At a press conference in Kyiv on April 22, Ukraine’s Deposit Guarantee Fund and Polish fintech Zen.com, registered in Lithuania, said the company had acquired First Investment Bank, known as PINbank, which was transferred to the state in 2023 and later declared insolvent.

While Russia has made it clear that resuming dialogue with Ukraine is not a top priority, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin would meet with Zelensky — under certain conditions.

Key developments on April 22: * 'Not Putinland' — Zelensky responds to 'Donnyland' proposal for part of Donbas * Ukraine returned over 2,100 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, Zelensky says * 'Wishful thinking' — Ukraine rubbishes Russia's latest Luhansk Oblast claim * War in Iran has used up half of US Patriot, THAAD missile stockpiles * Ukrainian drones reportedly target Russia's Samara Oblast in overnight attacks President Volodymyr Zelensky said the key issue is that Donetsk and L

As the Trump peace process in the Ukraine–Russia war evolved throughout 2025, the Kremlin introduced the idea that a unilateral withdrawal by Ukrainian forces from the north-west of the Donetsk Oblast was a key prerequisite for a ceasefire and settlement. The Kremlin framed the issue as a relatively minor concession, worthy of the noble goal of ending hostilities. Donald Trump largely swallowed this Russian bait. The success of Moscow's strategy is evident in how the White House has cast Volod

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian representatives have continued discussions with the U.S. side and held talks on April 21.

Caught between Russia's war at home and mounting geopolitical turbulence abroad, Ukraine is unlikely to see a major turnaround anytime soon, says former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. "2026 will be another year Ukraine will have to survive," Kuleba told the Kyiv Independent in an exclusive interview last week. After emerging from its harshest winters in years, marked by relentless Russian strikes on the energy grid, the country is now facing a hostile situation. The war in Iran has further di

"The main thing is that Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast remain Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Vladimir Plahotniuc was Moldova's wealthiest businessman and de facto controlled the country's government in the 2010s in what critics described as a "captured state." His fall from grace is seen by his opponents as part of Moldova's alignment with European liberal and democratic values.

14 settlements in Luhansk Oblast are not under Russian control, Ukraine's military told the Kyiv Independent.

"Everything is ready… so I hope we can start very soon, even under the Cyprus presidency for cluster one," EU's Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told the Kyiv Independent.

The Kyiv Independent’s Kateryna Denisova sits down with Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's former foreign minister, to discuss U.S.-led peace talks, Donald Trump’s approach to Ukraine, Europe’s role in ending the war, and why he believes neither Washington nor Moscow can impose a settlement on Kyiv.

The latest source of friction between Ukraine and the EU is climate rules and unhappy steel producers, as the country’s membership goals collide with its wartime realities. Ukrainian officials are in Brussels this week to discuss the EU's carbon border policy that Kyiv argues is hitting its war-battered steel industry and economy. At the center of those discussions is the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism — known as CBAM — which is designed to prevent "carbon leakage" — or pushing pollut

The news comes after Hungary and Slovakia said Ukraine had resumed oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline, with the first deliveries expected by April 23.

Out of the 2,100 children, 150 have been returned to Ukraine since the beginning of 2026.

It is increasingly likely that the European Union will formally back a new court with a mandate to prosecute Russia's leadership for the crime of aggression, a senior official in the EU's diplomatic arm told the Kyiv Independent.

EU ambassadors agreed on the 20th package of sanctions imposed against Moscow in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on April 22, after Hungary and Slovakia lifted their veto over the measures.

The number includes 1,140 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

"We have imposed sanctions on those individuals, the Russian participants. And we are now raising the issue to ensure they are not granted visas. We very much hope that we will be heard... and expect that visas will not be issued," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

Russian forces launched 215 drones against Ukraine overnight, of which 189 were downed or jammed.

The U.S. has run through over half of its stockpiles of key air defense missiles during the nearly two-month war on Iran.

Kyiv faces a defense gap of 19.6 billion euros ($23.1 billion) this year, even after accounting for funds already committed and the 90-billion-euro Ukraine Support Loan that's on its way.

"(President Volodymyr Zelensky's) position is clear: no 'ersatz membership' — we will not accept any of them. This is a firm position," Sybiha said at a closed-door meeting with journalists attended by the Kyiv Independent.

Photos and videos posted on social media purport to show several damaged residential buildings in the city amid reports of falling drones debris.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on April 21 that he was extending Washington's ceasefire with Iran until Tehran "can come up with a unified proposal" to bring an end to the war.

Italy summoned Russia's ambassador on April 21 to protest "extremely serious and offensive" remarks about Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by pro-Kremlin TV host Vladimir Solovyov.

"Ukraine has completed repair work on the section of the Druzhba oil pipeline that was damaged by a Russian strike," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukrainian billionaire and oligarch Rinat Akhmetov purchased a luxury apartment in Monaco valued at $550 million in one of the most expensive residential property deals in history, Bloomberg reported April 21.

Dombrovskis reminded that the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan is structured so that Ukraine only repays if Russia pays Ukraine reparations. “(This), of course, invites a question: what happens if Russia does not pay reparations?” he said.

The site was used to bury residents who died during the Russian siege of the city in 2022, according to Ukraine’s Center for the Study of Occupation.

Key developments on April 20: * Druzhba pipeline ready to resume, Zelensky says, raising hopes of unblocking EU loan * Ukrainian drones hit key Russian oil hub in Samara Oblast, SBU says * Fearing Ukrainian troops landing in Crimea, Russia intensifies coastal mining * Draft officers arrested for kidnapping a man, demanding $30,000 bribe in Odesa; office chief suspended * Teen recruited by Russia caught while preparing terror attack in Ukraine, SBU says Oil flows through the Druzhba pipeli

"We are more concerned that money is increasing more rapidly than (weapons) production. It creates some kind of inflationary pressure," EU's Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius explained.

The SBU said it detained the suspect while he was planting the explosives.