On a warm day in early September, Anastasiia Kolchyna took her nine-year-old sons, twin brothers Ruslan and Denys, for a walk. They went to a small park in their native Zelenodolsk, a town in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, where many locals would gather on the weekends. The family was enjoying the outdoors
From the indiscriminate killings of civilians in Bucha, Izium and Mariupol, to the everyday terror of long-range missile strikes, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has shocked the world in its devastation and brutality. Behind the tragic headlines, Ukrainian state institutions are faced with the mammoth task of documenting and
Editor's Note: This article was updated at 10 p.m. to include the recent number of casualties. Russia unleashed another mass missile barrage on Ukraine on Dec. 5 targeting energy infrastructure across the country. Out of the 70 missiles launched by Russia, 60 have been intercepted, the Ukrainian Air Force
Key developments on Dec. 2: * Ukraine's military repels Russian advances near 14 settlements in eastern Donetsk, Luhansk regions. * Russia has lost over 90,000 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, General Staff says. * EU makes final decision to cap Russian seaborne oil prices at $60 a barrel.Ukraine's Embassy in
More than 8,400 civilians, including 440 children, were killed during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.
Days before giving birth to her first child, Ukrainian military medic Mariana Mamonova was made to board a plane in the Russian city of Taganrog. She was blindfolded, and her hands were bound with rope. “Do you know where they’re taking us?” she heard a man sitting next to
Key developments on Nov. 24: * Largest steel company suspends operation in Ukraine due to power outages. * Ukrainian nuclear power plants begin resuming operations after Russia's Nov. 23 strikes. * Russia attacks liberated Kherson Oblast almost every hour, says Zelensky. * Ukraine brings back 50 prisoners of war from Russian captivity. Power supply
VYSHHOROD, Kyiv Oblast – A rocket blast that struck a four-story residential building in Vyshhorod on Nov. 23 was so powerful that it ripped off balconies, leaving the windowless rooms open to the cold November weather. The massive crater in front of the building left no doubt about the intensity of
Key developments on Nov. 23: * Interior Ministry reports Russia's bombardment of Ukraine kills ten on Nov. 23. * Attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure cause power outages in neighboring Moldova. * Ukraine returns 36 POWs, including Azovstal defenders, from Russian captivity. Russia launched yet another large-scale missile attack all over Ukraine on Nov.
Key developments on Nov. 21: * Russia has lost over 8,000 units of military equipment since Feb. 24. * Polish prosecutors won’t allow Ukraine to join the investigation of the Przewodow blast, Polish media outlet Rzeczpospolita reports. * Russian forces strike civilian infrastructure in liberated Kherson on Nov. 21, one person
Key developments on Nov. 18: * Ukraine repels Russian advances near 9 settlements in east * Zelensky discusses grain deal with Erdogan after the Turkish president spoke with Putin * Nord Stream explosions came as a result of ‘gross sabotage,’ Swedish Security Service says * Nearly 30% of Ukrainian territory is mined, according to
Key developments on Nov. 17: * ‘Horrific’ scale of torture in recently liberated Kherson, says ombudsman * Ukraine grain deal extended for another 4 months * Russia’s attack on Dnipro, injures 23 people * Biden disputes Zelensky’s comments that missiles hitting Poland weren’t Ukrainian. The Hague District Court qualified the Russian
Key developments on Nov. 14: * Ukraine repels Russian attacks near seven settlements over past day * Putin signs a decree allowing foreigners to serve in Russian army * Russia likely to intensify its offensive in Donetsk Oblast, the Institute for Study of War believes Three days after the liberation of the southern
Like many other villages in northern Ukraine, Lukashivka was among the first to take the brunt of Russia's full-scale invasion. For almost the entire month of March, its residents lived under shelling and occupation as the Russian army was destroying their homes and killing their neighbors.
Key developments on Nov. 7: * Ukraine repels attacks near eight settlements over past day. * Over 4.5 million people have no access to electricity due to Russian attacks, Zelensky says * Satellite images show over 1,500 new graves near occupied Mariupol, BBC reports. Ukraine has received long-anticipated Western air defense
Key developments on Nov. 4: * Russia’s attacks kill 8, injure 14 in Donetsk Oblast. * Almost 500,000 households in Kyiv left without electricity. * Number of unemployed in Ukraine to reach 2.6 million by 2023, says Economy Ministry. * Russia drafts 318,000 men for its war against Ukraine, according
As Russia is escalating its war against Ukraine and using massive missile and drone strikes to destroy infrastructure, Kremlin propaganda is becoming even more bloodthirsty. The earlier disappointment of propagandists with repeated Russian defeats on the battlefield has been replaced with a feeling of schadenfreude. They are gloating over the
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called recent Russian drone strikes a "sign of increased desperation by Russia." Blinken promised to continue adjusting U.S. aid to fit the Ukrainian needs at a press conference at Stanford University in California on Oct. 17. "You're seeing these drone attacks. What
KYIV — For the second Monday in a row, central Kyiv awoke to the sound of explosions caused by a Russian attack. Five blasts interspersed with Ukrainian defenders’ frantic small arms fire echoed through this downtown district early in the morning on Oct. 17. A week ago, Russia struck the same
KYIV — The morning of Oct. 10 in Kyiv was like no other since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Starting just after 8 a.m., explosions were heard throughout Ukraine’s capital, and it was soon apparent that not all incoming missiles were being shot down
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
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