The arms deal was signed in Moscow in December, and requires Russia to send Iran 500 "Verba" Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS) launch units and 2,500 9M336 surface-to-air missiles over three years, the Financial Times reported.

A woman has been arrested in connection to a suspected terrorist attack that killed a police officer and injured 25 others in the Western city of Lviv in the early hours of Sunday morning, Ukrainian authorities said.

Key developments on Feb. 21-22: * Ukraine hits Russian planes, ships in Crimea, artillery in major strikes on occupied territories * Ukraine confirms Flamingo strike on key Russian ballistic missile factory * Russia hits American sweets factory with missile in northeastern Ukraine * Explosions rock Ukraine's capital and outskirts as Russia launches mass missile attack, killing 1, injuring 17 * Woman arrested after suspected terrorist attack kills police officer, injures 25 in western Ukrai

Several rounds of explosions were reported in Kyiv overnight on Feb. 22, leaving a mother and her child injured as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine.

Twenty drones were shot down en route to Moscow during the afternoon of Feb. 22, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed.

The factory, located in Trostianets in Sumy Oblast, was struck by a missile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. The plant has operated since the 1990s, and produces a range of well-known products, including Oreo and Milka.

Hungary said it would block the EU's new sanctions package against Russia over halted oil deliveries through Ukraine, the latest development in a deepening spat between Ukraine and its neighbors, Slovakia and Hungary, over Russian oil imports.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur examines how global support for Ukraine has shifted four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The number includes 890 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Russia launched a large-scale combined drone and missile attack in the early hours of Sunday, firing 50 missiles and 297 long-range kamikaze drones, predominantly towards Kyiv and its suburbs.

Ukraine struck an oil depot in Russian-occupied Luhansk overnight on Feb. 22, Telegram news channel Exilenova+ reported.

A Russian drone attack in northeastern Ukraine's Sumy Oblast killed two brothers and a married couple, while a missile attack damaged a production facility belonging to U.S. multinational company Mondelez, authorities reported Feb. 21.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as "ultimatums and blackmail" from Hungary and Slovakia after the two countries threatened to halt emergency electricity supplies.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Feb. 21 that Ukraine is imposing new sanctions targeting the captains of Russia's shadow fleet.

Europe's approach to energy security long rested on a simple idea: scale equals safety. That assumption is now being tested in Ukraine — and increasingly proven wrong. For decades, coal-fired power plants have been the backbone of Europe's energy system, underpinning industrial growth, modern living standards, and what was long assumed to be a secure and resilient energy supply. Today, Ukraine's costly experience shows that to build resilience, European energy systems must embed local renewabl

The final extent of the damage on the Crimean Peninsula is still being assessed, the General Staff said.

The Votkinsk Plant is a strategic, state-owned defense enterprise and one of the most important missile factories in Russia. It produces Iskander ballistic missiles — used in attacks against Ukraine — and nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"I won't go into too many details, but today I can congratulate our army first and foremost —all the defense forces — because as of today, 300 (square) kilometers have been liberated," Zelensky told Agence France-Presse.

The children were returned under the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, which finds and returns Ukrainian children from occupied territories and Russia, alongside the Save Ukraine organization.

The main target was Odesa Oblast, where two people were injured after drones tore into houses and a four-storey apartment block, the emergency services reported on Feb. 21.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Feb. 20, framed by authorities as a measure to counter security threats and potential attacks, granting Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) broad authority to order the disconnection of individuals from mobile and home internet services.

The number includes 1,010 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day, while Ukrainian forces also downed a helicopter.

"We are blocking the €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine until oil transit to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline resumes," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Feb. 20.

The Moldovan Police and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies announced a day earlier that they had launched a criminal investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate several public figures in Ukraine. The probe is being carried out by a joint investigative team formed by the two countries.

During the latest U.S.-mediated negotiations in Geneva on Feb. 17–18, Kyiv and Moscow discussed a joint Russian-Ukrainian civilian administration to run a demilitarized zone in the Donbas. But Ukrainian officials say the proposal is unrealistic and unacceptable, and the recent round of talks again ended in a stalemate. The plan follows the failure of other stillborn ideas discussed during talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. The concept was first reported by the New York Times on Feb. 1

The vehicle was attacked by a Russian Lancet loitering munition while evacuating civilians.

The Kyiv Independent’s separate analytical unit, KI Insights, is excited to announce the launch of its podcast, Ukraine Insights — a show dedicated to unpacking Ukraine’s politics, security, economy, and international relations through in-depth, expert-driven conversations.

For over a century, Interpol has served as a valuable tool for law enforcement agencies. Not as a world police force, as Hollywood would have it, but more of a vast communications hub linking national agencies into a single, if fragile, response to cross-border crime. Perhaps the most significant tool at Interpol's disposal is its Red Notice system. Designed to help track serious criminals across borders, it has been quietly absorbed into the modern autocrat's playbook. Red Notices are now rout

According to Ukraine, at least 322 Ukrainian prisoners of war had been executed by Russian forces as of Oct. 6.

In December 2023, Hlib Benia, a Ukrainian soldier with the 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade, was delivering supplies to his comrades when Russian FPV (first-person view) drones struck. Two of his fellow soldiers were killed. He survived but lost an arm and a leg.

"I consider this a very important result, which our team brought back," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Kyiv Independent has joined WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers