When the famous U.S. pop band Backstreet Boys released their signature hit "I Want It That Way" in 1999, they could hardly have imagined that nearly a quarter of a century later it would be used to help the Ukrainian military fight off a brutal invasion by Russia. But
"My worst fear is coming true: I'm inside a new Executed Renaissance. As in the 1930s, Ukrainian artists are killed, their manuscripts disappear, and their memory is erased," Ukrainian writer Viktoriia Amelina penned in the foreword to the published diary of another author, Volodymyr Vakulenko, murdered during the Russian occupation
Russia's top propagandist, Olga Skabeeva, interrupted her talk show on May 16 to share "breaking news" with the Russian people. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) uncovered a spy, Skabeeva said, who had been feeding information about Russian military infrastructure and equipment to Ukrainian authorities. "A (criminal) case was opened
Many passersby raise their heads when walking past the Princess Olga monument in downtown Kyiv. Some even stop, gazing at the statue with surprise. Although it has been there for years, it seems the monument has never gotten as much attention as it has in recent weeks. In early September,
Stefania Stavytska woke up on Oct. 7. in the Israeli port city of Jaffa with a queasy feeling of déjà-vu. The 25-year-old video producer thought she had left the sounds of sirens behind when she left Kyiv in March 2022, at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Instead, she
Svitlana Oslavska and Anna Ilchenko embarked on a mission in 2020 to document Ukraine’s villages before they were lost to time and war. Traversing across Ukraine’s vast landscape, the sisters started speaking to people from villages about topics as diverse as the best construction method of a house
One thought helped Yevhen Mezhevyi overcome the ordeal of Russian captivity – the thought of his three young children. Single father Mezhevyi, 40, was captured by Russian troops at a checkpoint when he and his children were fleeing their war-torn hometown of Mariupol last spring. For 45 days, Mezhevyi was kept
For the past several weeks, Serhii Samoilenko has been savoring every second of his life. The 38-year-old has not felt as happy as he is now ever since the start of the full-scale invasion. In August, he finally reunited with his two little daughters, whom he hadn't seen for over
In a scene all too familiar for central Kyiv and for Ukraine as a whole, a large column of mourning soldiers and civilians walked through the capital’s streets on Aug. 28 to say goodbye to another high-profile commander killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Serhii Ilnytskyi, call sign
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
On the evening of June 24, 16-year-olds Tihran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov went for a walk in their hometown of Berdiansk, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The two got some street food, saw some friends, and discussed how they would celebrate Khanhanov's 17th birthday the next
DONETSK OBLAST – Sixteen months have passed since Halyna Nikiforova's husband went missing on Ukraine's eastern front line. But the 40-year-old Sloviansk native still texts him daily stories about their children. "They were everything to him," Nikiforova said of their 13 and 15-year-old sons. "They've grown up so much this year
Editor's Note: The names of the people from the Russian-occupied territories interviewed by the Kyiv Independent for this story have been changed to protect their identity, as they have shared sensitive information that could place them in danger. As Russia largely exhausted its military potential on the battlefield, the Kremlin
On Oct. 8, Tetiana Bodak was busy organizing a funeral for her mother, who was killed by a Russian attack in then-occupied Kherson Oblast, when she got an unexpected and very emotional phone call from her son. "Mom, I'm in Oleshky (a Russian-occupied settlement in Kherson Oblast). On the way
Over 500 spectators of the Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater stood in a deep silence before the start of a performance of the "La Bayadere” ballet in late April. Some of them had tears in their eyes. The audience was commemorating the opera's late ballet dancer, Rostyslav Yanchyshen,
ZAPORIZHZHIA – Stuck between a worksite frozen in time and a highway facing the Dnipro River, the volunteer’s center was not easy to find. The anonymous building hardly betrayed any sign of human activity from the outside. Everything was wrapped in an eerie silence until a door opened, spilling a
KYIV – At first, everything about the small, solemn gathering in the grounds of Kyiv’s St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery had all the signs of a traditional Ukrainian military funeral. A guard of soldiers, a Ukrainian flag held over the coffin, the rolling verse of Orthodox prayers, the national anthem,
Borodianka, located about 40 kilometers from Kyiv, suffered greatly from Russian airstrikes. One year later, many of its residents continue to live there either because they have nowhere else to go or because they feel emotionally attached to their hometown.
Editor's Note: Some soldiers declined to give their last names to the Kyiv Independent for safety reasons as they plan to return to fight on the front line once their rehabilitation is over. ZAPORIZHZHIA – Serhii Demko's active duty is over. He had served since the first day of the Russian
On the morning of May 13, Tetiana Horobtsova was busy in the kitchen at her home in then-occupied Kherson when she heard her daughter saying, "Mom, they’ve come for me." She left the kitchen to find her daughter – 37-year-old IT specialist Iryna Horobtsova – standing on the balcony, looking pale
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has galvanized Ukrainians into action, compelling them to figure out how they can contribute to their country’s victory. Oftentimes, it has called for a radical departure from the known comforts of their daily lives. That’s exactly what happened to Ukrainian writer Victoria
Editor's Note: People interviewed for this story are not identified by their full names to protect their identities since they or their relatives still remain in Russian-occupied towns in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The native city of released prisoner Bohdan, which is still under Russian occupation, is also not mentioned to protect
It was another one of those losses. A young, bright Ukrainian who had a long life to live. Somebody who many perceived as “immortal” because the country’s future was hard to imagine without their dedication and patriotism. Somebody for whom thousands, both friends and strangers, would gather in central
After months of reports that Russia would expand its aggression against Ukraine, the unthinkable happened early in the morning of Feb. 24, 2022: Russian missiles began raining down on Ukrainian cities, and all at once, millions of people had to act quickly to get themselves and their loved ones to
Two survivors spoke to the Kyiv Independent about what they had endured.
Ten months after barely surviving the Russian bombing of a theater in Mariupol, Viktoria Dubovitska is keeping a close eye on her seven-year-old son. Artem remembers “almost everything” about what he saw in the March tragedy, the mother said. He tries not to talk about it, but unwanted memories keep
Despite Russian air assaults, Olha Kardash, 38, was determined to celebrate New Year's Eve. Spending the day together was always an important tradition for the Kardash family, whose hometown in Luhansk Oblast has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Now, Kardash had to cherish every moment with her younger brother
When Ukrainian soldiers were entering the village of Yampil in Donetsk Oblast after five months of Russian occupation, they discovered an abandoned zoo on the outskirts. Dozens of animal corpses, either killed by Russian troops or dead of starvation, were lying throughout the zoo’s territory. But in one locked
On a warm day in early September, Anastasiia Kolchyna took her nine-year-old sons, twin brothers Ruslan and Denys, for a walk. They went to a small park in their native Zelenodolsk, a town in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, where many locals would gather on the weekends. The family was enjoying the outdoors
Despite the dire humanitarian situation in Kherson, residents are still celebrating its liberation two weeks after the Ukrainian Armed Forces entered the city. With Russian forces finally gone from the city, local residents share stories of living under occupation. Filmed by Liza Pyrozhkova.
Editor's note: The names of the people interviewed by the Kyiv Independent for this story have been changed to protect their identity as they have shared sensitive information that could place them and their families in danger. When Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced partial mobilization, Ivan was desperate. Ivan, who
