Politics

President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, on April 23, 2026.
Politics

From showman to commander-in-chief: Zelensky's struggle to balance war, governance, and trust

by Kateryna Denisova

Riding a wave of political momentum in 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky, a showman turned wartime leader, could have hardly imagined the path his presidency would take. Some argue that Zelensky's 2019 election was less of an endorsement of his political platform, a populist one, rather a rejection of the old entrenched elite seen as ineffective and corrupt. Years later, Zelensky still faces the domestic challenges that confronted his predecessors — issues he once promised to resolve. On the internatio

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Ukraine war latest: NATO condemns 'reckless' Russian drone strike on Romanian apartment building

Key developments on May 29: * NATO condemns 'reckless' Russian drone strike on Romanian apartment building * Russia preparing new large-scale attack, Zelensky says * Oreshnik missile 'isn't cutting-edge' as Russia claims, Ukraine says after examining parts * Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 2, injure 27, hit Turkish ship over past day A Russian drone struck a residential building in the Romanian city of Galati overnight on May 29. The drone was redirected from its original course, Roma

These Ukrainian drone pilots took out NATO forces during drills

At NATO's Aurora 2026 military exercises in Sweden, a group of Ukrainian drone pilots was tasked with playing the role of attackers. The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell spoke with drone pilots from Ukraine's 20th National Guard "Lubart" Brigade, part of the 1st Azov Corps, shortly after they returned from Sweden.

Ukraine's human capital crisis is Europe's threat

During a recent visit to a newly opened underground school in a front-line town, I spoke with the children once again. What is particularly striking is that they usually talk about how happy they are to finally return to classrooms. Some of them are experiencing in-person schooling for the very first time in sixth grade (first due to COVID-19, and then because of Russia's full-scale invasion). Yet online education or learning that is repeatedly interrupted by constant attacks, displacement, bl

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