Ukraine is still mourning Lana Chornohorska, a 26-year-old drone pilot beloved by many as a "catalyst" in art and cultural activism who never seemed to run out of energy. Chornohorska, who went by her callsign "Satie," was fatally injured by a Russian drone in southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Jan. 1. Her unit, Ukrainian Volunteer Army, praised her as a devoted and courageous person who was not only a soldier, but "a prominent cultural figure." The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in March 20

"This is price of our dignity," skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych wrote on X after the IOC's annoucement of his disqualification.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the ballistic missiles were targeting the city's infrastructure facilities.

A documentary by The Kyiv Independent about Ukrainian military medics working on the front lines of Russia’s war will be screened in three European capitals in February, marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian drones struck a Russian military plant in Michurinsk, Tambov Oblast, and a Defense Ministry site in Kotluban, Volgograd Oblast, overnight on Feb. 11-12, independent media and local authorities reported.

Short track speed skater Oleh Handei said his helmet bore a line from Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko: "Where there is heroism, there is no final defeat." It was banned from the Olympics on the grounds of being a "political slogan."

According to the president, the negotiations would be hosted by the U.S. and will take place on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18. The talks, however, depend on Russia's agreement to take part, something that Ukraine and the U.S. have not yet received.

"I am absolutely confident that if ... there is no date, then Russia will do everything to block the process," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 11.

Editor's Note: The article was updated following President Volodymyr Zelensky's comments. As of now, President Volodymyr Zelensky does not plan to announce presidential elections or a referendum on a possible peace deal with Russia on Feb. 24, a source in the President's Office familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent on Feb. 11. The comment came after the Financial Times reported that Kyiv was preparing to hold both votes this spring and that Zelensky could unveil the plan on the fo

European countries stepped in to fill the gap, increasing military aid to Ukraine by 67% and non-military support by 59% in 2025, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Key developments on Feb. 11 * Russian losses in Ukraine 'astonishing,' former MI6 chief says; * Russian strike on Kharkiv Oblast killed 3 toddlers and their father, pregnant mother injured; * Ukraine confirms drone strike on Russia's Volgograd oil refinery, Rubicon barracks in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast; * Europe has identified sites to train Ukrainian troops inside Ukraine, EU top diplomat says; * SBU sends text warning Russians are trying to recruit Ukrainians to register Starlink term

A Russian strike on Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv Oblast, killed four people, including three toddlers, and injured two others, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported overnight Feb. 11.

The messages come a week after Ukraine's defense ministry agreed with Starlink's parent company, SpaceX, to introduce mandatory registration for the internet terminals in Ukraine, a move meant to prevent their use by Russian forces.

Kyiv Independent reporters on the ground reported hearing two explosions around 2:50 p.m. local time.

"I wish I could be as brave as them," says Pavel Talankin, a school videographer in the industrial town of Karabash, speaking of Russians who protested the invasion of Ukraine in its first days. "But I'm not." The line is not self-pitying so much as diagnostic, and it becomes the foundation of"Mr. Nobody Against Putin," an Academy Award-nominated documentary that offers one of the clearest portraits of how Russian authoritarianism sustains itself not through mass fanaticism, but through routine

Editor's note: This article is a shortened on-site version of KI Insights' public newsletter, The Week Ahead, covering events from February 9-15. Sign up here to start your week with an agenda of Ukraine-related events delivered directly to your inbox every week. Audio version of The Week Ahead is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. The Munich Security Conference will take place on 13–15 February. Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to attend, with Ukraine’s delegation also

"We have been discussing the training of Ukrainian soldiers, also on the soil of Ukraine," Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, said in Brussels on Feb. 11 before a meeting of EU defense ministers.

Last month was likely Ukraine’s coldest January since 2010, according to an analysis of preliminary Copernicus Climate Change Service weather data provided by Europe's EUMETSAT satellite agency. Temperatures in Ukraine last month reached reported lows of -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit), rarely climbing above zero. Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure that cut power, heating, and water across the country made people's homes dangerously cold. Pavements turned to ice-rink

As global attention has shifted to Ukraine’s energy crisis, the fighting on the eastern front has not slowed. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell speaks with Volodymyr Polevyi, head of public affairs for the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces, about the battle for Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast.

Ukrainian drones targeted Russia's Volgograd oil refinery overnight Feb. 11, setting the site ablaze, local media reported.

"The losses are terrible, and even the Russians will struggle to replace that level of losses," Sir Richard Moore, the former MI6 chief, said.

The European Parliament voted to approve a 90 billion euros ($107 billion) loan to Ukraine, securing a large chunk of the country's budgetary and military needs for the next two years as the war approaches its fourth anniversary.

Valentyna Popova, an 85-year-old retired mathematician, lives in an apartment block on Kyiv’s east bank that is only minutes away from a city-installed "Invincibility Point," an emergency winter heating hub offering warmth, a place to charge devices, and sometimes tea or hot meals. She, however, is unable to reach the hub. While her flat is on the ground floor, mobility issues keep her inside, forcing her to rely entirely on volunteers stepping in to support residents that fell through the crac

"Learn from us and don't underestimate the threat coming from Russia," Maksym Timchenko, the head of DTEK, said.

The comments mark the third consecutive day of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's criticism of the U.S. approach.

Take a moment to imagine this: In the depths of the coldest winter in years, a neighboring country decides to destroy your country's infrastructure. Why? Your neighbor wants your land, but it's struggling to win on the battlefield. Your neighbor has spent years trying to grind you down to surrender. Every now and then, it strikes an apartment block, a railway line, or a children’s hospital. Now, it focuses on destroying what modern life depends on — and suddenly, electricity, internet, heating,

Russia launched 129 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 112.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly characterized his all-out war against Ukraine as a struggle for "sovereignty," yet what limited territorial gains Russia has achieved since 2022 pale in significance to the staggering dependence on China that has emerged. While the Kremlin had already been pursuing a "pivot to the East" for some time, this was never presented as the rapid wholesale embrace of Beijing necessitated by the protracted conflict. In fact, Western sanctions have left M

The number includes 820 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Ukraine's debt is ballooning. By the end of last year, the country owed over $213 billion to creditors — a hair's breadth away from the size of the country's entire economy. That doesn't include a new 90-billion-euro loan to Kyiv agreed by European leaders at a summit on Dec. 19, of which a sizable chunk will add to Ukraine's debt pile. As Russia's full-scale invasion approaches its fifth year and progress towards a peace deal remains uncertain, the anticipated postwar reconstruction boom is o

Kateryna Kotsar, a Ukrainian freestyle skier, said on Feb. 10 that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) barred her from using a custom helmet with the inscription "Be Brave like Ukrainians" at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

A Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia late on Feb. 10 left over 11,000 subscribers without electricity in the city, local officials reported.