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Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on April 27, 2026.
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Putin faces rising tensions as Russian economy weakens

by Toby Woodall

The Russian economy is losing momentum as the cost of the war mounts — sowing discord at the highest levels of the state and posing growing problems for President Vladimir Putin. After four years of proudly insisting that Russia could withstand sanctions imposed by the West in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is now confronting the reality that the war economy that initially spurred growth is increasingly straining the system. Meanwhile, there is a growing sense that

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Russia's latest assault on Kyiv turns Ukraine's cultural heritage into another front line

In one of the most devastating attacks on Kyiv since the start of the full-scale war, Russia’s missiles and drones targeted some of the city’s most treasured cultural landmarks. The National Art Museum, the Chornobyl Museum, the National Philharmonic, the Ukrainian National Academy of Music, the Kyiv Opera Theater, the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library, the Ukrainian House, and a number of other cultural institutions all reported varying levels of damage after the May 24 assault. The Foreign Mi

Firefighters work at the damaged Chornobyl Museum following a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 24, 2026.

Ukraine war latest: Russia announces plans for new mass attacks on Kyiv as capital continues clean-up

Key developments on May 25: * Russia announces plans for new mass attacks on Kyiv, including strikes on 'decision-making centers' * UK defense secretary's plane hit by suspected Russian GPS jamming * After huge Russian missile, Oreshnik strike, Kyiv cleanup operation continues for second day * Putin signs law authorizing use of military force to 'protect Russian citizens' abroad Russia's Foreign Ministry has announced plans for a new round of mass long-range strikes on Kyiv, including on U

The controversial life and unsolved death of Symon Petliura, one of Ukraine's most famous leaders

A century ago, on May 25, 1926, an otherwise ordinary afternoon in Paris’ bohemian Latin Quarter was disrupted by a barrage of gunshots, leaving one of Ukraine’s famous military leaders dead in the street. “I emptied my revolver,” Samuel “Scholem” Schwartzbard, the Jewish-Ukrainian man who killed Symon Petliura, told the court, as quoted by Time magazine in 1927. “A policeman came up quietly and said: ‘Is that enough?’ I answered: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Then give me your revolver.’ I gave him the re

Symon Petliura, Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army, photographed in 1919.

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The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

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