"(A)ny apparent ties to members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle raises serious questions about pay-to-play schemes and foreign intelligence infiltration of the President's family," Rep. Robert Garcia wrote.

"So in Moldova, my presidential jet was there, and that's why they attacked Moldova," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

August news about the Kyiv Independent: interviews, awards, events and more

Key developments on Sept. 15: * Ukraine has 'successfully tested' new interceptor against Russian jet-powered drones, Zelensky says * Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv, killing at least 1, injuring 12 * Russia suffers over 300,000 military losses in Ukraine since start of 2026, General Staff says * Belarus holds 'defensive' military drills near borders with Poland, Lithuania Ukraine has "successfully" trialed another interceptor drone designed to target Russian jet-powered Shahed drones

DALLAS U.S., Texas — As the U.S. Republican Party convened for its first-ever national midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 9-10, neither U.S. President Donald Trump nor Vice President JD Vance made Russia's war against Ukraine a significant part of their convention appearances. The convention was designed primarily to rally Republicans ahead of the November elections. The official program featured more than 100 speakers and focused on domestic issues and the president's agenda. But Russia's

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stressed that the country urgently needs replacements and called on Western allies to help find and finance the procurement of locomotives compatible with the 1520 mm gauge.

Ukrainian forces under the command of the 3rd Army Corps are conducting a series of counterattacks north of the front-line city of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, corps commander Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi confirmed on Sept. 15. "The 3rd Army Corps has launched an offensive operation in this direction under the name Vivaldi," Biletskyi said. "This operation is being conducted under conditions of maximum information silence." Biletskyi said Ukrainian troops had cleared 75 square kilometers in northe

In late August and early September, it began to look as though Russia was winning the exchange of strikes. According to Zelensky, in late August, jet-powered drones made up more than half of all unmanned aerial vehicles launched. Ukraine shoots them down at a rate of six in ten, compared with more than nine in ten for propeller-driven ones. There is almost nothing to shoot down ballistic missiles with: the interception rate was 40% in June and 15% in July; on the night of Aug. 1, Russia launch

The ruling comes amid media reports that Yermak kept his political influence on Zelensky after resigning in November amid a corruption investigation. The move also followed an earlier court ruling that eased the restrictions on Yermak.

SLOVIANSK, Donetsk Oblast — From a brick-walled garage that barely fits the blue car parked inside, Oleksandr Richak carefully backs his taxi cab out onto the narrow street. The 42-year-old usually starts work around 8 a.m., once the early-morning rush hour of deadly Russian drone activity in the eastern front-line city subsides. As he briefly parks the car outside a damaged one-story house, his wife, Nataliia, walks over and hands him a bottle of lemon-flavored water. Her worried eyes follow

The Belarusian Defense Ministry described the drills as defensive and said they are aimed at improving the military's ability to "protect the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

U.S. President Donald Trump has a very simple solution to the very real problem of rising diesel prices. "(President Volodymyr) Zelensky has to do one thing — he has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” he told reporters on Sept. 13. "Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel fuel… that’s hurting the world." Trump's implication was clear — halting Ukraine's long-running, long-range drone strike campaign against Russian oil refineries would

"Sanctions offer Washington a way to support Western security in the High North without putting American troops in harm's way," Alexander Kirk, a sanctions campaigner at Urgewald, said.

"A 'shahed' was hit successfully, but some aspects of controlling the interceptor still need to be refined. The work continues – it will take some more time," Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.

One man died in the hospital after being critically injured in a Russian attack on a gas station in Kyiv on Sept. 15, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The alleged ringleader is Mykhailo Kiperman, a co-owner of Kolomoisky’s Privat Group, according to the law enforcement source.

"Few projects illustrate Europe's priorities as clearly as the Port of Klaipeda," EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer said.

The General Staff said nearly 300,000 losses were roughly equivalent to the personnel strength of 150 motorized rifle regiments, based on an estimated 2,000 troops per regiment.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will deliver her annual State of the EU speech on Sept 16, usually a celebration of last year's wins and previewing the agenda for the next year, with Ukraine likely to feature strongly. The speech itself is a closely guarded secret, and the subject of much speculation across Brussels in the weeks leading up to the event. However, there are hints of how Ukraine may and may not feature this time. Last year, von der Leyen's speech led with Ukrai

U.S. Special Envoy John Coale said the U.S. has urged banks to unfreeze Belarusian assets and is working on a mechanism to make their release possible.

The General Staff said a direct hit and fire were recorded at the Syzran refinery, part of Russia's state-owned oil giant Rosneft. The AVT-6 primary oil refining unit and the facility's tank farm were hit, according to the statement.

"If the Americans hadn't backed away from the Anchorage agreements... we would have been living without war for a year now," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Alongside the attack near the Polish border, Russian forces launched 200 Shahed-type attack drones, including jet-powered versions, on Sept. 15, the Air Force said.

Ukraine's parliament dismissed Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on Sept. 15, a week after he resigned and a day after he announced that he had approved charges against the head of the country's anti-corruption bureau.

The incident has prompted Denmark to summon Russian Ambassador Vladimir Barbin, as Danish officials condemned what they described as an unacceptable act toward the country's military.

The figure includes 1,400 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

"With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region. Together with our NATO Allies, Lithuania will defend its airspace," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.

The EU now has until Sept. 22 to renew its sanctions on 2,600 Russian entities and individuals. Attempts to reach an extension agreement have been stalled by calls to remove Russian billionaires from the list.

"VTB is now among the most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions in the world," the U.S. Treasury said in a press release Sept. 14.

The couple described Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev as a "dear friend" who generously funded a three-day party for the Trumps in the Bahamas with no political motive whatsoever.

"NABU and SAPO view these actions as a continuation of the systematic attack on the independence of anti-corruption agencies," Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau said.

Ukraine’s disgraced Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko’s Sept. 14 revenge charges against the country’s top anti-corruption official could trigger a major political crisis if this becomes a full-on crackdown on anti-corruption institutions, analysts say. But everything depends on whether Kravchenko’s announcement of the charges was a desperate tantrum intended to save himself or part of a crackdown backed by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration. The charges against Semen Kryvonos, h