
Team

Olena Goncharova
Head of North America deskOlena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Articles

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump has seen "not enough interest and enough action" from Russia to advance toward peace.

Russia hits Kharkiv Oblast with new rocket-powered guided bomb for first time
The attack took place at around 5:40 p.m. local time, hitting a residential neighborhood and damaging homes and outbuildings.

Austria drops objections, paves way for EU’s 19th Russia sanctions package
Vienna had previously held up the sanctions over a demand that the EU compensate Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International for losses inflicted by Russian penalties.

Trump says Putin should 'do something' to end war in Ukraine, cites 'a million and a half' Russian losses
"I mean, I had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin, but he just doesn’t want to end that war," Trump said during a meeting with Argentina's President Javier Milei on Oct. 14.

US Treasury Secretary meets Ukraine’s prime minister, pledges stronger pressure on Russia
The meeting comes as a Ukrainian delegation — also including top presidential aide Andriy Yermak and Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov — holds high-level talks with U.S. officials on defense, energy resilience, and sanctions.

Putin eases fuel subsidy rules as Ukrainian strikes hit Russian refineries
The changes, published on Oct. 12, allow refineries to keep receiving government payments even if wholesale prices for gasoline and diesel exceed the thresholds set under existing rules.

Zelensky says Trump could 'pressure Putin to stop war' following Gaza ceasefire agreement
President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News he sees hope that U.S. President Donald Trump can use the same pressure tactics he applied in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to push Russia toward peace in Ukraine.

'Very dramatic moment' — Moscow concerned over possible Tomahawk missiles supplies to Ukraine
"The topic of Tomahawks is of extreme concern," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Oct. 12. "Just imagine: a long-range missile is launched and is flying and we know that it could be nuclear."

SBU records nearly 50,000 Shahed drone launches against Ukraine since 2022
Russia has often used Shahed drones against non-military targets, destroying or damaging residential buildings and other civilian facilities protected under international humanitarian law.

US reportedly deploys submarine-hunting aircraft to Norway amid rising tensions in Baltic region
The P-8, designed for anti-submarine warfare, surface surveillance, and intelligence gathering, was photographed at Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport on Sept. 23.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant facing 'critical' situation after weeklong outage, Zelensky warns
Zelensky accused Moscow of obstructing the repair of the power lines through continued shelling: "And this is a threat to absolutely everyone. No terrorist in the world has ever dared to do to a nuclear plant what Russia is doing right now."

Hungary, Slovakia push back against EU plan to phase out Russian energy
Speaking at the 130th anniversary of the Maria Valeria Bridge, which links Sturovo, Slovakia, and Esztergom, Hungary, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said: "No one should tell us where to buy oil and gas from."

Sandu’s pro-European party takes majority in Moldovan parliamentary elections
The EU had warned that Moldova was facing "an unprecedented campaign of disinformation" from Russia ahead of the election.

Russia fails to regain seat on UN aviation body amid EU opposition over Ukraine war, MH17 case
Moscow immediately demanded a "repeat round of voting" after failing to garner the support needed to return to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) 36-member council.

Drone scare halts flights at Amsterdam's Schiphol as Zelensky says Russia probing Europe’s defenses
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, a military police force, later said its investigation found no drone on radar and concluded the object was likely a balloon.
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