In this interview, the Kyiv Independent’s Jimmy Rushton speaks with Sven Kruk, a former German army officer and the CEO of European drone manufacturer Quantum Systems, about Ukraine’s changing air defense needs and what Europe is learning from the battlefield.

Russia is hitting warehouses, workshops, logistics hubs, exhibitions, and trains far from the front line. Many organizations working in Ukraine are not updating their duty of care as fast as the risks are changing, and make decisions on gut instinct. On Sept. 13, a Russian drone struck the locomotive of a Kyiv-Warsaw train that carried more than 200 passengers at Yahodyn station in Ukraine, about 2 kilometers from the Polish border. A train carrying European officials had left the station only

The latest strikes came as Russia intensifies its attacks on Kyiv since August, relentlessly launching drone attacks, even in daytime, to exhaust the Ukrainian air defense.

Russia told NATO it would be ready to use nuclear weapons if alliance members attempt to isolate Kaliningrad Oblast, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart told the Kyiv Independent Sept. 30.

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Ukraine, the EU, the IMF, and G7 partners were all in Brussels on Sept. 29 to discuss the state of Ukraine's finances until the end of 2027, but a sense of who will pay what, and how much money is even needed, remains elusive. "Our idea is to secure some possible solutions in a way which helps us to meet our needs in 2027," Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said at an event organized the day before by the European Policy Center (EPC) think tank. And there is a common unders

The ongoing Ukrainian offensive, led by the Third Army Corps, achieved success despite a disadvantage in manpower.

"We categorically deny the existence of any political prisoners and believe that framing the issue in this way is completely inappropriate," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

"The Register of Damage for Ukraine represents the legal memory of this unjust war," said the Council of Europe's Secretary General Alain Berset.

Russian attacks have caused an estimated $10 billion in damage to fixed assets in Ukraine this year alone, according to Kravchenko. Steel plants, warehouses, logistics hubs, and data centers have all been hit as Moscow increasingly targets infrastructure supporting the country's economy.

"Sanctions relief will embolden Russia and prolong the war," a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers said.

The Air Force said Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with Zircon and Onyx anti-ship missiles, Iskander-M and S-400 ballistic missiles, and 188 attack drones of various types.

Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 188 drones and various missiles, according to Ukraine's air force.

The number includes 1,470 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The measures target 13 individuals and entities in Russia, Hong Kong, China, and Pakistan as the United States continues to exert economic pressure on Tehran under "Operation Economic Outcast" amid its months-long war with Iran.

"With the treatment of Ukrainian children, of POWs and detained civilians within the Russian Federation, there is actually a rather limited amount of coincidence involved. It is a systemic challenge," Norwegian State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson said.

Ukraine received a new delivery of missiles for NASAMS air defense systems, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sept. 29, as the country faces a shortage.

Key developments on Sept. 29: * Russia to raise military spending by 27% in 2027, highest level in war so far, media reports * Russian military units allegedly involved in Oleshky humanitarian crisis identified * Putin restricts publication of Russian refinery, energy data amid Ukrainian strikes * Russian troops using civilians as 'human shields' to flee via Kupiansk pipeline, Khartiia Corps claims * Tu-95 aircraft crashed in Russia's Amur Oblast during training, killing 6 crew members, Mo

The school's pupils were in the building's shelter at the time of the attack, Sumy Oblast governor Oleh Hryhorov.

Russian troops use Oleshky to launch attacks across the river, including on the liberated city of Kherson.

Compared to the most recent figure from July 2026, the decree increases total staff by only around 15,500, is the fourth such incremental raise announced this year.

Wednesday, Sept. 23, was supposed to be a normal office day for me, researching for an investigative story. But amid Russia's daily drone and missile barrages, the word "normal" has taken on a new meaning for Ukrainians. Since August, Russian attacks on Kyiv and other cities have intensified, enabled by faster, jet-powered versions of Shahed drones that are more difficult to intercept. Unlike the nightly drone and missile attacks Ukrainians had grown used to, these new attack waves stretch thr

The recent Russian seizure of assets belonging to corporate giants Nestle and Auchan made headlines, all the more striking given the companies' years of loyalty to the Kremlin regime, including throughout Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This action seems shocking, but should not be surprising. Fascist imperial Russia has not seen and does not see Western companies as partners for mutual benefit, only as targets for weaponization, manipulation, and confiscation. One can only wonder wh

Tatarov is one of Ukraine's most controversial officials. He was charged with bribery in 2020 but the case was later closed due to alleged obstruction by law enforcement agencies and courts.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine has already received urgent ammunition shipments for F-16s from Belgium and other Western allies, including Spain.

"We should make an offer to the Americans. They want fertilizers, including nitrogen fertilizers, so please, let's build it together, using your (U.S.) ​technology," Lukashenko said in a conversation with Aleksey Russkikh, governor of Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast, in Minsk.

U.S. President Donald Trump privately doubts that Russian President Vladimir Putin will agree to an energy ceasefire with Ukraine before winter, people familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent. The doubts come as Washington presses both Kyiv and Moscow to halt attacks on each other's energy infrastructure, one of the key issues in recent peace talks. Trump has publicly pushed Ukraine to stop striking Russian energy facilities, while Moscow has yet to signal that it is ready to accept

Croatian authorities detained scuba diver Volodymyr Zhuravliov on Aug. 19 under a European arrest warrant issued by Germany in connection with the 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines.

The Kyiv Independent is proud to announce that Chief Operating Officer Zakhar Protsiuk has been named in the International News Media Association’s (INMA) 2026 30 Under 30 Awards, recognizing young media professionals making an impact on the news industry.

The preliminary cause of the nighttime crash is believed to be a fuel explosion on board, according to the Telegram channel Baza, which has ties to the Russian security services.

The Ukrainian judicial watchdog Dejure argued in June that "rather than improving the integrity declaration system, (the integrity declarations law) effectively dismantles integrity declarations as a meaningful tool for holding judges accountable."

Children, elderly people, and a person on crutches walked alongside draft-age men who were likely Russian soldiers wearing civilian clothes, according to Khartiia Corps' drone footage.

The victim was injured in a six-story apartment building that was hit in the Holosiivskyi district, where 10 others were also evacuated, according to the State Emergency Service.