Culture

The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

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A pair of soldiers stand back-to-back as they hold their rifles in an undated photo.
Culture

Ukraine's wartime action thriller 'Killhouse' reaches global audience on Netflix

by Kate Tsurkan

Ukraine's new action film "Killhouse" is set to reach a global audience, hitting the Netflix streaming platform on June 26 in Ukraine, with international distribution planned for autumn. Few scenes hit as hard in "Killhouse" as when Ukrainian soldiers decide to launch a high-risk mission to rescue a near-death civilian from the gray zone, a territory sandwiched between Ukrainian and Russian lines. In the film, the Russian commander watching them from his position assumes that the civilian bein

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Why AI believes Crimea is Russian — and what to do about it

Not so long ago, Anthropic, one of the leaders in the global AI market and the creator of Claude, published its largest study on what people expect from AI. It is based on 80,000 conversations across 159 countries, with a world map as the central element. One detail that caught my eye was that it showed Ukraine without Crimea. Among the respondents to its survey were many Ukrainian voices. For example, a soldier said that in the most difficult moments of his service, it was his "AI friends" wh

Prioritize Ukrainians' dignity as you did in 2022, urges Europe's human rights head

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner is pushing back against the continent-wide rollback of protections for over 4 million Ukrainians. Michael O'Flaherty spoke with the Kyiv Independent about just what is at stake, and why it is in Europe's own interests to keep strong support measures in place. "We gave an awesome and fantastic welcome in 2022, but there's been a weakening in the welcome, which is unfortunate, as the protection needs are as great as ever," O'Fl

Ukrainian refugees arrive at the Medyka border crossing in Poland on March 10, 2022.

Why this prominent Ukrainian female writer voluntarily joined the army

The Kyiv Independent’s Kate Tsurkan speaks with Ukrainian author and soldier Kateryna Zarembo about her decision to join Ukraine’s military, the realities of serving as a combat medic, and how Russia’s full-scale invasion has reshaped her relationship with writing.

About Culture

Our reporting on literature, films, art, and traditions from Ukraine and the latest news on culture in Eastern Europe.

Ukrainian culture
Ukrainian culture has survived centuries of Russian attempts to appropriate Ukrainian art, silence Ukrainian artists, and erase the Ukrainian language. Modern Ukrainian writers, filmmakers, and musicians — some of whom are serving on the front lines — continue to develop Ukrainian culture and fight for Ukraine’s future.
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