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'Impossible to ban grief' — how Russia tries and fails to hide its casualties in Ukraine
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'Impossible to ban grief' — how Russia tries and fails to hide its casualties in Ukraine

by Karol Luczka

Russia has tightened control over information about its battlefield losses in Ukraine, cutting off data and closing one public loophole after another. The effort has not stopped the evidence of the dead from surfacing. As 2025 came to an end, Western governments and independent groups alike tallied staggering figures for Russia's battlefield losses in Ukraine, reaching no fewer than 400,000 killed, wounded, and missing that year. According to some estimates, Russia could have lost more soldiers

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The illusion of a ceasefire in Ukraine

Under immense pressure by weeks of Russian missile strikes, blackouts, and freezing cold, Ukrainians may get a few days of reprieve — at least, according to Washington. Trump surprisingly announced on Jan. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed not to strike Ukrainian cities for a week, though Moscow said that this would concern only Kyiv, and last only until Feb. 1 — just before another cold snap. The halt on strikes — provided it would be prolonged — could indicate Russia is feeling

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Jan. 21, 2026.

With Iran's uprising suppressed, Trump signals that military strikes are back on the table

U.S. President Donald Trump issued another ultimatum to Iran on Jan. 28, threatening to strike the regime if it does not agree to a deal on limiting its nuclear weapons program. Earlier in January, Iran was rocked by nationwide protests fueled by high inflation and the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial. The protests quickly took a political turn, with demonstrators calling for the removal of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The scale of the unrest was unusually broad, with demonstra

Protesters burn images of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in central London, U.K., on Jan. 11, 2026.

About Russia

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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