Intellectuals from across the globe took part in a three-day online conference to raise funds for the Center for Civic Engagement, a newly established project at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. “‘The pen is mightier than the sword’ is true only if all the people with the swords die and the
Key developments on Feb. 13: * Russia has already started new offensive in Ukraine, says Stoltenberg * Moscow's attacks on liberated Kherson kill 4 people * Russia strengthens its defenses in Zaporizhzhia Oblast despite focus on Donbas, UK defense ministry reports. On Feb. 13, Ukraine denied Russia's earlier claim that it had seized
Key developments on Feb. 10: * Ukraine's Air Force insists Russian missiles entered Romanian airspace. * Air defense downs 61 out of 71 missiles launched on Feb. 10. * The mass strike hits energy infrastructure in 6 oblasts. Russia unleashed its 14th mass missile strike targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure on the morning of
Editor’s Note: This story is a collaborative project of the Kyiv Independent (Ukraine), Eesti Ekspress (Estonia), Die Welt (Germany), Lighthouse Reports, and The Investigative Desk (the Netherlands). Top findings: * Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine had driven arms prices times up * High demand has allowed some private brokers that secure
NOVYI BURLUK, Kharkiv Oblast – The darkness setting over the muddy street of the small hamlet in Kharkiv Oblast did little to hide the destruction Russian soldiers left behind. Novyi Burluk, located 85 kilometers south of the Russian border, was occupied on the first day of the full-scale invasion. The occupation
Key developments on Jan. 17: * Controversial advisor to Zelensky resigns after false claims on Dnipro missile attack * UK Defense Ministry backs claims that Moscow used inaccurate missile for Dnipro strike * 19 people are still missing, but the State Emergency Service doesn't expect to find more survivors. Three days after a
Key developments on Jan. 12: * Russia will likely try to reach the "administrative borders" of Donetsk Oblast soon, General Staff believes * Ukrainian military says strike kills over 100 Russian soldiers in Soledar * Satellite imagery shows magnitude of destruction in salt-mining town near Bakhmut. As fierce fighting in and around Bakhmut
Key developments on Jan. 6: * Luhansk governor reports 14 instances of Russian fire in the first hours of Putin's 'Christmas ceasefire'. * Russia's shelling kills in 1 Kherson, 1 in Donetsk Oblast during the 'truce'. * US to provide $3 billion military aid package to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin's unilateral ceasefire
Key developments on Jan. 5: * Putin says he wants 'Orthodox Christmas ceasefire.' * Zelensky, Biden express skepticism over truce offer. * General Staff says Russian troops focus efforts on capturing Donetsk Oblast. * Russian troops continue arriving in Belarus, the country's Defense Ministry reports. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he ordered his
Key developments on Dec. 23: * Russia doesn’t want peace, but pause for regrouping, says NATO chief * Russia’s attacks across 7 Ukrainian oblasts kill 5, injure 14 over past day * 54 Russian torture chambers discovered in liberated areas NATO chief skeptical about Russia-Ukraine peace talks In an op-ed for
Key developments on Dec. 22: * Associated Press discovers over 10,000 new graves in Russian-occupied Mariupol * Zelensky meets with Polish President in Rzeszów on return from historic trip to US * US Congress approves amendment to transfer seized assets of Russian oligarchs to Ukraine * Putin calls Patriot missile systems 'outdated' after
Key developments on Dec. 19: * Russia receives 250 more Iranian-made kamikaze drones, says Zelensky * Russia attacks Kyiv with 35 drones, air defense downs 30 * "Very high" risk of new Russian offensive towards occupied Transnistria, says Moldovan intelligence Russia launched another attack on Ukraine using Iranian-made kamikaze drones before sunrise on
Key developments on Dec. 13: * Allies pledge over €1 billion winter aid for Ukraine after Zelensky’s plea * Ukraine repels Russian attacks near 16 settlements in the east * Belarus conducts sudden inspection of troops’ combat readiness * Russia rules out withdrawal from Ukraine by end of 2022 The U.S. President
Key developments on Dec. 12: * Ukraine’s embassy in Greece receives ‘bloody package’ in latest act of intimidation * Russian attack on Hirnyk in Donetsk Oblast kills 2, injures 10 * Ukraine needs $1 billion to restore energy sector, says PM. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address that Russia is
VOVCHANSK, Kharkiv Oblast – Three months after its liberation, Vovchansk still bears the scars of Russia's seven-month-long occupation. A small partly-destroyed concrete bridge leads into a town whose main road is now littered with charred vehicles turned upside down. The local police station, used by Russians as a torture chamber, is
Key developments on Dec. 1: * Spanish police investigates six letter bombs sent to political and military targets possibly related to supporting Ukraine in Russia’s war. * 50 Ukrainian soldiers return home in new prisoner exchange with Russia. * Switzerland freezes nearly $8 billion in Russian assets under EU sanctions. * General Staff:
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
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
Iran has played a key role in Russia’s recent attempts to terrorize Ukraine. As Russian front-line advances are failing, the Kremlin has been launching massive attacks on critical civilian infrastructure across Ukraine using Iranian-made drones. “The whole world will know that the Iranian regime is helping Russia to continue
Editor’s note: The Kyiv Independent asked Michael Kofman, military analyst and Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at CNA, to comment on what retaking Kherson means for the future of the war. Watch Michael Kofman speak at the panel discussion that took place in Kyiv on Oct.
When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed his 10-point peace plan to G20 leaders in Bali on Nov. 15, he had only recently returned from a historic visit to Kherson, the liberation of which marks another great step towards the return of all Russian-occupied territory. Touching on factors such as food
KHERSON – When liberation came, many Kherson residents could barely believe the ordeal was over. Kherson was the only regional capital that Russians managed to capture, back in the first days of the full-scale invasion. A brutal occupation then ensued, with many residents being suppressed, robbed, abducted, tortured or killed. In
Key developments on Nov. 12-13: * Ukrainian flag reportedly raised over Antonivsky Bridge connecting Kherson with Dnipro River’s east bank * Military training program for Russian schools to be drafted by end of 2022, says UK Defense Ministry * Ukrainian Armed Forces liberate almost 180 settlements in the south within a week.
Russia lashed out on Oct. 10, striking many Ukrainian cities with 84 missiles and 24 exploding drones. The places they hit were all civilian — multiple power plants but also a children’s playground in the center of Kyiv. Most strikes seemed to be timed to the Monday morning rush hour,
When Russia’s Vladimir Putin is in trouble, he threatens to start a global nuclear holocaust. The Russian president has a long history of nuclear brinksmanship, always implicit in his rhetoric yet never manifesting in reality. And now, as his war of conquest in Ukraine is failing, Putin is again
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,
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,
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
Mayor of Sloviansk Vadym Liakh on July 6 urged remaining residents to evacuate, as the city appears to be Russia’s next target in its plans to capture Donetsk Oblast and civilian evacuation becomes increasingly difficult. After seizing the city of Lysychansk on July 3, Ukraine’s last major stronghold
