‘Absolutely unacceptable’ — Appointment of Ukrainian judge who visited occupied Crimea, Russia triggers criticism

The decision highlights the continued presence of officials with ties to Russia in the Ukrainian government.

Will Transnistria's gas crisis lead to its collapse and reintegration into Moldova?

By halting natural gas supplies to Moldova on Jan. 1, Russia created an unprecedented economic crisis in the Russian-occupied part of the country — Transnistria. The crisis prompted a question: will the breakaway region, occupied by Russia since 1992, survive without Russian gas? Free-of-charge Russian gas had been the backbone of

Vladimir Putin's 25-year-long reign over Russia in photos

Russian President Boris Yeltsin officially resigned on Dec. 31, 1999, anointing Vladimir Putin, then prime minister, as his successor. Partially due to his hardline stance against terrorism and the successful conduct of the Second Chechen War, Putin won the March 26, 2000 presidential elections. He has held on to power

Azerbaijan Airlines crash highlights Russia's failure to close airspace amid war

The Dec. 25 Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, likely caused by Russian air defense, shines light on a glaring issue the Kremlin has long swept under the rug. By unleashing its war against Ukraine, Russia has made its airspace a dangerous place. While Ukraine banned civilian flights over its territory hours

Assassinations of pro-war figures seek to demoralize Russia, punish war criminals

The Dec. 17 killing of Russian Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov in Moscow — reportedly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) — is the most high-profile assassination of a Russian military official to date. It's not the first one, however. Military officials, propagandists, and those seen as collaborators by Kyiv have been assassinated

How Kadyrov became so powerful, and why Chechnya remains vital for survival of Putin's regime

In December 1994, Russian troops launched a brutal and eventually unsuccessful military campaign against Chechen rebels, effectively beginning the First Chechen War. Thirty years later and two wars since, Chechnya, under strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, has become a key pillar of Russian President Vladimir Putin's oppressive regime. After losing the first

What does Assad’s downfall mean for Russia and Ukraine?

As Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime collapsed in a matter of days, Russia's influence in the Middle East appeared to wane. Preoccupied with its all-out war against Ukraine, Russia was unable to prevent the Dec. 8 downfall of its main ally in the region. The stunning rapidity of the rebels'

Could Ukraine build a nuclear bomb? We asked an expert

The Kyiv Independent’s reporter Oleg Sukhov sat down with Robert Kelley to discuss whether the weapon Ukraine gave up would be of much use now and if the country still has the capacity to produce a nuclear device.

Fall of Aleppo deals blow to Russia's Middle East clout, may indirectly strengthen Ukraine's hand

The shock capture of Aleppo by Syrian forces opposed to Bashar al-Assad in recent days has dealt a humiliating blow to the regime and its backers, Russia and Iran, analysts have told the Kyiv Independent. The surprise offensive has also indirectly helped Ukraine, analysts say. "This is really quite the

Trump's pick for Ukraine envoy backs 'peace through strength,' security guarantees

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's Nov. 27 decision to choose Keith Kellogg as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia is not ideal for Kyiv but is an acceptable and reasonable choice for Ukraine, analysts say. Kellogg has co-authored a peace plan that would freeze the front line in Ukraine,

Can Russia sustain its war effort as ruble plummets, inflation soars?

With the purchasing power of the Russian ruble hitting the lowest point since March 2022, the economic toll of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine becomes glaring. Russia's expanding spending on the war has fueled inflation, prompting Russia's Central Bank to hike its interest rate to the highest level since the

Ukraine aid key to battling Russian invasion — Can Europe fill the gap if Trump pulls the plug?

Amid rising fears of U.S. aid being cut off under a second Donald Trump presidency, Ukrainians are left wondering whether Europe can rise to the challenge and fill the gap. Trump has promised to swiftly end Russia's war against Ukraine, speaking highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin and making

What do Trump’s first team picks mean for Ukraine?

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's first team picks have both positive and negative implications for Ukraine, with Kyiv left guessing what kind of policy they will pursue, according to Ukrainian and Western analysts. Some appointments seem to lean in Kyiv’s favor, while others hint at a more Moscow-friendly stance.

Will Ukraine develop its own nuclear weapons?

Amid the looming risk that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may pull the plug on Washington's support for Ukraine, Kyiv has begun to flirt with the option of nuclear deterrence. The prospect of such a scenario was raised weeks earlier when President Volodymyr Zelensky in October said he had told

Zelensky used talk with Trump about nuclear weapons as leverage before crucial US election, analysts say

With Ukraine's future hanging in the balance ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, Ukraine’s president turned up the heat, invoking the specter of nuclear weapons to nudge whoever lands in the Oval Office toward offering more conventional weaponry and robust security guarantees to Kyiv. Volodymyr Zelensky

Harris or Trump — Ukraine braces for best, worst-case scenarios as US elects new president

As Americans head to the polls on Nov. 5, Ukraine is nervously watching the elections being held by its top Western ally as the outcome could determine the country’s fate in its fight against Russia’s almost three-year-old full-scale invasion. The two candidates' pre-election positions on continuing to support

14 essential Kyiv Independent stories about the US presidential election

Voting in arguably one of the most consequential elections of modern times is set to conclude on Nov. 5, as U.S. citizens will pick their country's 47th president. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump enter the home stretch neck-and-neck, according to recent polls, with neither

Georgia sinks deeper into Russian-style authoritarianism amid stolen election allegations

Georgia's Oct. 26 parliamentary election presented a clear geopolitical choice for the country’s voters, but criticism is mounting that the ruling regime stole the vote. After years of vacillating between the West and Russia and paying lip service to European integration, the country's ruling Georgian Dream party began to

Why did Ukraine's prosecutor general resign, and who will replace him?

The formal reason for Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin's resignation on Oct. 22 was the ongoing major corruption scandal involving hundreds of prosecutors who obtained disability benefits, including financial support, the ability to evade the military draft and leave the country at will. A crucial question is whether Kostin's resignation will

Ukraine's victory plan — what to expect as Zelensky unveils Kyiv's strategy

"I think part will be declassified, and the other part will be present to the leaders of (parliamentary groups)," David Arakhamia, the leader of Zelensky's Servant of the People parliamentary group, said in comments for the Kyiv Independent.

Russia’s milbloggers celebrate executions of Ukrainian POWs in Kursk region

Russian pro-war milbloggers have reacted to yet more reports of Ukrainian POWs being executed by Moscow’s forces by seeking to justify the killings, while some have even called for more. In the latest case of what appears to be an increasingly common occurrence, Russian troops reportedly shot dead nine

Woodward revelations deepen debate on whether Trump will sell out Ukraine to Kremlin

As the Nov. 5 presidential election in the U.S. approaches, debate is intensifying over whether one of the two potential winners, Donald Trump, will act in the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Although discussions on the topic have raged since Trump’s first presidency, they accelerated this week

Putin delays new mobilization, despite Kursk incursion exposing troop shortages

Amid speculation that the Kremlin is considering a new mobilization of conscripts, some potential draftees say they are not enthusiastic about defending Russian territory just over a month after the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast. "I won't go (to the front). I swore an oath to the Constitution, not to

Ukrainian drones strike deeper into Russia, aiming to break war machine, sow discontent

Just before sunrise on an otherwise sleepy weekend near Moscow, a Russian eyewitness of Ukraine’s kamikaze drone attack on the Kashira Power Plant appeared stunned, unleashing an expletive-laden tirade with his wife alongside. "They f***g attacked the power plant! Wow, honey!" he said in a video posted on

Top Ukrainian anti-corruption official fired over pressure on whistleblower

Gizo Uglava, the second-in-command at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), has been fired following a probe into his alleged pressure on a whistleblower, the bureau said on Sept. 3. Semen Kryvonos, head of the NABU, dismissed his first deputy chief Uglava for violating a public servant's oath, ethics

NABU scandal deepens: Deputy chief slams boss after recommendation on his ouster

The future of Ukraine's top anti-corruption agency hung in the balance as its second-in-command lashed out at his boss after a disciplinary commission recommended firing or reprimanding him. Gizo Uglava, first deputy chief of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), continued to deny accusations of wrongdoing as he claimed

Kursk incursion ‘breaks’ Russia's attempts to dictate peace terms, boosts Ukraine’s leverage

Ukraine’s surprise invasion of Russia’s Kursk Oblast has derailed Russia's plans to dictate a peace deal on its terms and strengthened Ukraine's hand in any future negotiations, Ukrainian officials and analysts say. “We must force Russia, with all our might and together with our partners, to make peace,

Kursk incursion deals blow to Putin’s prestige marking first ground invasion of Russia since World War II

The 1,000 square kilometers Ukraine says it controls in Russia's Kursk Oblast amounts to a tiny share of Russia’s massive terrain. Yet, politically, the surprise Ukrainian move poses one of the biggest challenges to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. The stunning operation, conducted by Ukraine’

Pro-Ukraine lobbying efforts bet on Trump pivot to look tough on Putin

The new role of Kellyanne Conway, a former top White House official and advisor to Donald Trump, as a lobbyist to boost support for Ukraine highlights hopes in Kyiv that the Republican Party’s presidential candidate can be swayed to take Ukraine’s side — and benefit politically from it. According

With a Trump victory more likely, Ukraine launches charm offensive

Top anti-corruption official promises results of probe into whistleblower scandal this week

An internal probe into alleged pressure on a whistleblower at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine will be completed this week, Semen Kryvonos, chief of the anti-graft agency also known by its acronym NABU, told a parliamentary committee probing the affair. "The deadline (for the probe into the pressure on

Ukraine and its soldiers weigh in on whether Biden should step aside

Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names only. As calls mount for U.S. President Joe Biden to step aside in the upcoming presidential election among Democratic party allies in Washington, Ukrainian soldiers more