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Russian President Vladimir Putin, during the Russia-ASEAN Summit in Kazan, Russia, on June 18, 2026.
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A predetermined vote in an increasingly unpredictable Russia

by Karol Luczka

In Russia, where elections offer little real uncertainty, the Kremlin still stages the ritual of competition — a carefully managed exercise designed not to choose leaders but to reinforce President Vladimir Putin's claim to legitimacy. With the upcoming parliamentary elections set for Sept. 20, the first since the start of the all-out war against Ukraine, the Kremlin's political wing is tasked with a risky endeavour — mustering up high numbers for Putin's United Russia party in a country stuck

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Thursday, June 25

'Killhouse' turns Ukraine's wartime reality into a gripping action thriller

Ukraine's new action film "Killhouse" is set to reach a global audience, hitting the Netflix streaming platform on June 26. 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 being rescued must be of extraordinary importance. For the Ukrainia

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

Ukraine's rule-of-law paradox

"Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes" is an idiom often attributed to American statesman Benjamin Franklin. In Ukraine, another certainty has emerged over the years: society's persistent demand for judicial reform — and the judiciary's equally persistent resistance to it. Following the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, Ukraine's highest court was expected to become a flagship of the country's Western-backed reform agenda. Instead, the Supreme Court has become mired in controve

Top 5 Ukrainian deep strikes inside Russia in May — and how they're making Russians doubt Putin

At the end of May, a Volgograd Telegram channel published an unusual announcement: local "mobile fire groups" tasked with shooting down Ukrainian drones were asking residents to chip in for radios, laser pointers, and camouflage nets. They needed 151,400 rubles, a little over 2,000 dollars. Over several days, they collected 13,300 rubles. The state, which had promised its citizens that the war would never touch them, was asking them to fund their own air defense themselves, and the Russians "ch

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian troops raise flag on Russian-held Kinburn Spit, military says

Key developments on June 24: * Ukrainian troops raise flag on Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast held by Russian forces since 2022, military says * Skelia assault regiment commander suspended from duty amid investigation into alleged abuse * Ukrainian strikes hit energy, oil infrastructure in Russian-occupied Crimea as power outages continue, military confirms * Russian attacks kill 7, injure 70 across Ukraine over past day, as Ukrainian gas facilities hit in several regions Ukrainian troops

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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