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Russia launched a mass aerial attack on Ukraine overnight Jan. 24, killing at least one person and injuring others, while causing widespread damage to energy infrastructure. In Kyiv, one person was killed and four others injured during the attack. Explosions were first heard at 1:20 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground, who reported blasts throughout the night, including the interception of a ballistic missile. The Ukrainian Air Force tallied 396 aerial weapons, including 21 missiles and 375 drones. Hypersonic "Tsirkon" missiles, ballistic Iskander missiles, and Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles were used. The attacks continued Russia’s targeting...

Collecting snow for water at home; sleeping in gloves, coats and hats; heating bricks on gas stoves for warmth; erecting tents indoors - Kyiv residents are doing everything they can to survive the coldest, darkest winter of the war. "When there is no electricity, there is no heating: it means the apartment freezes," said ​Anton Rybikov, father of three-year-old David and two-year-old Matvii, speaking to Reuters in their home, where he and his wife Marina have stocked up on backup batteries and sleeping bags. The 39-year-old military ‌chaplain said one of his sons recently contracted pneumonia after temperatures in the...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday he was worried US President Donald Trump's push to take Greenland could be diverting attention from Russia's invasion, now approaching its four-year mark. "I'm worried about any loss of focus during a full-scale war," Zelensky told reporters. He added, however, that the dispute surrounding the autonomous Danish island and Ukraine should not be seen as "interchangeable".

KYIV, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A majority of Ukrainians would strongly oppose withdrawing troops from the part of the eastern Donetsk region still controlled by Kyiv in exchange for European and U.S. security guarantees, a poll released on Friday indicated. Ukraine, wary of unmet commitments in the past, is pushing for legally binding security guarantees to prevent any future Russian aggression.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says 200,000 soldiers are absent without official leave — AWOL — and that 2 million are "wanted" for avoiding military service. "I don't want to be a populist — I want to be a realist," Fedorov said. "The Ministry of Defense is coming into my hands with a [$6.9 billion] shortfall, 2 million Ukrainians who are wanted and 200,000 who are AWOL," Fedorov said Wednesday in an address to Parliament. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Fedorov, 34, at the start of the year. The former head of Ukraine's digital transformation policies is credited with spearheading the...

For those who understand the basics of attrition warfare, the outcome of the fight in Ukraine was obvious a long time ago. Russia's superior logistical position along with its grinding offensive tactics have worn down Ukraine's defenses and left the country with a desperate manpower shortage. The recent capture of the vital hub of Pokrovsk has now opened the door to an accelerating Russian advance. The Russian offensive is gaining significant ground from Pokrovsk to the north, all the way to Kupiansk. The strategic city of Siversk is now largely under control of Russia according to geo-location mapping. Myrnohrad, also...

Military analyst Denys Popovych said on Radio NV that Russian troops are currently encircled near Kupyansk and explained how Ukrainian forces carried out a successful operation there on Dec. 13. There are now encircled Russian army units in the city that are clearly in the final stage of their presence there. Cleanup operations are ongoing, and it is impossible to predict when they will end. Why do the Russians make such statements about capturing Kupyansk? They are taking territory on credit. They need it to demonstrate that they are advancing and achieving success. They lost Kupyansk during our Kharkiv counteroffensive,...

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday shared a video of himself rallying troops at Kupyansk, a city Russia claimed to have taken control of. In the video, the city limit sign for Kupyansk is visible in the background, with intermittent explosions audible. The Kremlin claimed to have captured the city in late November and invited journalists to visit it alongside Russian troops. Zelensky rallied troops and said battlefield gains could influence ongoing peace talks.

Zelenskyy Compromises – He Is Ready to Hold Elections... But Under Certain Conditions🤝 MS2025.12.10

It has been a rough week for everyone in Kiev.Electricity is available only intermittently. Most nights there is a drone or missile strike. And the weather is gloomy and overcast.For president Volodymyr Zelensky, it has been particularly unpleasant. In the past seven days he has lost his chief of staff, the Russians claimed to have taken the strategic city of Pokrovsk, and the Americans have stepped up demands that he make humiliating territorial concessions to buy peace.On Tuesday morning, opposition MPs in Ukraine’s parliament mobbed the speaker’s chair to block Zelensky’s proposed budget and demand the government resign.The reality is...

Putin gambled on Western hesitation, and now a war born of miscalculation grinds on because neither Moscow nor NATO is willing—or able—to force a decisive end. Why did the war in Ukraine start in 2021?As in 2008 and 2012, but unlike 2017 to 2021, Vladimir Putin sensed an American president would not or could not deter him, so he invaded a former Soviet republic. Under past presidents, Putin saw no downside to grabbing Ossetia, the Donbas, and Crimea. Putin was also led to believe the West or Joe Biden would not challenge him following the recent humiliating U.S. withdrawal from...

President Trump issued a chilling warning to Vladimir Putin Monday after the Russian tyrant boasted about testing his country’s new “invincible” nuclear missile. “They know we have a nuclear submarine, the greatest in the world, right off their shore,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday as he prepared to travel to Japan. He was speaking after Putin on Sunday hailed an 8,700-mile, 15-hour test flight for Russia’s “unique” nuclear-powered missile, dubbed a “flying Chernobyl,” which the country says could strike targets in the US. The Burevestnik missile is a “unique product, unlike anything else in the world,”...

President Trump no longer plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a second in-person summit “in the immediate future” after Russia rejected his demand to stop the war in Ukraine along the current battle lines. The White House announcement followed a Monday call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which a source familiar with the conversation said demonstrated the Kremlin’s unwillingness to commit to Trump’s strategy for peace. -snip- Trump exhorted both sides to lay down their arms following the third White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since Trump returned to...

Former British senior army officer Lord David Richards has told UK newspaper The Independent that Ukraine cannot win its war with Russia without NATO military support and should instead negotiate peace terms with Moscow. Speaking to The Independent’s “World of Trouble” podcast, the “five star” ranked former Chief of Defence Staff who led NATO forces in Afghanistan, said: “What we have done in the case of Ukraine is encourage Ukraine to fight, but not given them the means to win.” The former commando added that even with the right resources, Ukraine “would not win” as “they haven’t got the manpower.”...

Trump urged Zelenskyy to accept Russia’s terms to end the war, warning that Putin would “destroy” Ukraine if he refused

Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday to make a deal with Russia, pouring cold water on Kyiv's hopes for Tomahawk missiles as the US leader renews a push to settle the war.Trump said as recently as last month that he believed Ukraine could take back all its territory -- but a day after agreeing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a new summit the American had changed his tune.After meeting with Zelensky at the White House, Trump said on social media that their talks were "very interesting, and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise...

At the specific request of then-Vice President Joe Biden, the CIA buried an embarrassing intelligence report detailing the poor view the Ukrainian government took of his diplomatic efforts and the business dealings of his own family in that country.Biden had traveled to Kyiv in December 2015, ostensibly to meet with leaders of that fledgling democracy and to deliver a warning against “the cancer of corruption.” And during an address to the Ukrainian parliament, he did condemn the “pervasive poison of cronyism, corruption, and kleptocracy.”But behind the scenes, Ukrainian officials expressed “bewilderment and disappointment” that the vice president had crossed the...

“Dare to Ukraine” is The Kyiv Independent’s wartime travel series that shows the country beyond the war headlines. In Episode 5 of “Dare to Ukraine: Village,” Masha’s journey reaches its final chapter. Before leaving, she brings everyone together for a shared meal, stories, and moments that reflect her month-long experience. From morning fishing to dinner-table singing at night, this episode captures the warmth, connection, and memories that make rural Ukraine unforgettable.

“Dare to Ukraine” is The Kyiv Independent’s wartime travel series that shows the country beyond the war headlines. In Episode 4 of “Dare to Ukraine: Village,” Masha’s quiet rural routine is interrupted by a new mission: uncover the local history and debunk Russian propaganda myths about Ukraine. What starts as a simple day in the countryside turns into a journey through Ukraine’s past and present — proving that even the smallest villages and communities carry stories of independence that shatter Russian lies."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised his "productive meeting" with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, after which Trump appeared to jettison his long-held skepticism of Kyiv's battlefield ambitions. Shortly after the meeting, Trump wrote on social media, "After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form." (snip) But on Tuesday, the...