For nearly a week, Ukraine was left in the dark by its once-close ally, deprived of American intelligence as Russia advanced. Civilians suffered missile and drone attacks, while the military faced Russian offensives. All of this was aimed at forcing Ukraine into a "peace" agreement. "(With U.S. President Donald Trump), there is a swing that goes back and forth. To be honest, I don't know what will happen next,"said Maksym*, a Ukrainian soldier working with intelligence. After a weeklong pause,

Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on Nov. 23, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to The Counteroffensive, click here. For a brief period just over 30 years ago, Ukraine possessed the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Its missiles could reach targets more than 10,000 kilometers away in just 25 minutes. But in 1994, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the newl

Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on Aug. 20, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. An isolated land in the East is shrouded in darkness. An evil lord, worshiped as a deity, rules over it. Those who serve him live only for war, bringing nothing but death and destruction. Ukrainians may associate this description with Russia, but it’s

Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on June 23, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. *Sofia’s name has been changed due to security concerns. They call it the gray zone: a two-kilometer stretch of road contested by both Russian and Ukrainian forces but controlled by neither. Thirty-thousand civilians have braved this treacherous path f

Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on May 20, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. When Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine began, Anastasia Boyko considered fleeing Ukraine to keep her three-month-old baby safe. She instead decided to help Ukraine's war effort using her great-grandmother's love of embroidery. Generations of women