Culture

The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

A pair of soldiers stand back-to-back as they hold their rifles in an undated photo.

Ukraine's wartime action thriller 'Killhouse' reaches global audience on Netflix

by Kate TsurkanJune 25, 2026

Ukraine's new action film "Killhouse" is set to reach a global audience, hitting the Netflix streaming platform on June 26 in Ukraine, with international distribution planned for autumn. Few scenes hit as hard in "Killhouse" as when Ukrainian soldiers decide to launch a high-risk mission to rescue a near-death civilian from the gray zone, a territory sandwiched between Ukrainian and Russian lines. In the film, the Russian commander watching them from his position assumes that the civilian bein

Russia's overnight attack destroys around 800,000 Ukrainian books

by Kate TsurkanJuly 2, 2026

Zelensky proposes Cossack leader monument instead of toppled Lenin statue in Kyiv

by Tania MyronyshenaJune 28, 2026

'My first impression was it's hell' — Belarusian prison memoir brings attention back to Lukashenko's repressions

by Kate TsurkanJune 24, 2026

Behind the lies of the latest guest on Tucker Carlson's podcast — a criminal Russian arms dealer

by Kate TsurkanJune 30, 2026

How Ukrainian and Belarusian entrepreneurs have set new standards in Warsaw’s café scene

by Noémie NaudinJune 29, 2026

Crimea 'at heart' of Ukraine's fight for justice, Zelensky says on Crimean Tatar Flag Day

by Abbey FenbertJune 26, 2026

Burning tradition — How Mykhail Semenko ignited a new path forward for Ukrainian poetry

by Kate TsurkanJune 26, 2026

NewsLetters

News Feed

Saturday, July 4

02:52 AM

Ukrainian missile strike on Russia's Belgorod disrupts power, water supply across city, official says

"In Belgorod, infrastructure objects were damaged, as a result of which disruptions in the supply of electricity and water were recorded," acting Governor Alexander Shuvaev reported.

01:50 AM

Russia's mass missile attacks on Ukraine 'must continue,' Putin says

"I note that massive, coordinated strikes against the infrastructure of Ukraine's military-industrial complex and the facilities supporting its operation must continue," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

11:43 PM

Russian airstrike in downtown Sumy kills 4, including child, injures at least 27

Four people have died, including a 5-year-old girl and her mother, authorities in Sumy reported. Another 27 people were injured, with many in serious condition.

Friday, July 3

11:11 PM

Major Russian oil refinery suspends operations again after Ukrainian drone strike

The Lukoil-Nizhegorodorgsintez plant is the fourth-largest oil refinery in Russia, second-largest producer of gasoline, and Lukoil's largest refinery.

10:05 PM

Ukraine proposes 'anti-crisis' measures to defuse tensions with Poland

"Our job as diplomats is to maintain dialogue and utilize every tool in the diplomatic arsenal to solve problems," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said after a meeting with his Polish counterpart. "It is time to set emotions aside."

09:45 PM

Ukraine's Ambassador to US: Why Ukraine celebrates America's 250th too

There are anniversaries that belong to one nation, and there are anniversaries that remind the world why certain ideas never stop mattering. America's 250th birthday is both. For Ukrainians, this celebration is more than an occasion to congratulate a friend, as we honor a country whose founding principles have inspired generations far beyond its shores, including our own. This day is also a chance to express something deeply personal: our gratitude to the American people. Over the past severa

U.S. and Ukrainian flags in Washington, D.C., U.S., on April 23, 2024.

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.

June 12, 2025‘I feel like I lost 3 years’ — Ukrainian author turned soldier Artem Chapeye on culture during war

June 11, 2025'Ukrainians have been stripped of illusion of control' — Filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai on Russia's war, cinema and reclaiming the narrative

March 26, 2025Explainer: Some Ukrainians speak Russian language — it doesn’t make them Russian

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'We know more is to come' — Pro-Ukrainians in Crimea greet strikes on Russian logistics

Culture

Ukraine's wartime action thriller 'Killhouse' reaches global audience on Netflix

Russia's overnight attack destroys around 800,000 Ukrainian books

Zelensky proposes Cossack leader monument instead of toppled Lenin statue in Kyiv

'My first impression was it's hell' — Belarusian prison memoir brings attention back to Lukashenko's repressions

Behind the lies of the latest guest on Tucker Carlson's podcast — a criminal Russian arms dealer

How Ukrainian and Belarusian entrepreneurs have set new standards in Warsaw’s café scene

Crimea 'at heart' of Ukraine's fight for justice, Zelensky says on Crimean Tatar Flag Day

Burning tradition — How Mykhail Semenko ignited a new path forward for Ukrainian poetry

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NewsLetters

News Feed

Ukrainian missile strike on Russia's Belgorod disrupts power, water supply across city, official says

Russia's mass missile attacks on Ukraine 'must continue,' Putin says

Russian airstrike in downtown Sumy kills 4, including child, injures at least 27

Major Russian oil refinery suspends operations again after Ukrainian drone strike

Ukraine proposes 'anti-crisis' measures to defuse tensions with Poland

Ukraine's Ambassador to US: Why Ukraine celebrates America's 250th too

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'Moscow will fall' — 13 Russian power stations shut down across occupied Ukraine, military says

'Serious destruction' — massive Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills at least 30, injures over 90

Meteor missile: The 'long arm' Ukraine's air force has sorely needed

Georgia's only oil refinery to stop processing Russian crude

Why AI believes Crimea is Russian — and what to do about it

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'We know more is to come' — Pro-Ukrainians in Crimea greet strikes on Russian logistics

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Zelensky-Nawrocki feud fails to overshadow Ukraine’s biggest recovery conference yet