In a video address on Sept. 30, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has applied for NATO membership. The country, according to him, should count on the NATO fast-track accession. "De facto, we have already become a NATO ally," Zelensky said. "(Our accession) would be a formal solidifying of the real state of things we've already achieved."
“Artillery sweat saves infantry blood.” The Ukrainian military has this saying for a reason. It has been weeks since Ukraine began to ask desperately for heavy western weaponry, particularly advanced tubed and rocket artillery, as part of an effort to turn the tide of Russia’s invasion, which is not
The Russian-Ukrainian war has produced yet another hallmark event in the history of warfare. On April 14, after 49 days of Russia’s all-out war, Ukraine inflicted a devastating blow upon the Kremlin’s pride and the symbol of its naval power in the Black Sea. Missile cruiser Moskva, the
HOSTOMEL, Kyiv Oblast — Like so many pilots across the world, Dmytro Antonov, the crew commander of the Antonov An-225 Mriya aircraft, has his own little pre-flight rituals. The world’s biggest and strongest cargo airplane, the master of many flight records, Mriya required special reverence. It had its own spirit
Images of dead civilians lying on the streets of Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, with their hands tied behind their backs shocked the international community and shamed Putin’s apologists, including all those who had felt sympathy for the “young demoralized Russian soldiers” – as these atrocities were committed by Russian
Ukraine is seeking security guarantees that are stronger than NATO's Article 5, David Arakhamia, the leader of President Volodymyr Zelensky's faction in the parliament and head of the Ukrainian delegation during the ongoing peace negotiations with Russia, said on March 29. Arakhamia was speaking following a round of peace talks
A large demonstration took place in Brussels on March 24, with protesters gathering to demand tougher sanctions against Russia on the occasion of U.S President Joe Biden’s visit to Brussels for a summit on Ukraine. The event, organized by Ukrainian-led advocacy group Promote Ukraine, took place in front
Days after launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ordered to put his country's nuclear deterrent forces on alert, effectively threatening the world with a nuclear war. With the ongoing military invasion proving to be extremely costly for Russia, the key question now is whether Putin is
No one really expected it — but after three weeks of Russia’s all-out war, Ukraine’s air defense is still exceeding expectations. This branch of service not only managed to largely survive Russia’s massive missile attacks in the invasion’s early hours. It took up the fight and prevented
On 14-16 September 2005, over 170 heads of state and government met at the United Nations Headquarters in New York during the 2005 World Summit, later described as the “largest gathering of world leaders in history,” and adopted the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document. The UN website states: “In paragraphs
To all our friends in the West: We know that you want to postpone a possible direct engagement, a direct war with the Russians… I’d like to be wrong, but I think it’s quite obvious that the direction we are heading in… is a direct war and direct
It’s infuriating that Russia’s serial killer, autocrat Vladimir Putin, is telling Western powers what they should be doing. What is worst, they are listening. The war-crime nominee has launched an incomprehensible war on global democracies by attacking Ukraine for no reason other than he thinks that he can
Many struggle to understand world powers’ refusal to enforce a no-fly zone (NFZ), at least on the western rest of Ukraine not (yet) occupied by Russia. It has been repeatedly requested by its legitimate democratically elected President Volodymyr Zelensky for the whole of this sovereign independent and democratic country, itself
Ukrainian bankers, analysts and economists have joined forces to develop a list of sanctions that have not yet been introduced, but could substantially hit Russia and force Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to retreat. Of course, these measures could hurt not only Russians, but also the economies of the collective West.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Against all the odds, Ukraine has won this war militarily. It has won because it has fought bravely and skillfully and now there is nothing Russia can
As NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs prepare for their extraordinary meeting on 4 March 2022 in Brussels, they will need to address the following existential question raised by former President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė in her 2 March 2022 letter to NATO: “If we do not stop Putin in Ukraine,
Russia’s treacherous attack on Ukraine shocked the entire civilized world. The planned Blitzkrieg that failed led to the collapse of Russian troops and their transition to terrorist methods of warfare, in violation of the laws and customs of war. On the first day of the occupation, it became known
Ukrainian people are dying, and civil infrastructure is destroyed from increasing Russian air-to-ground attacks. And there is no other help from the United Nations member states needed more than closure of airspace from any unapproved military aircraft flying into Ukrainian airspace. According to the article 42 of the UN Charter,
The heroic feats of Ukraine are a balm for our heart and soul. It’s been a long time since anything like its national resistance to Russia’s war has nurtured the spirit. Humanity loves heroes. The Ukrainian people, its military and president have shown it in spades. Respect, love
On 24 February 2022, in violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, Russia unleashed a full-scale military assault on Ukraine by air, ground and sea, attacking airports, ports, urban areas, civilian infrastructure and the nuclear exclusion zone in Chernobyl. On the same day, the President of Ukraine called for the
With Russia’s ruthless and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in the early morning hours of 24 February 2022, Vladimir Putin has brazenly challenged the West. Ukraine is courageously holding the fort at a high cost of human lives, both military and civilian, as well as an inestimable destruction of property.
On Sunday, police brutally dispersed a group of demonstrators who came to Moscow’s Pushkin Square, the traditional site of dissident rallies since the Soviet era, to denounce Vladimir Putin’s presumptive attack on Ukraine. The protesters, who included veteran human rights leader and former member of parliament Lev Ponomarev,
President Volodymyr Zelensky called upon the West to stand by Ukraine as Russia threatens to further invade it, in an emotional address to the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19. He criticized the ambivalent attitude of countries who stay silent, saying those who don’t stand by Ukraine should “think
The U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss came to Kyiv on Feb. 17 in a visit that was scheduled for early February but got delayed when Truss tested positive for Covid-19. While in Ukraine, Truss condemned the ongoing Russian military escalation, announced the cancelation of “golden visas” for the rich
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors. It’s important not to lose the battle before it even begins. Right now, the Russia-instigated security crisis in Ukraine is threatening to become an all-out war of occupation. Against all the voices of reason,
Russia’s needless war in Ukraine uncovered the best and the worst sides of international politics and diplomacy. The best produced what looks currently like a win over Vladimir Putin’s war. The worst is that his lunacy against democracy continues. What now? First, the best. Bravo Ukraine! It stands
Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.K., said on Feb. 13 that Ukraine might contemplate the possibility of not joining NATO if this averts a further Russian invasion. The statement triggered a controversy in Ukraine. The statement comes amid the U.S. warnings that Russia might attack Ukraine
Editor’s Note: This is an analysis by experts from the Center for Defense Strategies: Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Alina Frolova, Oleksiy Pavliuchyk, and Viktor Kevlyuk. It was originally published in Ukrainian by Ukrainska Pravda on Feb. 12. The Kyiv Independent has translated it and is republishing it with permission. On Feb.
On Monday, as Ukraine was bracing for a possible Russian invasion and another punishing Covid-19 wave, President Volodymyr Zelensky held an event on digital transformation which resembled something out of Apple founder Steve Jobs' playbook. Flashy graphics and cool suits framed a presentation which included a pledge to gift heavily
While certain aspects of Russia’s attack on Ukraine have been novel, Moscow’s approach to the conflict echoes a range of far more traditional tactics from the era of Soviet expansionism.
Poland, which recently joined the club of nations supporting Ukraine with weaponry against the looming Russian aggression threat, decided to provide Ukraine with better weapons than previously expected. Instead of PZR Grom, the Polish military's workhorse anti-aircraft missile systems promised to Kyiv, Poland is sending a more advanced and modern
Edmonton, CANADA — When Andriy Tovstiuk joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 2016, he knew exactly why he was doing it: to get on Operation UNIFIER in his ancestral home, Ukraine. Three years later, his goal was realized when he was deployed to Ukraine as a linguist working at three Non-Commissioned
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