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A Russian serviceman stands guard by a military truck part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, in Russia, on May 17, 2021.
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Russia's Arctic shadow war: How Moscow’s most-probed front fuels its Ukraine invasion

by Olena Goncharova

Norway’s Svalbard fiber optic cables — a pair carrying vital Arctic satellite data from SvalSat, the world’s largest commercial ground station — thread through waters dangerously close to Russia’s reach. The Kremlin's Nagurskoye air base on Franz Josef Land is just 260 kilometers (161 miles) from Svalbard’s shores. These cables transmit satellite signals and sensitive data that European governments, research institutions, and militaries rely on, including infrastructure bolstering Ukraine’s de

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Ukraine's ballooning debt, explained

Ukraine's debt is ballooning. By the end of last year, the country owed over $213 billion to creditors — a hair's breadth away from the size of the country's entire economy. That doesn't include a new 90-billion-euro loan to Kyiv agreed by European leaders at a summit on Dec. 19, of which a sizable chunk will add to Ukraine's debt pile. As Russia's full-scale invasion approaches its fifth year and progress towards a peace deal remains uncertain, the anticipated postwar reconstruction boom is o

A Ukrainian flag flies above the headquarters of the Ukrainian Finance Ministry in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 8, 2017.

Ukraine war latest: Russia threatens families of Ukrainian POWs to register Starlink terminals

Key developments on Feb. 10 * Russia threatens families of Ukrainian POWs to register Starlink terminals, Ukraine says; * More arms purchases for Ukraine under NATO-led PURL initiative on the way; * 11-year-old child killed alongside mother after Russia strikes Sloviansk with glide bombs; * Japan to join NATO-led initiative to purchase US weapons for Ukraine * 'Second stage' of Ukrainian military's corps reform underway, Syrskyi says Russia is coercing the families of Ukrainian prisoners

About Russia

The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

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