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The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

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'Hemingway Knows Nothing': Ukraine's writers are redefining literature of war
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'Hemingway Knows Nothing': Ukraine's writers are redefining literature of war

by Kate Tsurkan

When war, loss, and unimaginable suffering become routine, a book can offer a kind of lifeline — especially one by a writer who has lived through such an ordeal and tried to make sense of it. At the start of Russia’s full-scale war, some Ukrainians speculated if they’d see the rise of their own Ernest Hemingway: a writer whose books would not only capture the experience of a generation but come to define it. Yet it soon became clear that the old paradigms of war literature no longer spoke to t

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Russian strikes leave Kyiv supermarkets with empty shelves

Ukrainian supermarkets have rarely hinted at the ongoing war, with grocery stores remaining well stocked with local and imported goods despite Russia's full-scale invasion. It all changed late last week. A deadly Russian ballistic missile attack on Aug. 5 targeted warehouses belonging to various supermarket chains and other civilian enterprises, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. Since then, supplies of everyday products such as vegetables, dairy, and meat have been noticeably

Is Wildberries a legitimate military target?

For more than a year, Ukrainian drones have struck Russian oil refineries and military-industrial facilities with remarkable consistency. Yet nothing seems to have rattled ordinary Russians quite like drones hitting "Russian Amazon" — Wildberries, shattering the sanctuaries that housed their eagerly awaited online orders. Beginning on July 18, Ukrainian forces launched a sustained campaign against the company's logistics network. The first strikes hit distribution hubs in Elektrostal and Kotov

Ukraine's new plan to pressure Russia remains a mystery to Washington

Washington has not yet received President Volodymyr Zelensky's new plan to pressure Russia into ending its war, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent. Zelensky said on Aug. 12 that Kyiv and its international partners have developed a joint plan based on pressure against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The plan comes as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner prepare to visit Ukraine and Russia in another attempt to revive stalled peace talks. "Putin does not

About Culture

Our reporting on literature, films, art, and traditions from Ukraine and the latest news on culture in Eastern Europe.

Ukrainian culture
Ukrainian culture has survived centuries of Russian attempts to appropriate Ukrainian art, silence Ukrainian artists, and erase the Ukrainian language. Modern Ukrainian writers, filmmakers, and musicians — some of whom are serving on the front lines — continue to develop Ukrainian culture and fight for Ukraine’s future.
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