Norwegian police detain suspect charged with the murder of a Ukrainian refugee
Last weekend, Norwegian authorities arrested a man accused of murdering a 20-year-old Ukrainian refugee in Karmoy, southwestern Norway.
Refugees
‘Night Train to Odesa’ is a remedy for reading about wartime despair
At a bar in Moscow leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reporter Jen Stout interrupts a local parroting lines of propaganda from state-controlled television about so-called Ukrainian Nazis by asking him if he’s ever actually been to Ukraine. He seems taken aback by such a simple
Polish attitudes toward Ukrainian refugees deteriorating, survey shows
In more than two years of the full-scale war, Poles see Ukrainian refugees more negatively in almost all aspects, except for accepting Ukrainian children to schools, according to a survey by the University of Warsaw and the University of Economics and Humanities in Warsaw published by Rzeczpospolita on June 18.
At least 4 hospitalized after bus with 57 Ukrainians on board crashes in Romania
According to the U.N., more than 80,000 Ukrainian refugees were registered in Romania as of early June. Almost 170,000 Ukrainians have received temporary protected status in the country.
Man suspected of murdering 9-year-old Ukrainian in Germany arrested in Prague
Czech police arrested a Moldovan man on June 14 under suspicion of involvement in the murder of a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl in Germany, who disappeared on her way to school on June 3.
9-year-old Ukrainian girl found dead in Germany, police say
Valeria reportedly went missing on her way to school on June 3. The police confirmed that her body was found on June 11 some four kilometers (2.4 miles) away from her home in a forest between the settlements of Hermsdorf and Mahlitzsch.
Czechia launches pilot project for voluntary return of Ukrainian refugees
The Czech government launched a pilot project to help Ukrainian refugees return home if they wish to do so, Radio Prague International reported on June 2.
Media: Volunteers fundraising for Ukraine attacked in Prague by Russian speakers
Volunteers fundraising for Ukraine were attacked in central Prague by Russian-speaking foreigners, Czech news outlet Novinky.cz reported on June 2.
2 Ukrainians may have been killed in car accident in Poland
Three people were killed in a car accident in Warsaw on May 3, presumably including two Ukrainian citizens, spokesperson for the District Prosecutor's Office Szymon Banna said, according to RMF 24.
Polish government backs law amendments on Ukrainian refugees, extending protection status
"We will support Ukrainian citizens who had to flee the war and took refuge in Poland, but we also expect clear and explicit rules. This is all in the act that the government adopted," Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Polish FM: Returning draft-aged men to Ukraine is 'ethically ambiguous'
Returning men of draft age to Ukraine is "ethically ambiguous" and Ukraine will thus have to "take the in initiative" in the process, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with Polish channel TVN24 on April 27.
Polish defense minister: Poland ready to help Ukraine get its military-aged men back
Poland will help Ukraine bring its military-aged men back following new changes to passport and consular service laws for Ukrainian men living abroad, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on April 24.
Opinion: Russia’s energy infrastructure attacks are depopulating Ukraine
The collapse of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure last year due to Russia’s war brought the entire country to its knees. And while Ukraine was, for the most part, spared from widespread blackouts this winter, Russian forces are once again targeting critical infrastructure. Russia resumed missile and drone attacks on
Ukraine signs new partnership agreement with UN migration agency
The agreement entails "enhanced cooperation for Ukraine's reconstruction, personal data protection, digitalization, and cybersecurity," the ministry said. It will also help "improve migration," as well as "border policies and processes."
Ambassador: Poland 'absolutely neutral' whether refugees stay or return to Ukraine
Warsaw will neither encourage nor prevent the return of Ukrainian refugees to Ukraine, Polish Ambassador to Kyiv Jaroslaw Guzy said in an interview with Deutsche Welle published on March 13. Poland hosts around 1 million Ukrainians who fled from Russia's all-out war, the highest number of all countries.
The Ukrainians whose lives were turned upside down by Russia's war, twice
Editor’s Note: This story was sponsored by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a global humanitarian non-profit organization. The story is written according to the Kyiv Independent’s ethical standards and language guidelines. Everyone in the 40-million nation of Ukraine has had their lives disrupted by Russia’s 2022 invasion,
Generation of Fire: Young Ukrainians forced to survive first, plan for future later
Editor’s Note: The young people featured in this article are either quoted by first name at their family’s request for privacy reasons or, in the case of service members active on the front line, for their safety. “The past two years have flown by. It’s hard to
Over 14 million Ukrainians forced to flee due to Russian invasion, UN agency says
Over 14 million people, nearly a third of Ukraine's population, have been forced to flee their homes in the two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Feb. 22.
Poland extends protection for Ukrainian refugees until June 30
Polish President Andrzej Duda signed the act on the protection of Ukrainian refugees, extending the legality of their stay from March 4 until June 30, Poland's Presidential Office said on Feb. 20.
UN: Continued US aid required to support Ukrainian refugees
The High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released a report on Feb. 20 detailing the situation regarding Ukrainian refugees and appealed for $993 million to fund its support for those displaced by the full-scale war.
Dutch far-right leader Wilders criticizes Ukrainian refugees
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Geert Wilders said that Ukrainians are coming to the Netherlands not to flee from the full-scale war but instead to receive benefits from the Dutch government.
Ukrainian refugees in UK can extend visas by 18 months
Over 200,000 Ukrainians have migrated to the U.K. since March 2022, with the first visas set to expire in March 2025.
Mothers of killed soldiers find meaning in helping war effort, refugees
ZAPORIZHZHIA – Stuck between a worksite frozen in time and a highway facing the Dnipro River, the volunteer’s center was not easy to find. The anonymous building hardly betrayed any sign of human activity from the outside. Everything was wrapped in an eerie silence until a door opened, spilling a
Russia's war forced millions of Ukrainians to flee abroad. How many will return?
Viktoria Vozna, 25, had always enjoyed her quiet life in native Brovary, a city just east of Kyiv, and dreamed of raising her own children there one day. She never wanted to live abroad, but Russia’s brutal war forced her out of the country. After saving up enough money
Despite risks, Ukrainian refugees are coming back home
Vitallia Mazur, 32, with her then 1-month-old daughter, escaped to Italy in early March, a week after Russian missiles began raining down on Ukrainian cities. Two months later, they returned to Vinnytsia: “My daughter has been growing up so fast. She started to get used to the environment, to people
Natalia Datskevych: My rescue mission to flee Russia’s war with three kids
Editor's Note: Natalia Datskevych is a journalist with the Kyiv Independent. An endless feeling of fear that seems to never go away. Every loud sound, every sudden spark in the sky, causes panic. My life, together with the lives of millions of Ukrainians, turned into hell when Russia launched a
Rental prices soar in western Ukraine amid influx of refugees
Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes as Russian forces continue to bombard residential areas across the country. While more than 3 million have gone abroad, many have relocated to western Ukraine, which is currently safer than the rest of the country. English teacher Oleksiy Shpak and
War Stories: Evacuees risk their lives as they flee to Kyiv
While Ukrainian forces have, so far, successfully held off the Russian troops from taking Kyiv, the towns around the capital have become some of the most intense battlegrounds of the ongoing war. Russia seized the outlying suburban towns with vehicles and infantry, setting up checkpoints and, in many cases, cutting
Ukrainians flee war by train, car, on foot
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 836,000 people have left Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion on Feb. 24. With Russian troops shelling Ukrainian cities, hitting schools, kindergartens and nurseries, hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing to Ukraine's westerns frontiers. Despite
Ukraine opens 2 more refugee crossings into Poland
Ukraine and Poland opened two new pedestrian refugee crossings overnight, reducing the long queues of people fleeing on foot, according to Deputy Interior Minister Mary Akopyan. “There are still a lot of cars,” she told the Kyiv Independent. “But the pedestrian queues are no longer so extreme.” On Feb. 28,
Hundreds of thousands of refugees flee Ukraine as war rages on
Tears streamed down Margaryta Chornobryvets's face as she entered a refugee hostel in Krakow, Poland. The 16-year-old from Kyiv, was now safe from the bombs and rockets unleashed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine on Feb. 24 but desperate at being separated from her family. "My mother brought me
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