Culture

The Hidden Canon: Ukraine's Literary Iconoclasts

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

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Symon Petliura, Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army, photographed in 1919.
Culture

The many deaths of Symon Petliura

by Kate Tsurkan

A century ago, on May 25, 1926, an otherwise ordinary afternoon in Paris’ bohemian Latin Quarter was disrupted by a barrage of gunshots, leaving one of Ukraine’s famous military leaders dead in the street. “I emptied my revolver,” Samuel “Scholem” Schwartzbard, the Jewish-Ukrainian man who killed Symon Petliura, told the court, as quoted by Time magazine in 1927. “A policeman came up quietly and said: ‘Is that enough?’ I answered: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Then give me your revolver.’ I gave him the re

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UK spy chief reveals new estimate of Russia's massive losses in Ukraine

The latest estimates appear to be significantly higher than figures published earlier this month by independent Russian media outlets Mediazona and Meduza that estimated 352,000 Russian men between the ages of 18 and 59 have been killed since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky sends Trump urgent letter warning of Ukraine's critical missile defense shortages

Key developments on May 27: * Zelensky sends Trump urgent letter warning of Ukraine's critical missile defense shortages * Ukraine fails to pass IMF-backed reforms, despite millions of dollars on the line * Ukraine to intensify middle strike drone campaign as Fedorov unveils 'logistical lockdown' against Russia * Pope Leo condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine, calls for end to 'sharp intensification' of war President Volodymyr Zelensky sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump warning abo

At site of Russia's Oreshnik strike, Putin's propaganda lies in ruins

In a dusty industrial estate in the city of Bila Tserkva, a Ukrainian grandmother searches through the smouldering ruins of her storage unit for her harvest of potatoes. Two days earlier it had been hit with what is supposed to be one of Russia's most fearsome weapons — an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). "It sounded like thunder, a very long, drawn-out thunder. And then there were six explosions in a row," Nadiia, a Bila Tserkva resident who declined to give her last name

The impact site of an Oreshnik ballistic missile strike in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on May 25, 2026.

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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