Total: 44 posts
Featured Reader Comment:
I am very proud to support The Counteroffensive team, and appreciate all the work you do to share the realities of living in such perilous times. I use the tip jar to help pad that subscription, because we need to offer the …
Ukraine’s business climate experienced a persistent slide between 2008 and 2019, characterized by a slowdown in new entrepreneurial activity, reduced competition, and increased dominance by large, inefficient companies, according to a new study.
To …
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers rejected a nominee to lead the economic crimes agency, drawing swift criticism from lawmakers and businesses over alleged interference in the selection process.
The agency, the Bureau of Economic Security, was …
A native of Donbas and veteran of Ukraine’s fiercest battles, Artem Karyakin, better known by his nom de guerre, Skhidnyi, offers his firsthand view from the front lines of the war. For years, he operated in secrecy as a spotter for Ukrainian …
When John Denton first visited Ukraine weeks into Russia’s full-scale invasion, he knew that for the country to survive, businesses needed to stay alive.
Denton is the secretary general of the world’s largest business organization, the International …
The United States is opposing a proposal by other Group of Seven nations to lower the price cap on Russian oil, Bloomberg reported on June 13.
Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg said the U.S. remains opposed to reducing the cap from $60 to $45 per …
Most Group of Seven (G7) nations are prepared to lower the Russian oil price cap from $60 to $45 a barrel even without support from the United States, Reuters reported on June 12, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
According to Reuters, …
The EU and Germany have topped up Ukraine’s Energy Efficiency Fund (EEF) with an additional 18 million euros ($20.7 million) to expand their support for Ukraine’s energy independence and green recovery, the EU Delegation to Ukraine said on June 11. …
In recent years, the Kremlin has sought to cast Russia as a bastion of so-called traditional values, positioning itself in stark contrast to what it describes as the morally decaying West. Yet beneath this veneer, a more complex reality persists. As …
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a growing debate has emerged over the cultural and political legacy of Russian literature — particularly the global reverence for classic Russian authors, which critics argue has …
Poland’s presidential race has never seen a first-round winner with so many reasons to worry, the far right so emboldened, and Ukraine so central to the campaign.
The June 1 run-off between Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski of the ruling Civic Platform …
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on May 27 that he will attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit scheduled to take place in Canada in June, Suspilne reported.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney invited Zelensky in March to attend the summit, …
In southern Ukraine, giant reeds are known to populate the wetlands, skirting the Black Sea and stretching from Odesa to Kherson and Mykolaiv. Hollow grasses as tall as seven meters, swaying and pliant, that were the raw materials for the kinds of …
The end of the European Union’s tariff-free trade preferences for Ukrainian agricultural products is more than just a policy change, it’s a wake-up call.
For years, the EU has served as the largest and most reliable market for Ukraine’s agricultural …
The 13th Book Arsenal festival, one of Ukraine’s premier interdisciplinary cultural events attracting voices from across the country and around the globe, will take place in Kyiv from May 29 to June 1.
Over the course of four days, the festival offers …
In early May, 64-year-old film critic and journalist Ekaterina Barabash made international headlines when it was revealed that she had pulled off a daring escape from house arrest in Russia and sought political asylum in France.
Barabash was put under …
For the first time in Ukraine's history, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence spy network operating in Zakarpattia. Experts believe that Budapest is no longer concealing its interests, prompting …
With the announcement that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been chosen as the new pope and leader of the Catholic Church, Ukrainians are wondering what the surprise appointment of the American-born pontiff will mean for their country.
Past …
Ukraine continues its gradual path toward membership in the European Union, but this path is accompanied by resistance, myths, and fears propagated by politicians and citizens of certain member states. The most significant concern lies in the …
Oil prices have slipped below $60 per barrel, adding pressure to a strained Russian economy. At the same time, China—Moscow’s largest trading partner—is locked in a high-stakes tariff war with the United States, triggered by the new U.S. …
Editor’s Note:
These six weeks tend to be the most difficult months for us financially.
Sadly, we’re seeing unsubscribes at a furious pace. Help us stop the slide: upgrade today to keep our journalism coming.
Biologist Svitozar Davydenko …
Editor’s note: We asked members of the Kyiv Independent community to share the questions they have about the war. Here’s what they asked and how we answered.
Join our community to ask a question in the next round.
Question: Is Ukraine …
The EU has introduced new sanctions against Belarus on March 27, in response to continued repression and the election of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko in January.
Lukashenko was inaugurated into his seventh consecutive term as President of …
The Ministry of Environmental Protection of Ukraine reported that “this year we are actively preparing for a bilateral meeting within the framework of the official screening between Ukraine and the European Commission under Chapter 27 “Environment …
In a revealing blog post, Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin might need to abandon some of his ambitious plans amid a fallout in Washington.
Despite a tense …
As Ukraine entered its fourth year of Russia’s full-scale war, it was geopolitics, not the war itself, that dominated headlines, as Kyiv’s relationship with new U.S. President Donald Trump nosedived over a proposed minerals deal.
In the meantime …
Feb. 24, 2025 marks three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Three years since Ukraine, and the world, ceased to exist as we knew them.
Kyiv Independent staff members have answered the question, “If you could go back in time, what …
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that the Kremlin shows no interest in pursuing peace in Ukraine, following a speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a closed-door session of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Johannesburg on …
Yuliya Navalnaya, widow of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Western leaders decried repression in Russia on Feb. 16, the anniversary of Navalny’s death.
Navalny, an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was …
After promising to quickly resolve the war in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump and his top officials’ actions on Feb. 12 appeared to undermine Ukraine’s leverage in peace talks, renewing fears that his plans for a quick resolution could amount to …
The European Union’s lending arm, the European Investment Bank (EIB), has signed agreements to mobilize close to 1 billion euros ($1.03 billion) in investments into Ukraine’s public and private sectors as the U.S. moves to cut funding to …
The European Union and NATO must strengthen cooperation to protect critical energy infrastructure from attacks, which pose a growing threat to European stability. The Kremlin, with its history of weaponizing energy, remains a prime suspect. NATO must …
A shocking series of sabotage acts in Germany has been traced back to Russian handlers, according to a report by Der Spiegel. The perpetrators damaged over 270 cars across various regions using construction foam, sticking decals featuring Economy …
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce on Feb. 4 that the United States will withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council and extend a freeze on funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, a White House official …
On the night of Dec. 15, 2024, two Russian oil tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, sank in the Kerch Strait, a narrow maritime connection between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, off the coast of occupied Crimea.
Both vessels were constructed …
Nearly three years into the war, Ukrainians have grown used to bracing for brutal winters with electricity blackouts and heating cuts from Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
This winter was predicted to be one of the toughest …
Over the last week, Ukraine House Davos opened its doors to world leaders and investors for the sixth year in a row during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
Ukraine House this year was adorned with the slogan “Your Country First, Win With Us.” …
OSCE observers not invited to monitor upcoming presidential election in Belarus.
Belarus to host over 13,000 Russian troops for Zapad-2025 joint military drills with Russia.
Belarus sentences EU diplomatic staffer to four years in prison. …
Editor’s Note: We aim to bring you stories about the war that no one else does.
Learning about Ukrainian society and culture is one way to make sure that people abroad don’t forget about what’s happening here. Support our mission? Upgrade now.
Editor’s Note: We believe in covering Ukraine not merely as a place where war is happening, but a place with a vibrant future just around the corner.
Share our long term optimism? And our vision of journalism as more than just a series of short-term …
Ukraine’s decision to end the gas transit deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom has been hailed by President Volodymyr Zelensky as one of Moscow’s biggest defeats.
“When (Russian President) Vladimir Putin was handed power in Russia over 25 …
The fuel spilled into the Black Sea by two Russian tankers last month could reach Ukraine’s southern coast in the Mykolaiv and Odesa oblasts, Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said on air on Jan. 9.
Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 suffered …
Germany imported at least 68.6 tons of uranium from Russia in 2024, according to data from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Climate Protection, as reported by Spiegel. This marks a 70% increase in imports of this resource …
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is determined to confront China economically and strategically. This is a difficult problem, because so many goods purchased in the United States have supply chains with deep roots in the Chinese manufacturing …
