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.
One cold day in late March, a Russian shell hit a small barn behind an unremarkable two-story house in then Russian-occupied Bucha in Kyiv Oblast. The powerful blast partially destroyed the barn, broke the house's windows, and cracked the entrance door, letting out a small black dog. It rushed down
Three Russian missiles hit a residential building and two resorts in Serhiivka village, Odesa Oblast, on the night of July 1, local authorities reported citing the Ukrainian military. At least 19 people were killed as of 12 p.m. on July 1. The attack on the nine-story residential building killed
KHARKIV – Oleh Puteshenko walked through the ruins of his former workplace, a restaurant in Kharkiv, barely holding back tears. The 46-year-old, who used to work as a security guard, spoke proudly of the restaurant as he showed the terrace where he spent most of his days taking care of the
The death toll continues to grow after the Russian missile attack on the shopping mall Amstor in Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, on June 27. At least 20 people were killed in the attack, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's office. At a briefing on June 28, Interior
A Russian missile strike hit a shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk late in the afternoon on June 27, killing at least 20 people and injuring 59 others, Deputy Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported. Head of State Emergency Services Serhiy Kruk said that 25
Russian missiles hit a nine-story residential building and a kindergarten in central Kyiv early on June 26, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Rescuers have pulled out 25 residents from under the rubble at the apartment building in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi District so far, Klitschko reported. At least one person was killed
One hundred days of all-out war has been plenty of time to get acquainted with the Russian troops. Their lackluster combat performance, artillery barrages against cities, treatment of civilians, intercepted messages home, and interviews with dozens of civilians around Ukraine allow one to put together a mosaic portrait of the
BUCHA, Kyiv Oblast – A week before she would have turned 23, Karina Yershova was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv. They tortured her and most likely raped her, Karina’s stepfather Andriy Dereko told the Kyiv Independent. Then, they shot her in the head. “It was
Editor's Note: The Kyiv Independent isn't revealing last name of the person interviewed for this story and the name of his native village for safety reasons. Ukrainian farmer Ihor escaped the “living hell” of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine in late March after he had spent a month in
When surgeon Oleh Godik woke up on Feb. 24, he knew that life had changed fundamentally. A day later, when he had to operate on a boy who'd been critically wounded in the neck by shrapnel from Russian forces, he knew he had been right. Despite his best attempts to
France is now fully mobilized in the fight against impunity for the perpetrators of international crimes committed in Syria and throughout the world. Recent legislative changes strengthen France's cooperation with the United Nations-mandated International, Impartial & Independent Mechanism (IIIM), which aims to gather and analyze evidence of international crimes in Syria
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