Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, resigned from parliament after being accused of helping lure 17 South African men to fight for the Russian military in Ukraine, her party announced on Nov. 29.

One person was killed and 11 people were injured in Vyshhorod district as Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv Oblast overnight on Nov. 30.

Russia’s Ministry of Justice has designated Human Rights Watch an “undesirable organization,” effectively banning the group from operating in the country, on Nov. 28.

The operation targeted ships that, according to the source, could have transported nearly $70 million worth of oil and helped Moscow bypass international sanctions.

Ukrainian officials will meet with Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Florida on Nov. 30. Zelensky said a final agreement could be ready "in the coming days."

Moldova was forced to temporarily close its airspace, President Maia Sandu said. The incident marks the third such violation in nine days.

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 596 Shahed-type attack and decoy drones and 36 missiles of various types overnight.

The leaders will discuss "the conditions of a just and durable peace" in Ukraine, according to French President Emmanuel Macron's office.

"The course of military operations has demonstrated what should become the new priorities," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The attack seriously damaged the mooring point two (SMP-2), prompting port authorities to halt all loading operations and order tankers out of the water area.

Ukraine's military reportedly struck one of southern Russia's largest oil refineries overnight on Nov. 29, Russian Telegram media channels reported.

"I'm going to the front and am prepared for any reprisals... I am an honest and decent person," Former Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak said.

A Russian military victory in Ukraine would cost Europe twice as much as a Ukrainian victory, according to a new study by Corisk and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs published on Nov. 25.

Orban reiterated his readiness to hold the peace talks on Ukraine in Hungary, even as plans for a summit in Budapest between Putin and Trump have been scrapped.

Vasyl Verameichyk, a Belarusian soldier who previously served as a volunteer fighter for Ukraine, was sentenced to 13 years in prison in Belarus, independent outlet Belsat reported on Nov. 28.

Hello, this is Kateryna Hodunova reporting from Kyiv on day 1,374 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces took out $60 million worth of Russian air defense systems over the course of three days, it claimed in a social media post on Nov. 28. "The Buk-M1, Buk-M2, and Tor-M2 air defense systems were hit. The total cost of these weapons is estimated at $60 million," it said. "These complexes are key elements of the enemy's air defense syst

Andriy Yermak, head of the President's Office, submitted his resignation following searches by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) at his premises earlier on Nov. 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.

Editor's Note: This story was originally published in The Kyiv Independent's first-ever print edition, titled "The Power Within." You can order a copy in our e-store. Carrying a portrait of Ukrainian artist Alla Horska at her funeral, poet Vasyl Stus, who would himself perish in a Russian labor camp 15 years later, did not shy away from calling her death a murder. On that mournful day, when it fell to Stus to speak, he delivered a poem written in Horska’s memory. Its stark opening line — “Toda

The Czech foundation Gift for Putin will no longer buy Flamingo cruise missiles from Ukrainian weapons maker Fire Point due to connections to a recent corruption scandal, local media reported. "We collected the money very quickly, but serious doubts arose that it would not go to the product for which the collection was made. So we did not go to them and now we are looking for a suitable alternative," Dalibor Dědek told Idnes, as reported on Nov. 28. The decision apparently came after Dědek rece

Editor's note: Andriy Yermak submitted his resignation following searches by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) at his premises, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Nov. 28. President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has consolidated an unprecedented level of power within Ukraine's government — wielding influence across parliament, the Cabinet, and key state institutions. Despite his dominance, however, Yermak has remained a controversial figure, often viewed w

As Russia bombards Ukraine with Shahed drones almost every night, the 12th Army Aviation Brigade takes to the skies in decades-old helicopters to intercept them. The Kyiv Independent’s Kollen Post joined the pilots to understand how they fly, maneuver, and shoot down drones in darkness — and what keeps them going.

As law enforcement raids the house of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s closest aide, European officials are voicing support for Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies — with one even expressing relief that a figure seen a toxic among some in Europe is being investigated.

In a letter, sent on Nov. 27 and seen by the Kyiv Independent, Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever labelled the EU's "reparations loan" scheme as "fundamentally wrong," and argued that moving forward on the initiative could complicate an eventual peace deal.

Editor's note: Andriy Yermak later submitted his resignation, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said on Nov. 28 that it was conducting searches at the premises of President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak. Yermak is being investigated by the NABU in a corruption case involving state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom, the biggest corruption investigation during Zelensky's presidency. Eight suspects have been charged in the Energ

The statement comes as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow for meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.

Residents in several Russian cities and in occupied Crimea reported hearing explosions overnight on Nov. 28.

The world increasingly turns its attention to Russia’s war against Ukraine only when a new round of peace negotiations begins. Here on the ground, however, the war doesn't slow down between those waves of talks. The front line continues to shift, Russian tactics are evolving, and the pace of battlefield technological innovation is breakneck. Understanding this is crucial to understanding the peace talks. If you’re outside Ukraine, it can be hard to stay informed about what’s going on — especia

Amid the ongoing war, Ukrainians' growing reliance on social networks for real-time news reflects a search for immediacy — yet this shift exposes them to new forms of disinformation. The trend toward getting news from social networks is global, but in Ukraine it has taken on a distinctly wartime character. For many, these platforms are a lifeline, offering instant updates on Russian attacks or troop movements. Yet the same qualities that make them indispensable also make them dangerous. Disin

The North Korean military is highlighting the "heroic services" of soldiers who blew themselves up in Ukraine rather than be taken prisoner, a Daily NK source said.

Russia’s Roscosmos space agency reported that the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan sustained significant damage during the Soyuz MS-28 launch to the International Space Station, according to multiple Russian media reports published on Nov. 27.

Explosions were reported in several Russian cities, including Taganrog, Novorossiysk, and Saratov, overnight on Nov. 28 amid a widespread drone attack.

As U.S. President Donald Trump accelerates his push for a settlement in Moscow's war against Ukraine, analysts say Russia's ambiguous stance is clouding the process. Even though the original peace plan unveiled by the U.S. last week was skewed in Russia's favor, it is not clear if Moscow would have accepted it since it still falls short of its sweeping demands. Observers note that Moscow has never clearly signaled readiness to accept the proposals. "They've been very coy about the negotiations