ZAPORIZHZHIA – On Sept. 30, residents of Zaporizhzhia woke up to the horrendous news of a bloody Russian strike on a convoy of civilian cars in their city overnight. The attack with S-300 missiles killed 31 civilians and wounded 88 more. Though the deadliest to date, it wasn’t the first
Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Independent talked to residents who are still in Russian-occupied Enerhodar and those who recently left but still have family in the city. For their safety, we do not disclose their identities. When Russian soldiers captured Enerhodar, the satellite city of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
ZAPORIZHZHIA — Guarding a quiet turnoff from the road heading south out of Zaporizhzhia city to the territories occupied by Russia, two Ukrainian police officers were approached by a middle-aged woman in a state of near despair. “My friend was killed here yesterday,” she said to the officer as she got
Volodymyr Obodzinskyi was at work when a sudden call from his neighbor in Zhytomyr Oblast shook him to his core. "There were loud explosions somewhere around your house just now," the neighbor told him. At the time, Obodzinskyi worked in Kyiv, about 100 kilometers away from his home, the village
Editor’s Note: This story includes interviews with people living under Russian occupation. Their full names are not disclosed to protect their identity as they have shared sensitive information that could place them and their families in danger. Every time Ukrainian engineer Yevhen wants to connect to the internet, he
Warning: This story contains graphic images and descriptions that some readers may find disturbing. Scrolling through photos from the mass burial site in Izium, Oksana Sova immediately recognized her husband's bracelet on a corpse's wrist. "I immediately knew it was him," Sova, 37, told the Kyiv Independent. It was that
Key developments on Sept. 23 * Staged voting begins in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts as the Kremlin seeks to claim the invaded areas as parts of Russia * Police find 18 torture chambers in liberated Kharkiv Oblast. * 436 bodies exhumed at Izium’s mass burial site; 30 with traces
WARNING: This article contains very graphic scenes that readers may find disturbing. KOZACHA LOPAN, Kharkiv Oblast — Ten days have passed since his town was liberated from Russian troops, but Vitaliy Oliia is still afraid to leave his home at night. “I never go any further than the next house, that’
Key Developments on Sept. 22 * Russia attacks Zaporizhzhia’s telecommunication facility ahead of sham “referendums.” * Russia launches 4 missile strikes, 17 airstrikes against Ukraine. * Ukrainian forces continue inflicting logistical damages in occupied Kherson Oblast. Russia's hastily-planned sham "referendums" in occupied parts of eastern and southern Ukraine are set to start
Latest developments on Sept. 21 * Putin declares ‘partial mobilization’ in Russia * Shoigu says 300,000 reservists to be drafted * Russia launches 5 missile strikes, 11 airstrikes across Ukraine * 338 bodies exhumed so far at Izium’s mass burial site Ukraine and its Western allies played down Moscow’s mobilization announcement,
Key developments on Sept. 19 * Russian missile strike hits nuclear plant in Mykolaiv Oblast * Governor says Ukraine recaptured a village in occupied Luhansk Oblast * 146 bodies exhumed so far at Izium’s mass burial site Ukraine appears to have made a breakthrough in occupied Luhansk Oblast. While Russia still controls
Key developments on Sept. 18 * Ukraine identifies some of the bodies found at Izium’s mass burial site * The exhumation process in Izium to continue for nearly 2 more weeks * Russia bombards several regions across Ukraine * Fighting rages on in Donetsk and Kherson oblasts Some of the bodies exhumed from
Key developments on Sept. 16 * Bodies of Ukrainian soldiers with tied hands found at mass burial site in liberated Izium * Ukraine finds at least 10 Russian torture chambers in liberated Kharkiv Oblast * Mysterious explosions reported in occupied Luhansk, Kherson * Fighting rages in Ukraine’s east and south Law enforcement agencies
At least ten locations that had been used as "torture chambers" by Russian forces were discovered after the liberation of parts of Kharkiv Oblast, according to Police Chief Ihor Klymenko. Klymenko reported on Sept. 16 that two of these chambers had been found in the city of Balakliia. He didn’
Key developments on Sept. 15 * Mass burial site containing 440 graves found in liberated Izium * Russia conducts 5 missile strikes, 5 air strikes * Houses in Kryvyi Rih still flooded after a Russian missile strike * Putin, Xi discuss the war in Ukraine Russian artillery fire, missile and air strikes have inflicted
KHARKIV – Kharkiv resident Valentyna Hromonenko was doing laundry in her yard on the afternoon of Sept. 9 when she heard a loud explosion followed by the scream of her 11-year-old grandson Maksym. “My grandson was inside, vacuuming. He shouted: ‘Grandma, something is falling on me,’” Hromonenko, a grandmother of four,
BRUSSELS – For nine agonizing minutes, images of the victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine flashed before the eyes of EU dignitaries in Brussels, the heart of Europe, on Sept. 5. The 6,400 photos, all verified by independent authorities, provide evidence of Russian war crimes committed against civilians in
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. After visiting the war-torn areas near Kyiv, British barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice said he was disappointed with one Ukrainian decision. Even as Ukraine focuses its main efforts on defending itself, it shouldn’t be relying on its international
Even with a semblance of normalcy returning to liberated areas around Kyiv, burial ceremonies continue for unidentified victims killed under Russian occupation early in the full-scale war. Another 21 bodies of unidentified victims were buried in Bucha on Aug. 17. Instead of names, they were put to rest with number
Months after the Russian military retreated from Kyiv Oblast, a 21-year-old Russian soldier confessed to killing a civilian man in the then-occupied village of Andriivka on March 12 by order of his commander. Speaking to a journalist from Russia-focused investigative news site iStories, Daniil Frolkin confessed to committing atrocities during
Editor’s Note: The name of the person interviewed by the Kyiv Independent for this story has been changed to protect his identity as he has shared sensitive information that could place him and his family in danger. “If Russia orders us to invade the entire galaxy, we will,” the
In early April, an unremarkable civilian car drove slowly toward a Russian checkpoint in the occupied town of Vasylivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. It had passed dozens of checkpoints on its way from the occupied city of Melitopol to the Ukrainian-controlled regional capital Zaporizhzhia. None of its passengers expected what was about
Editor’s Note: The names of the people interviewed by the Kyiv Independent for this story have been changed to protect their identity as they have shared sensitive information that could place them and their families in danger. Stepan didn’t see daylight for nearly four months. Since mid-February, even
More than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war have reportedly been killed in what is believed to be a Russian attack on a prisoner camp in Russian-occupied Donbas on July 28. This is possibly the worst crime against captive combatants since Russia launched its full-scale war. "It was a deliberate Russian
MYKOLAIV — Russia continues to bombard residential areas of Mykolaiv, Ukraine’s major shipbuilding city 50 kilometers west of the front line. At 9.45 a.m., on July 29, Russian cluster munition killed at least five people and injured at least seven more. Those killed and injured were standing in
NOVOVORONTSOVKA, Kherson Oblast – Volodymyr Bebekh finished watering his garden in the evening and decided to wash up in his outdoor shower. As he went to turn on the water, a Russian rocket flew right into his neighbor’s home. “Instead of a shower, I got covered in dirt,” Bebekh said.
VINNYTSIA – Of the more than 100 people who sought medical attention at the local hospital after Russian missiles struck the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on July 14, Tetyana Drobotyn was looking for just one, her husband. “It was just a mess. Doctors were performing CPR right in the hallway,
VINNYTSIA – Andrii Artymovych felt that he needed a lazy start to his day. The 34-year-old IT specialist spent the day working from home in bed with his laptop. That decision nearly cost him his life. An hour into his slow morning, Artymovych heard a loud noise. The sound of warplanes
Russian missile attacks hit several regions of Ukraine on the morning of July 11, killing dozens and damaging or destroying homes and infrastructure. Attacks were reported in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Odesa oblasts. In Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, Russian missile strikes resulted in a total of at least six
Editor's Note: The village of Vysokopillia, Kherson Oblast, was reported to have been liberated on Sept. 4. Most of Ukraine's southern Kherson Oblast was occupied by Russia in the early days of the all-out war. KRYVYI RIH, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast – Olena Butiaeva could never have imagined the only wish she would
Picture this: You’re scrolling through eBay, ten years from now, maybe looking for some artwork to put up in your new apartment. You come across a painting you like…but it looks familiar. Really familiar. You look a little closer and you realize — you’ve seen this painting before.
Ukrainian farmers begin the July harvest knowing there may be nowhere to store their grain or export it, as Russia’s naval blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports enters its fifth month. According to Ukraine's estimates, 22 million tons of grain already stockpiled across the country remain in their silos.
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