This holiday season, as people celebrate with their families and stroll brightly-decorated streets across the world, Russia's war against Ukraine has reached a crucial point. Ukraine's autumn campaign has been a resounding success, with counteroffensives in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Kherson oblasts liberating thousands of square kilometers of territory. More importantly,
In December 2021, most forecasts voiced in the media did not give Ukraine much of a chance in case of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Ten months after it started on Feb. 24, 2022, experts and media discuss where Ukraine will strike next, and what else Russia can do to save
The first week of Russia's earth-quaking mobilization campaign has topped all expectations — in terms of its harshness, hastiness, and chaos. With the Russian positions in Ukraine rapidly deteriorating, the Kremlin upped the ante and risked announcing a draft. The regime aims to draft between 300,000 and over 1.2
Humiliated on the battlefield, the Kremlin now wants to quickly annex occupied Ukrainian territories and add them to the Russian Federation. Russian proxies in the occupied parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts have announced that between Sept. 23 and 27, they will rush sham “referendums” on these areas
Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast has changed how the world thinks about the war, according to U.S. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ben Hodges. Hodges, who served as commander of U.S. Army Europe from 2014-2017 and has helped train Ukrainian soldiers, said the operation ended “the mythology of
KHARKIV – In warfare, there's no such thing as a miracle. Yet what happened in early September in the east of Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast may ascend in history as the Miracle on the Oskil River. Within a few days, a Ukrainian strike prompted the collapse of the Russian front in the
MYKOLAIV – After quickly occupying Kherson in the first days of the full-scale invasion, Russia turned its sight towards Mykolaiv, Ukraine’s shipbuilding center. Many expected the regional capital of 480,000 people to fall next. On Feb. 25, one day after Russia began its invasion and southern offensive, Major General
Shock and awe roared over Kyiv Oblast in the early hours of Feb. 24, 2022. Dozens of Russian Ka-52 and Mi-8 helicopters rushed south at low altitude over the Dnipro River, carrying 200-300 elite stormtroopers with the 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade. Some of the helicopters were downed and fell
It’s been nearly a month since U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, had their long-awaited debut in Ukraine, but their combat record is already extensive. Using all the heavy and long-range weaponry available to it, including HIMARS, Ukraine began a campaign that has destroyed dozens
One way or another, according to Ukraine’s leadership, it's bound to happen. Even though the Battle of Donbas is far from over, Ukraine is expected to open the next chapter of the war sometime in the near future — a highly anticipated, major counter-offensive operation in the south, particularly to
The Battle of Donbas is raging high, but it’s not going the way Russia wanted it to. Almost 20 days in, the much-anticipated and feared grand offensive falls short of expectations. It is still not even close to achieving its ultimate goal — the encircling and crippling of the core
Ukraine and the world have spent weeks in anticipation of the Battle of Donbas, “the second phase” of Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine. Now, it seems, the wait is over. With the drastic intensification of hostilities in Donbas and neighboring areas, President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 18 finally confirmed
Russia’s all-out war in Ukraine has subverted a lot of prophecies — doomsday omens and bright hopes alike. It has now been a month of this new reality since Russia’s attacks began early in the morning on Feb. 24, 2022. Yes, the Kremlin really did launch a World War
No one really expected it — but after three weeks of Russia’s all-out war, Ukraine’s air defense is still exceeding expectations. This branch of service not only managed to largely survive Russia’s massive missile attacks in the invasion’s early hours. It took up the fight and prevented
The operative lull in the battle for Kyiv over the last few days seems to be running to its end. New indications suggest Russia is getting ready to relaunch a massive offensive in the region, the war’s main goal. Despite a very complicated situation with many of its main
Editor’s Note: This is an analysis by experts from the Center for Defense Strategies: Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Alina Frolova, Oleksiy Pavliuchyk, and Viktor Kevlyuk. It was originally published in Ukrainian by Ukrainska Pravda on Feb. 22. The Kyiv Independent is republishing it with permission. This analysis focuses on the possible
As Russia continues to build up military personnel along Ukraine’s borders many of us are wondering what’s next. We turn to our defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko for answers. The Kyiv Independent’s patrons who have access to a closed chat with the editorial team were able to send
As Russia continues to escalate its aggression against Ukraine, military experts disagree on the possible scenarios of a further Russian invasion if it does happen. Russia has amassed around 135,000 troops around Ukraine and in its occupied areas in recent weeks and stepped up its aggressive rhetoric. The Kremlin
Editor's note: This is an analysis by the Center of Defense Strategies' experts Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Alina Frolova, Oleksiy Pavliuchyk. It was originally published in Ukrainian by Ukrainska Pravda. The Kyiv Independent has translated it and is republishing it with permission. Many politicians and observers report that a significant escalation of
Russia’s invasion threat seen through the eyes of a reporter who knows the consequences of war all too well. Episode #5 of our origin story podcast “Media in Progress” is out: Media in Progress · Will Russia invade again?
Recent developments in the crisis surrounding Russia’s troop buildup on Ukraine's border have shed a light on what the Kremlin may hope to achieve by creating a global war scare and launching an intimidation campaign. After a Dec. 7 video conference with U.S. President Joe Biden, Russian President
