As U.S. President Donald Trump accelerates his push for a settlement in Moscow's war against Ukraine, analysts say Russia's ambiguous stance is clouding the process. Even though the original peace plan unveiled by the U.S. last week was skewed in Russia's favor, it is not clear if Moscow would have accepted it since it still falls short of its sweeping demands. Observers note that Moscow has never clearly signaled readiness to accept the proposals. "They've been very coy about the negotiations

About the author: Timothy Snyder is an American author and historian who specializes in the history of Central and Eastern Europe and the Holocaust. Last week, Russia attacked Ukrainian civilians with more than 500 drones, cruise missiles, and rockets. Most of these drones were shot down, but the attack hit two apartment buildings in Ternopil, in western Ukraine, killing at least 31 people, including six children. Homes, shops, post offices, and power plants across Ukraine also went up in flame

"Such trips take place in conditions of a complete lack of transparency and control mechanisms. Parents have no opportunity to influence the organization of such exchanges," Ukraine's Center for National Resistance reports.

In a basement firing range at the Kharkiv Aviation Institute, first-year student Anastasia Homel watches intently as her professor breaks down and reassembles an automatic rifle in front of her class. It’s a snapshot of how the war has altered education and student life for students taking classes in bomb shelters after their campus came under Russian missile, drone and artillery strikes upward of 100 times since 2022, forcing lessons literally underground. The university, also known as the KA

A Kyiv court delayed the appeal of the former head of Ukraine's state-owned national power company until mid-December, a step that seems aimed at dragging out what is widely considered a politically motivated case.

Hello, this is Yuliia Taradiuk reporting from Kyiv on day 1,373 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The top story of the day so far:   A Ukrainian unit withdrew from its position near Huliaipol in an 'uncoordinated manner,' allowing Russian troops to penetrate the flanks of Ukrainian forces, Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces, said on Nov. 27. Huliaipole, despite being one of the most stable parts of the front line for most of the full-scale war, is now thre

On Nov. 19, Italy's Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of extraditing the suspect, Serhii Kuznetsov.

"The enemy captured the soldiers in the forest, lined them up, and shot them after interrogation," one report said.

Putin reiterated that the U.S. peace plan could serve as the basis for future agreements, adding that the text needs further discussion.

Given two weeks to voluntarily pay the sum in a landmark ruling on Nov. 10, notorious Ukrainian oligarchs Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholyubov failed to make any payments before a Nov. 24 deadline, PrivatBank said in a statement.

Grozny is the capital of Russia's predominantly Muslim republic in the North Caucasus ruled by Vladimir Putin's ally, dictator Ramzan Kadyrov.

About the author: Kseniya Kvitka is an assistant researcher with Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division. She is based in Kyiv. As I sat down to write this, my apartment, like many others in Kyiv, routinely went dark. My internet router switched to a portable power station, and the laptop continued running on its battery. I reached for the small camper stove we now use to make coffee during long outages. Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure have brought roll

The Octopus drone is one of several interceptor drones in development.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured allies during a Nov. 25 call that the U.S. plans to address security guarantees once an agreement is reached, Politico reported.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Nov. 26 that Ukraine's accession to the alliance depends on unanimous agreement among member states — not on Russian demands.

The Kyiv Independent has launched a new collection, “The Ukrainian Trident — Through History and Modernity,” designed to visualize the symbol of Ukrainian sovereignty in its diversity.

The International Monetary Fund (IFM) has reached a staff-level agreement with Ukraine to provided the embattled country with $8.2 billion over 4 years through a renewed agreement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

An explosive leak implicating top U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff in shady dealings with Russia has sparked shock and astonishment not only in the U.S. but also in Ukraine. According to conversations leaked by Bloomberg on Nov. 25, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Witkoff advised a Russian official on how to sway the White House. Ukrainian lawmakers, soldiers, and experts told the Kyiv Independent that the leak proves Witkoff could be a tool of the Kremlin rather than a neutral mediat

Restarting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant under both Russian and Ukrainian control as part of any peace deal would be practically impossible in the plant’s current condition, several experts told the Kyiv Independent. Under a 28-point peace proposal put forth by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and leaked to the public last week, the plant would generate electricity equally for both countries with supervision from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is un

Russian forces captured the villages of Promin in Donetsk Oblast and Vysoke in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukrainian mapping group DeepState reported Nov. 26.

Rapidly expanding drone maker Fire Point is under scrutiny over its opaque funding, ownership, and links to figures named in a major anti-corruption and money-laundering investigation.

"When you want it bad, you get it bad." That’s how one of my colleagues on the Clinton National Security Council staff described the problem when a U.S. administration chases after an objective so hard that it either forgets what it set out to achieve or simply goes for a "win," no matter the cost or consequence. That’s the weakness of much of the Trump administration’s approach to seeking a deal to end Russia’s war against Ukraine: it sometimes seems to want any deal, not a sustainable deal.

"Such incidents are unacceptable. The Republic of Moldova has rejected and will firmly reject every attack against its security and territorial integrity," Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi said during a press conference on Nov. 26.

"The next step is that the Commission is ready to present the legal text," said Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, in a speech to European lawmakers in Strasbourg on Nov. 26.

In mid-November, the RRC and the Movement of the First co-organized a first aid competition for children from across Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories.

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.

Promin in Donetsk Oblast and Vysoke in Zapoirzhzhia Oblast were reported taken, the analytical and mapping group reported on Nov. 26.

According to the NABU, Timur Mindich, a close Zelensky associate, committed his crimes by influencing Rustem Umerov, former defense minister and current secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

While leaked reports of a U.S.-proposed peace plan have sparked international debates about the future of Ukraine`s occupied territories and the people who live there, Russia is forging ahead, entrenching its control on the ground by expanding illegal mobilization.

Ukraine is facing its biggest wartime corruption scandal. The Kyiv Independent’s Dominic Culverwell explains how Energoatom — Ukraine's nuclear energy operator — became a breeding ground for corruption during the war, how a $100 million kickback scheme in the nuclear energy sector reached the highest levels of power, and what this crisis means for President Volodymyr Zelensky and the country.

A brutal year for Ukraine's farmers is driving up food prices, straining household budgets already hit hard by Russia's war. In just one year, extreme heat, freezing temperatures, drought, and heavy rains have devastated crops and delayed planting, creating harsh growing conditions. These challenges compound the already perilous reality for Ukrainian farmers, who are forced to contend with contaminated fields, unexploded ordnance, and the constant threat of Russian attack. In its latest monthl

While the Soviet authorities promoted their vision of ideological "universalism" — a homogenized identity that suppressed national cultures — dissenting voices were silenced through arrests, intimidation, and even murder. Yet amid this repression, courageous figures refused to surrender their cultural identity. Among them was the poet Vasyl Stus (1938-1985), one of the era's greatest Ukrainian dissidents. The new exhibition "As Long As We're Here, Everything Will Be Fine" at Kyiv's Mystetskyi