crimea: the war before the war

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Ukraine war latest: Russian glide bomb attack on Kramatorsk kills 3, including 13-year-old boy, governor says

Ukraine war latest: Russian glide bomb attack on Kramatorsk kills 3, including 13-year-old boy, governor says

Key developments on March 28-29: * Russian glide bomb attack on Kramatorsk kills 3, including 13-year-old boy, governor says * Pro-Ukrainian partisans disable electronic warfare equipment in Russia's Novgorod Oblast, group claims * 'Explosion in production area' — Ukraine confirms Flamingo missiles hit explosives plant in Russia's Samara Oblast * Russian strikes kill 2 Naftogaz employees in 3 days * Russia strikes maternity hospital, educational institutions in Odesa, killing 2, injuring 1
War in Iran, war in Ukraine: Europe must act where it counts
Opinion

War in Iran, war in Ukraine: Europe must act where it counts

"Flying balalaika" or a "death moped with wings" is how Ukrainians refer to the Iranian-Russian Shahed drone. On March first, one of these crude, cheap, but devastatingly effective killing machines struck a US military operations center in Kuwait, killing six American soldiers. The youngest was twenty years old. In the first week of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, more than 1,000 of these murderous balalaikas were launched by the Revolutionary Guards and regime-aligned forces, targeting everyth
Inside Ukraine's secret drone warfare juggernaut
Opinion

Inside Ukraine's secret drone warfare juggernaut

As the grandson of General George S. Patton, Jr. and the son of a 2-star general, I've been around soldiers for as long as I can remember. But while filming a documentary on the transcendent drone industry in Ukraine last week, I learned more about modern warfare than I ever imagined. Not far from the front, I met a drone pilot who now analyzes lessons learned from warfare and shares them on his X account with more than 100,000 subscribers. I interviewed a soldier who'd recently received the H
Zelensky responds to Rubio's accusation of lying

Zelensky responds to Rubio's accusation of lying

President Volodymyr Zelensky on March 28 clarified his understanding of Washington's position on security guarantees for Ukraine, in response to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling his previous statement on the issue "a lie."
As Russian oil profits soar, so do Ukraine's drone attacks on refineries

As Russian oil profits soar, so do Ukraine's drone attacks on refineries

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has been a boon for the Kremlin's war coffers — during just the first two weeks of fighting, Russian earned an additional 6 billion euros ($6.9 billion) as global oil prices spiked. But two weeks later, Moscow was suffering from what Reuters described as "the most severe oil supply disruption in the modern history of Russia." Alongside continued pipeline disruption and tanker seizures, Ukrainian drone strikes contributed to around 40% of Russia’s oil export capac
News from occupied Ukraine: Special Forces release footage of strikes in Crimea

News from occupied Ukraine: Special Forces release footage of strikes in Crimea

This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin. Key news as of March 27: * Amid intensifying Ukraine's strikes on occupied territories, Special Operations Forces released video detailing operations * Russian military personnel present at school lessons in occupied Luhansk Oblast * Ukraine brought back 15 children from Russian-occupied terr
Tired, scared, or deliberately obstructive: Why Ukrainian lawmakers refuse to vote for reforms
Opinion

Tired, scared, or deliberately obstructive: Why Ukrainian lawmakers refuse to vote for reforms

As Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada enters its seventh year without a general election, a troubling narrative has taken hold in Kyiv's political circles that parliament is broken, paralyzed, and incapable of delivering the reforms Ukraine's international partners require. MPs and governmental officials are giving two explanations for this supposed dysfunction: personal exhaustion and fear of anti-corruption investigations. Neither holds up to scrutiny. The crisis may be real, but it originates not in
The political chess behind Poland’s military spending
Europe

The political chess behind Poland’s military spending

Poland, one of the largest countries on the EU’s eastern flank, has sharply ramped up its military spending since 2022, with defense expenses reaching 4.5% of GDP in 2025 — among the highest in the European Union. Investment in the military is also exceptionally popular: 67% of Poles support further increases in defense budgets, according to recent local polls. Yet despite this strong backing, a political clash has put the funding strategy in the spotlight. President Karol Nawrocki recently v