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Kyiv warns of new Russian northern offensive — could it happen?
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Kyiv warns of new Russian northern offensive — could it happen?

by Tania Myronyshena

Four-and-a-half years after Russian troops poured across the Belarusian border in a failed attempt to seize Kyiv, Ukrainian officials are warning it could happen again. Russia's political leadership has tasked its military with preparing several possible scenarios for an operation toward Kyiv and Chernihiv, Ukraine's Presidential Office said on Aug. 28. It comes after Belarus' exiled opposition warned in June that Minsk was preparing to enter the war. But while neither Ukrainian officials nor

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After more than a week of relentless Russian strikes and near-constant air raid alerts, some Kyiv residents are being pushed to the brink of mental exhaustion. In the capital, every day since Aug. 27 has brought hours of sirens, sleepless nights, and the anticipation of another attack — a sustained pressure the experts say is Russia's deliberate tactic of terror. "This past week, with all the constant anxiety, my mental health has been hanging by a thread," said Kateryna Soniuk, a Kyiv residen

smoke rises from a destroyed warehouse after a Russian drone attack on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 27, 2026

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The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces — the President of Ukraine — and the Minister of Defense have entrusted me with command of Ukraine's military, the Armed Forces. I assume this duty with the understanding that the next stage of this war requires more from us: to command the Armed Forces in the war today while ensuring that they emerge from it stronger. We must both fight and become better every day, adapt, and thereby ensure our advantage. Every decision taken jointly with the

About War

The Kyiv Independent's coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, after eight years of aggression against Ukraine that began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and fighting in Donbas. The war has resulted in tens of thousands of military and civilian casualties and displaced millions of Ukrainians. NATO and Western allies have provided military aid to Ukraine while the conflict continues across fronts in Ukraine’s south and east.

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Ukraine's plan to close Russia's airspace — what we know

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026.

Ukraine wants to close Russia's skies and has a plan to do it. In an announcement on Sept. 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave few details about what it would entail, other than making clear it would involve lots of drones. "There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account," he said, as he warned "every airline that uses Russian airspace" against flying over the country. "The Russian sky will be de facto closed," he added. The following day, the pre

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