The United States has lifted sanctions on three senior Malian officials who were previously designated for their ties to Russia's Wagner Group, the Treasury Department announced Feb. 27.

Andriy Portnov, a former Ukrainian top official, was gunned down in Madrid on May 21, 2025. The Spanish police reported on Feb. 25, 2026, that a suspect in Portnov's murder had been arrested in the German town of Heinsberg. The motives of the killing, however, remain unknown. The detained suspect is linked to both Ukraine and Russia, according to an investigation by the Ukrainska Pravda media outlet published on Feb. 27. The suspect's profile doesn't contradict the two main alleged motives —

The recent anniversary of Russia's expanded invasion, which is now stretching into its fifth year, is as good a time as any to take stock of the state of the war itself. For Ukraine, the fighting remains existential, and it is Ukrainians themselves who continue to suffer and to sacrifice not just on behalf of their own defense, but on behalf of broader stability in Europe. Somehow, though, many Western partners still fail to see one clear fact: that it is Russia, and not Ukraine, who has suffer

President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to visit Ukraine in a phone call on Feb. 27, amid a row between Kyiv, Budapest, and Bratislava over a key oil pipeline.

Key developments on Feb. 27 * Zelensky sees 'window' for peace deal before US midterms * Flamingo threat triggers unprecedented missile alert across Russia, 1 claimed shot down * From Starlink to 'digital officers,' Fedorov on first month as Ukraine's new Defense Minister * Russia, Ukraine, agree to 'local truce' at occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to repair key backup power line Ukraine has a chance to end the war with Russia before the U.S. midterm elections in November, President Vol

As peace talks continue and the U.S. pushes for compromise, one proposal keeps returning: Ukraine should withdraw from the remainder of Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk Oblast to end the war. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell explains why the Battle of Donbas remains at the center of the peace process.

Zelensky added that diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran remain the preferred way forward, according to a Sky News interview.

Editor's note: This article is a shortened on-site version of KI Insights' public newsletter, The Week Ahead, covering events from March 2-8. Sign up here to start your week with an agenda of Ukraine-related events delivered directly to your inbox every week. Audio version of The Week Ahead is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. The next round of peace negotiations may take place in early March in Abu Dhabi. Earlier this week, a Ukrainian delegation met in Geneva with US rep

Rishi Sunak took up an unpaid role as a member of Ukraine's International Advisory Council for the Economic Renewal of Ukraine, according to documents released on Feb. 27 by the U.K.'s independent advisor on ministerial standards.

The Kyiv Independent’s separate analytical unit, KI Insights, is excited to announce the launch of its podcast, Ukraine Insights — a show dedicated to unpacking Ukraine’s politics, security, economy, and international relations through in-depth, expert-driven conversations.

A total of 13 Russian regions raised the alarm in the afternoon, eight of which did so for the first time over the full-scale war.

Flames burned through 5,000 square meters of the factory, and nearly a month after the Jan. 30 attack, the company is still assessing the full extent of the damage.

Ukraine’s reset of its state-owned companies has won back some of the trust from Western partners after the country’s worst wartime corruption scandal, but critics warn it doesn’t do enough to address the main issue — government interference. State-owned companies, which in Ukraine dominate the energy, banking, and infrastructure sectors, have often become battlegrounds for control of their resources. The country's reformers and international partners favor independent supervisory boards to mit

"Demining activities are ongoing to ensure safe access for the repair teams," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

The Trypillia Thermal Power Plant, the main power supplier to Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Cherkasy oblasts, was destroyed in a Russian strike in the spring of 2024.

According to Zelensky, the U.S. has the power to bring the war to an end but only by exerting stronger pressure on Putin through sanctions and supplies of advanced weapons to Ukraine.

The first month of the ministry's renewed team was focused on improving Ukraine's air defense capabilities.

Sweden's military jammed a suspected Russian drone that was flying toward the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which was docked in the port of Malmo.

The number includes 1,280 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Ukrainian delegates met U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva as part of the ongoing efforts to broker a peace with Moscow, Ukraine's top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, announced on Feb. 26.

Ukraine struck the Russian city of Belgorod and a neighboring district with "a massive missile attack" overnight, causing power outages, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed on Feb. 27.

Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko welcomed the IMF decision, saying that, "It is very important for us that in the fifth year of full-scale war, amidst systematic attacks on the energy sector, Ukraine has guaranteed international financial support from partners and resources for the stable functioning of the state."

On Feb. 26, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was feeling adventurous, sending two letters — one to Brussels, another one to Kyiv — with a set of demands. The intended target audience for both, however, were not EU and Ukrainian officials, but the domestic population soon heading to the polls. "Viktor Orban's ominous post is not an open letter to a foreign head of state, but rather a campaign message targeting a domestic audience," Daniel Hegedüs, deputy director at the Institute for Europ

Ukraine did not just attack a NATO member this week — despite efforts by some to frame its strike on a Russian oil hub that way.

Key developments on Feb. 26: * More than 90,000 Ukrainians officially missing due to Russia's war, commissioner says * Ukraine might have a new Flamingo missile deep strike strategy, experts say * Russia, Ukraine agree on body exchange, 1,000 fallen Ukrainians brought home * Russian FPV drone on fiber optic cable reaches Kharkiv for 1st time since start of full-scale invasion, prosecutor's office says More than 90,000 Ukrainians are officially registered as missing due to Russia's full-sca

Two films about Russia and Ukraine are generating buzz in this year's film awards season: Mstyslav Chernov's "2,000 Meters to Andriivka" and "Mr. Nobody Against Putin," directed by American documentarian David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, the film's protagonist and a former videographer at a secondary school in Russia. Two of the most prestigious Western honors have gone to "Mr. Nobody." One, it beat out "2,000 Meters" for the Best Documentary BAFTA Award during Sunday's ceremony. Second, at

Swedish broadcaster SVT reported that Swedish forces used electronic countermeasures after a suspected Russian drone launched from a nearby vessel approached France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle during NATO exercises in Malmö.

Employees of several agencies looked for warrants in the Midas case in the official register for court decisions and got access to them in November and December, according to log-in data obtained by the NABU.

The drone hit a tree around 3 p.m. local time in Kyivskyi district on Feb. 25. No casualties were reported, the regional prosecutor's office said.

Russia launched a combined missile and drone attack across Ukraine early on Feb. 26, targeting Kyiv and other cities and causing damage to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

Every time negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. appear to gain momentum, Moscow introduces a new allegation — drone attacks, assassination attempts, nuclear plots, sabotage — that threatens to stall or derail the process. Ukrainian officials and Western analysts say the pattern is no coincidence. A high-level Ukrainian official familiar with the course of the negotiations told the Kyiv Independent that the "nonsense" Russia is spreading is intended to influence the talks and dive

A new artificial intelligence (AI) agent could equip Europe to better defend itself against the barrage of Russian disinformation attacks. Cipher is Canadian-developed AI software that has proven to accurately and quickly detect Russian disinformation targeting Canadian networks, on both the far right and the far left of the political spectrum. Now that Cipher has passed the testing stage, the researchers are training the AI agent to distinguish those same narratives in the Russian language.