Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on Sept. 28, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to The Counteroffensive, click here. Vira Lytvynenko hasn’t been able to bury her son since March 2022, when he was killed defending Ukraine against a Russian offensive near the Mariupol Drama Theater. Instead, she keeps his ashes at home. Even in the third year of Russia’s full-scale inva

Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on July 16, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. J.D. Vance’s selection as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s running mate is a disaster for Ukraine. "I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another," Vance, the then-U.S. Senate candidate said

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, volunteers from around the world have come to Ukraine to support the country’s struggle. They have not only joined the foreign battalions to fight on the front line but have also helped various volunteer initiatives: from weaving camouflage nets for the Ukrainian military to rescuing animals from the most affected areas. These volunteers have witnessed firsthand how Ukraine endures the invasion, and have shared the experiences of ordinary Ukr

Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on May 30, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. Nataliia Kalinichenko treasures her newspaper archives, with clippings dating back to the 1940s, more than her own life. As Russia launched a new offensive in Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast in early May, rockets struck just 300 meters from her newspaper office