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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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Ukraine war latest: Drone strike sparks fire at major Russian oil refinery, General Staff says

Key developments on Aug. 26: * Major Russian oil refinery in flames after drone strike, General Staff confirms * Top commanders to lead reinforcement of Ukrainian positions in Donetsk Oblast, Zelensky says * US chips outnumber China's in Russian missiles, Ukraine says * Ukraine thwarts FSB assassination plot against defense company head * Ukraine resumes strikes on Russia's Wildberries with 'massive drone attack' in Tambov Oblast Ukraine struck Russia's NORSI oil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhn

Why a U.S. Marine fought — and died — for Ukraine

On Thanksgiving morning 2025, Shane Tackett texted his wife to say he was heading out on a mission and would be gone for a couple of days. He was killed three days later, on Nov. 30, in the basement of a house his unit was clearing in a contested town in Ukraine. Tackett, 36, was a former U.S. Marine from Prague, Oklahoma, who had been looking for a way to fight for Ukraine since the first weeks of the full-scale invasion. It took him three years to find one. He arrived in Ukraine on Aug. 6, 20

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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