new and used electric vehicles were registered in 2021, an almost 20% increase compared to 2020, according to the Federation of Automotive Employers. Used vehicles outnumbered new ones seven to one. Ukraine now
Amid Russia's ongoing war, Ukraine in 2021 ended up getting a total of nearly $450 million in defense assistance, mainly from the United States, UK, Lithuania, and Latvia. The shipments to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression included weapons, vehicles, medical equipment, munitions, and many other items, according to
