Ukrainian Christmas: Traditions and hope in the midst of war

8:37 PM

Moscow announces beginning of 'respectful dialogue' and new talks with the US.

Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev announced on April 6 that new contacts between Russia and the United States could take place as early as next week.

7:39 PM

Russian drone strike kills man in Kherson, governor says.

Since Ukrainian forces liberated swathes of territories on the western bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, including the regional capital of Kherson, Russia has relentlessly continued its attacks on civilians remaining in the area.

11:19 AM  (Updated:  April 6, 2025 7:02 pm)

Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih kills 20 people, including 9 children, injures 75.

Russia's missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on April 4 killed 19 people, including nine children, according to local authorities. Seventy four were reportedly injured.

6:48 PM

'Shoot them' — Russian commander ordered troops to open fire on their comrades, intercepted call suggests

"F**k the 55th (an adjacent Russian unit), shoot them, that’s the battalion commander’s order, shoot them," a Russian commander can be heard saying in an audio published by HUR on April 5.

6:38 PM

Top UN official expresses 'shock' at Russia's deadly strike on Kryvyi Rih.

"It’s an unimaginable horror — nine children killed, most while playing in a park, as a military weapon exploded into shrapnel above them," Türk said in a statement released by the UN.

5:18 PM

Russian missile strike destroys Ukrainian channel Freedom TV's newsroom in Kyiv.

Freedom TV said that its newsroom had been based in the building since a Russian attack damaged the channel's previous office in February.

4:41 PM

Trump & Russia

As Russia refuses to accept ceasefire, will Trump pressure Moscow?

3:33 PM

Zelensky calls for tougher Western response after Russian missiles strike Kyiv.

"This is Russia's way of showing its true intentions – to continue terror as long as the world allows it," Zelensky said.

2:16 PM

Video

How Trump ends wars.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s negotiation strategy in Afghanistan resulted in a capitulation to the Taliban and abandoning U.S. allies. As the world awaits a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, what could a deal brokered by Trump actually look like? The Kyiv Independent’s Masha Lavrova dives into the last time Trump sought to end a war and what it could mean for Ukraine.

1:50 PM

Russia attacked Ukraine with 23 missiles, 109 drones overnight, Air Force reports.

The overnight attack targeted Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Mykolaiv oblasts, according to the Air Force's report on Telegram.

12:20 PM

Number of injured in Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih rises to 75, official says.

Four children injured in the attack are still in serious condition, including two in "extremely serious condition, Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city's military administration, he said.

5:24 AM  (Updated:  April 6, 2025 11:18 am)

UPDATE: One killed, 3 injured in Kyiv amid massive Russian missile attack.

A round of explosions occurred in Kyiv around 5:00 a.m. local time on April 6, according to a Kyiv Independent journalist on the ground. Three have been injured, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on April 6.

10:37 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 919,570 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022

This number includes 1,330 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

8:01 AM

Hungary is on 'Putin's team,' Estonian FM says.

Stripping Hungary of its voting power in the EU "is getting closer and closer," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on April 5.

4:39 AM

US neo-Nazi terrorist group pays recruits to carry out attacks in Ukraine, Guardian reports.

The Base, a neo-Nazi terrorist group with links to Russia is offering locals payment to carry out terrorist attacks in cities across Ukraine, the Guardian reported.

2:17 AM

Minerals deal disrupted by those with 'their hand in the till,' US official claims.

"It's a genuine economic partnership... we don't make any money unless they make money, and you know who doesn't like that? People with their hand in the till," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed in an interview released on April 4.

11:49 PM

Over 150 clashes recorded on front lines, half of them near Pokrovsk, General Staff reports.

“The most intense situation is in Pokrovsk, Lyman, Toretsk, and Kursk directions,” the General Staff wrote. Sixty-five clashes were reported near Pokrovsk alone.

11:32 PM

Russia attacks Mykolaiv with drones, residential buildings on fire.

“As a result of the attack by Shaheds on Mykolaiv, a fire broke out in two residential buildings,” Governor Vitalii Kim said.

9:14 PM

Zelensky: Russia must be held accountable for everything it has done.

“We need to put pressure on them there — really put pressure, don't waste time on empty talk — to end this war," President Volodymyr Zelensky added.

6:56 PM

Zelensky welcomes French, British army chiefs in Kyiv, talks troop deployment.

"There is tangible progress and initial details on how the partner security contingent might be deployed," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

5:40 PM

Ukraine investigating leaked US minerals deal, FT reports.

The measures include the use of polygraph tests on those with access to the deal across several government ministries.

4:10 PM

US embassy's response to Russia's Kryvyi Rih attack 'surprisingly disappointing,' Zelensky says.

The U.S. Embassy to Ukraine's response to Russia's attack on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on April 4, which killed 19 people and injured 68, was "unpleasantly surprising," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 5.

3:24 PM

Ukrainian drones hit Russian explosives, fiber optic factories near Moscow.

Insider identified one of the factories hit as a remarkably effective link in the chain, providing Russia with foreign-derived components for its war machine.

1:21 PM

'Russia owes an answer to the US' — West pushes Putin on ceasefire deal.

After convening in Brussels on April 3 and 4, NATO's representatives are demanding an immediate response from Russian President Vladimir Putin to a ceasefire deal that the U.S. and Ukraine have already agreed to.

12:39 PM

European leaders condemn Russia's deadly attack on Kryvyi Rih.

"Another reckless Russian attack struck a crowded residential area... Russia continues to destroy Ukraine, no interest in peace," European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas wrote on X.