A senior U.S. envoy involved in efforts to end Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has displayed a lack of basic understanding of Ukraine's political system and the war itself while speaking to reporters, the Kyiv Independent has learned. The official is engaged in high-level negotiations with both Moscow and Kyiv as Ukraine, Russia, and the United States reenter an active diplomatic phase under President Donald Trump's renewed push to end the war. During recent conversations with reporter

This is Chris York reporting from Kyiv on day 1,435 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story so far: Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) on Jan. 28 released a video compilation of what it claimed was the destruction of more than $1 billion worth of Russian military aircraft in long-range drone strikes conducted by its "A" Special Operations Center, also known as "Alpha." "The enemy is used to feeling safe in the deep rear. But for the special forces of 'Alpha,' distance has

Just over 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Kyiv, the Gostomel animal shelter in Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast is trying to keep more than 700 cats and dogs alive and warm as Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure leave the country facing rolling outages, scarce heat, and long stretches without power. The shelter's small team of volunteers and full-time staff is stretched thin.  The lack of electricity and heat, both essential to caring for the animals, have become this winter's biggest challe

Colombians, many shaped by decades of armed conflict at home, have become one of the largest groups of foreign volunteers fighting for Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The Kyiv Independent's Jared Goyette speaks with a Colombian volunteer who spent two years fighting in Ukraine.

Kyiv is pushing to delay a new tax on self-employed entrepreneurs until after the war has ended, as well as raise the threshold at which entrepreneurs would start paying the levy, a person in the Ukrainian government familiar with the talks told the Kyiv Independent.

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

Russian forces launched missile and drone attacks on several Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv and surrounding areas, overnight on Jan. 28, local authorities reported.

Three Russian Geran-2 drones struck the train on Jan. 27 at around 4:30 p.m. local time in the Barvinkove community.

The Kremlin has sought to strengthen ties with the new leadership in Damascus after the toppling of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, a Russian ally, in 2024.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow is prepared to ensure President Volodymyr Zelensky's security.

The attack on the oil depot caused a fire at the facility and ignited stored petroleum products. Thick smoke is rising above the site, the General Staff said.

The Chariot Tide, formerly known as Marabella Sun, was flying a Mozambique flag when its engine broke down on Jan. 22 in international waters within Spain's search-and-rescue zone.

In Eastern Europe, shifting global orders have been a lived experience for decades. Just over thirty years ago, the end of communism and the retreat of Russian dominance paved the way for market economies and pluralistic societies, sometimes overnight. Since that rupture, civil society — the organizations that exist in the space between the ordinary citizen and the state — has been integral to the political, social and cultural transformations across much of the region. But that fast-paced chan

Russian forces have sustained nearly 1.2 million casualties since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, paying a steep price for limited gains, a new CSIS report finds.

The Atesh partisan group sabotaged an electrical substation in Russia's Udmurt Republic, disrupting power supply to the nearby "BUMMASH" military‑industrial plant, the group claimed in a Telegram post on Jan. 28.

This is Yuliia Taradiuk and Polina Moroziuk reporting from Kyiv on day 1,434 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Russian drones struck a passenger train in Kharkiv Oblast on Jan. 27, hitting a locomotive and passenger car and causing a fire, Ukrainian officials said. At least five people were killed, and two others were injured in the attack, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported later in the evening. According to Ukrzaliznitsia and regional officials, th

Ukraine's ambassador to Hungary was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Budapest on Jan. 27, as Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accused Kyiv of interfering in Hungary's upcoming parliamentary elections.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Belarus is complicit in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and that Kyiv is preparing sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to hold him accountable for supporting the war.

"These are different people... the conversations were very focused," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

U.S. President Donald Trump's unveiling of his new "Board of Peace" drew a divided response from the international community. Most of Europe — including Ukraine — was absent from the signing ceremony in Davos, which featured mainly Middle Eastern leaders and Trump's ideological allies, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or Argentinian President Javier Milei. Despite seeking Trump's favor in peace talks with Russia, Kyiv remains reluctant to join as long as the war lasts. The reason

As an additional incentive, the U.S. has reportedly offered Ukraine more weapons to equip its army in the post-war period.

A Russian attack on Kyiv overnight on Jan. 24 damaged buildings at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a centuries-old monastery complex that holds some of Ukraine's most revered shrines and relics. Site officials said it was the first time since World War II that military action had damaged the Lavra. "What happened this time was a direct threat," said Maksym Ostapenko, the site's director general. "The explosion occurred very close to the Lavra. The shockwave affected the structure itself, not just wind

Odesa was the hardest hit among Ukrainian cities overnight.

Fourteen European countries warned on Jan. 26 that ships sailing in the Baltic Sea and North Sea under multiple flags may be treated as stateless vessels.

"People with chronic respiratory and cardiovascular conditions are advised, if possible, to stay indoors," officials said.

Hungary and Slovakia plan to sue the European Union over its REPowerEU plan to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas, officials wrote on Jan. 26.

U.S. officials leading the talks are convinced that Russian negotiators have taken a more pragmatic tone behind closed doors than Moscow's public hardline rhetoric suggests, according to two people familiar with the matter. The Kremlin has consistently used public statements before and after each round of talks to reiterate — and at times escalate — its maximalist demands on Ukraine, including territorial and political concessions. "They usually say their maximalist demands, and then they allo

A new Russian law requires Ukrainian children in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine to obtain Russian international passports to travel abroad; experts say the move complicates efforts to flee the occupation. A law that took effect Jan. 20 bars children under 14 from traveling abroad without a Russian international passport, Russian state media outlet TASS reported, citing the migration service of Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs. Russian citizens can travel to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzs

Moscow's propaganda machine has been hard at work depicting Europe as a "digital gulag," hellbent on suppressing free speech online. The latest campaign has targeted efforts by the U.K. and the EU to regulate X (formerly Twitter), even as the platform remains blocked in Russia, alongside Facebook, Instagram, and others. Russian propagandists appear to be drawing on the ire of U.S. leaders and their ally, X's owner Elon Musk, who attack European legislation as "censorship." Experts who spoke t

This is Kollen Post reporting from Kyiv on day 1,433 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Russia has yet to use Iranian missiles in its war on Ukraine Iran gave hundreds of its missiles to Russia as a gift to help in its war on Ukraine. So far, they've been plagued by failure to launch. Ukrainian intelligence told the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 26 that of the over 350 Fath-360 missiles that Iran has given Russia, none has come down on Ukraine. Those dormant Fath missi

Seapeak's share of Yamal LNG's trade in 2025 amounted to 37.3%, more than any other company, according to Urgewald's analysis based on Kpler data.

The reasons could be "possible limitations of a technical or political character," Ukraine's military intelligence told the Kyiv Independent.