As Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine drags into its fourth year — leaving behind more destruction, more death, and deeper trauma — the global conversation is shifting. The world’s leading democracies are preoccupied with their own internal crises, some slipping toward authoritarianism, others consumed by political division. As global attention drifts elsewhere, Ukraine’s story is once again being pushed to the sidelines. We cannot let that happen. At The Kyiv Independent, we’re working to en

As we mark 1,000 days since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, members of the Kyiv Independent’s staff have paused to reflect. These reflections offer a glimpse into the profound impact of war — not only on a nation’s struggle for survival but on those who bear witness to its unfolding. Francis Farrell War reporter Although I was in Lviv when the full-scale war started, the first months of the war were something I experienced mostly from the outside — through news, at a safe

“Do you cooperate with independent Russian journalists to reach a Russian audience?” We at the Kyiv Independent hear variations of this question at every event we attend, and the audience rarely likes our answer: “No, we don’t; we don’t see the point.” A beautiful room in the old building of New York’s Ukrainian Institute of America is full of friendly faces. People are wearing vyshyvankas, traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts, and Ukrainian flag pins. It’s Feb. 24, 2024 – the second anniv

On the morning of Feb. 24, when Ukraine woke up in terror to the sounds of explosions and air raid alert sirens, many Ukrainians had to figure out what to do next or how to help Ukraine. I didn’t have to. I knew what we at the Kyiv Independent were going to do. On that day, we switched our website to 24/7 news coverage and launched on several additional platforms. We were understaffed, with just enough money raised to sustain us for another half a year or so. But we also knew we had to do whate

Russian forces have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, killing at least 198 people so far. Multiple Ukrainian cities and villages were shelled, attacked with missiles, helicopters, tanks and ships, while ground forces have begun invading multiple parts of the country. The following is a live blog of the Russian attacks on the fourth day of the invasion, Feb. 27. (Live blogs from previous days: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.) This live blog has wrapped up. Please continue following our

Russian forces have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, killing 137 people on the first day, as they pushed in from multiple directions. Multiple Ukrainian cities and villages were shelled, attacked with missiles, helicopters, tanks and ships, while ground forces have begun invading multiple parts of the country. The following is a live blog of the Russian attacks on the second day of the invasion, Feb. 25. (See the first day here). 8 p.m. Kyiv: A series of loud explosions i