Culture

The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

Ukrainian InstituteLearn more
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

News Feed

Mr. Putin, where is the gas?

"If you put the Russian authorities in charge of a desert, a sand shortage would break out — and they'd have to import sand from abroad." That's one of the most upvoted comments we found this June, as we monitored thousands of Russian social media groups and communities. Difficult not to agree, we must say — because this June, Russia, of all countries, ran short on gasoline. Throughout the month, Ukraine actively struck Russian oil refineries, fuel depots, and other oil infrastructure faciliti

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, on June 22, 2026.

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.
News Feed