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Francis Farrell photo

Francis Farrell

Reporter

Francis Farrell is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He has worked as managing editor at the online media project Lossi 36, and as a freelance journalist and documentary photographer. He has previously worked in OSCE and Council of Europe field missions in Albania and Ukraine, and is an alumnus of Leiden University in The Hague and University College London. The Kyiv Independent received a grant from the Charles Douglas-Home Memorial Trust to support Farrell's front-line reporting for the year 2024-2025. Francis is the co-author of War Notes, the Kyiv Independent's weekly newsletter about the war.

[email protected]

Articles

Field report

How medics of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade deal with horrors of drone warfare

by Francis Farrell
Editor's Note: Due to the security protocols of the brigade featured in this story, Ukrainian soldiers and military medics mentioned are identified by their callsigns only. KHARKIV OBLAST – As is usually the case at stabilization points across Ukraine in the fourth year of Russia's full-scale war, peak hour for the arrival of the wounded comes at sunset. Three members of one of the heavy bomber drone teams have been evacuated, two of whom are carrying nasty burns after their dugout was spotted
Video

One night with 3rd Assault Brigade medics in a new age of war

by Francis Farrell, Olena Zashko
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko spent a night at the stabilization point of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, one of Ukraine’s most battle-hardened units now fighting in Kharkiv Oblast. As drones reshape modern warfare, medics face mounting challenges: evacuations get harder and slower, turning survivable wounds into potentially fatal ones.
Video

Crunch time for Republicans on Ukraine, says ex-US State Senator

by Francis Farrell, Olena Zashko, Alexander Zabolotnyi, Vladyslav Samusenko
The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell sits down with retired U.S. Army officer and former Nebraska State Senator Tom Brewer in the front-line city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, to discuss U.S.-Ukraine relations under the Trump administration, why Nebraska is interested in Ukraine's post-war recovery and why it's important for U.S. politicians to visit Ukraine to counter myths by Russian propaganda.
Trump & Ukraine

Trump said Ukraine 'will be crushed very shortly' — this is why he's wrong

by Chris York, Asami Terajima, Francis Farrell
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he believes Ukraine will be "crushed very shortly," as it is up against Russia's "big war machine" that it cannot defeat. "I think I'm saving that nation. I think I'm doing a great service to Ukraine. I believe that," he said in an interview with The Atlantic published April 28. Trump's comments come as his administration's self-declared deadline of 100 days to end the war in Ukraine approaches this week, with the goal still a long way from completion. In
War analysis

Ukraine to continue fighting with or without Trump, experts say

by Asami Terajima, Francis Farrell
Russia is waging small-scale assaults across the entire front, but the situation on the battlefield is nowhere near bad enough for Ukraine to be forced into an unfavorable peace deal, military analysts and soldiers told the Kyiv Independent. Since Ukraine announced the start of the Russian spring offensive in early April, Moscow has made "incremental gains" in multiple sectors of the front at a high cost, but achieving a breakthrough seems unlikely. Russia's bogged-down progress on the battlef
News Feed

'They're hitting us with everything' — No sign of Russia's Easter 'truce,' Ukrainian soldiers say

by Kate Tsurkan, Francis Farrell, Yuliia Taradiuk
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an Easter truce starting on April 19, claiming that it would "test Ukraine's sincerity in pursuing peace talks,"  but across the front line, Ukrainian soldiers have told the Kyiv Independent they have yet to see any sign of it. The "Easter ceasefire" was supposed to come into effect at 6 p.m. on April 19 and last until midnight on April 21. However, Russian FPV drone strikes have caused multiple civilian casualties in Kherson, a volunteer involved in
War analysis

‘Putin believes he has the upper hand’ — Ukraine braces for a new Russian spring offensive

by Francis Farrell
In a way unseen since the start of the full-scale invasion, the daily grind of the front line in Russia's war against Ukraine has taken the back seat in world headlines. The dizzying U.S. President Donald Trump-led attempts to negotiate peace in the world arena dominate the news cycle instead. But as the world reacts to each new mineral deal draft, Saudi-hosted meeting, or aggressive tweet, Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian lines on a daily basis across the front line. Over March, R
Interview

‘We're talking naval, air and land’ – Lithuanian foreign minister on the ‘Coalition of the Willing’

by Francis Farrell
Since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January and launched a new effort to reach peace between Russia and Ukraine, turning American foreign policy upside down, Europe has been hit with a clear message: the age of the U.S. as a guarantor of European security is over. Lithuania, which faces its own very immediate security threat from Russia’s appetite for conquest in Europe together with the degradation of confidence in NATO’s Article 5, has taken the lead in pushing for a stron
Video

Lithuanian FM on Europe's role in ending Russia's war

by Francis Farrell, Nick Allard
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell sat down with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys during his visit to Kyiv on April 1 to discuss the future of Europe during U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, whether European sanctions remain an effective instrument to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine, and Lithuania's contribution to the "coalition of the willing."
Video

Azov ex-commander on the need to reform Ukraine's army

by Francis Farrell, Nick Allard, Alexander Zabolotnyi
The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell sits down with the former commander of Ukraine's Azov Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Krotevych, to discuss the situation on the front line after three years of Russia's full-scale war, why he thinks Ukraine should change its culture of military leadership, why the U.S. army doctrine wouldn't work for Russia's war against Ukraine, and shares his takes on Russia's next steps after a potential ceasefire.
War analysis

As Ukraine’s fate hangs in the balance, ‘Soviet’ command culture damages war effort

by Natalia Yermak, Francis Farrell
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the official response to the Kyiv Independent from Ukraine's General Staff, which came a few days after initial publication. Last February, a Ukrainian company commander going by his callsign Veter was ordered to send his people to reinforce another unit’s position over the next few hours. He was told that four National Guardsmen were holding the position on the other side of the village they were defending in Ukraine’s east. But when Vet
Ukrainian soldiers

We asked Ukrainian soldiers if they’d fight Russia ‘with their bare hands’ rather than accept a bad ceasefire

by Chris York, Yuliia Taradiuk, Francis Farrell, Kollen Post
CIA Director John Ratcliffe on March 25 gave a rousing assessment of Kyiv's desire to achieve an acceptable and lasting peace in Ukraine, insisting its people and armed forces would fight Russia with "their bare hands" if they had to. "I want to say that with regard to the Ukrainian resistance, the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian military have been underestimated for a period of several years now," Ratcliffe said. "From my reflections in observing, from an intelligence standpoint, I'm convi
Video

Inside Ukraine's desperate fight to stabilize Donbas front

by Francis Farrell, Olena Zashko
Amid the escalating geopolitical circus, Ukrainian soldiers fighting in between order and chaos assert that the only way to stop Russia remains on the battlefield. The Kyiv Independent spent two weeks in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove sectors of the front line in Donetsk Oblast, speaking to infantry and artillery commanders, medics, and the civilians now coming into Russia's line of fire.

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