Culture

The Hidden Canon: Discover Ukrainian literary classics

A Kyiv Independent project backed by the Ukrainian Institute

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

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

by Kate Tsurkan

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

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How Ukraine's ultimatum changed the equation for Belarus

The relay equipment that helps guide Russian drones over Belarus went dark on June 22, days after President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a public ultimatum, threatening to disable the equipment with Ukraine's own forces if the demand is not met. Zelensky's ultimatum to Alexander Lukashenko left the Belarusian dictator between a rock and a hard place: refuse, and Belarus risks joining Ukraine's list of drone targets. Comply, and he risks publicly defying Russian President Vladimir Putin — his count

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Dec. 21, 2025

New EU steel quotas are a crippling hit to Ukrainian industry

The EU's new steel allocation, set to enter into force on July 1, was introduced in response to global steel overcapacity, which has been hurting EU producers. The measure aims to restrict tariff-free steel imports to 18.3 million metric tons per year, a 47% reduction.

Ukraine backed out of MiGs-for-drones deal, Polish minister claims

"I proposed what I believe was a very fair, partnership-based approach: MiGs in exchange for drones," Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said. "The Ukrainians initially accepted it but did not follow through, so there are no MiGs for Ukraine because there are no drones, or drone capabilities, for Poland."

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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