Amy B. Zegart
Sergei Zharnovnikov, a 46-year-old citizen of Kyrgyzstan, pleaded guilty in New York federal court on June 25 to a conspiracy to illegally export U.S.-made firearms to Russia and smuggling, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
According to the …
Au cœur des démocraties libérales, la liberté d’opinion demeure un pilier intangible. Mais c’est précisément cette valeur, socle du débat public ouvert, que certains États malveillants exploitent désormais à des fins d’ingérence. Plutôt que de …
Editor’s note: This is issue 31 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly “Ukraine Reforms Tracker” covering events from June 17–June 24, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, …
More than 20,000 Russian soldiers have been prosecuted for refusing to fight in Ukraine, a Russian independent media outlet Mediazona reported on June 26, citing online data from military courts.
As of late May, Mediazona had documented 20,538 such …
Despite suffering over 1 million casualties, pounding Ukrainian cities nightly with missiles and drones, and committing countless war crimes, one startling fact about Russia’s full-scale invasion remains — Moscow has yet to officially declare …
The Kyiv Independent has officially reached 20,000 paying members, becoming the first Ukrainian media outlet in history to cross this milestone.
This is not just a number — it’s a reminder that people around the world believe in the importance of …
Editor’s note: This article originated as a winning story idea in a vote by members of the Kyiv Independent’s community. Join our community today and join our exclusive members-only Discord channel, where you can discuss and suggest stories, ask our …
Ukraine has brought home a group of soldiers released from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 26, marking yet another in a recent series of exchanges with Moscow.
“Today, soldiers of the Armed Forces, the National …
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is working to organize a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with U.S. President Donald Trump potentially joining the talks, Reuters reported.
Speaking …
North Korea is likely to send more troops to Russia as early as July or August to bolster Moscow’s war effort against Ukraine, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said during a closed-door briefing, Yonhap reported on June …
Ukraine has halted Russia’s advance in Sumy Oblast, stabilizing the front line and blunting the momentum of Moscow’s summer offensive, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on June 26.
“Based on the results of May and June, we …
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — As NATO leaders convened in The Hague for a two-day summit on June 24–25, allies and Kyiv braced for the first annual meeting since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to office.
With the Israel-Iranian conflict dominating …
Hungary’s government announced on June 26 that 95% of participants in a national consultation opposed Ukraine’s accession to the EU, Hungarian news outlet Telex reported.
The poll, promoted by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s …
Russia appears to have provided North Korea with extensive assistance in designing and rapidly constructing two advanced destroyers, the most modern in Pyongyang’s fleet, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on June 25.
The destroyers, part of …
U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed defense budget for fiscal year 2026 prioritizes drones and long-range missile systems over traditional air and naval platforms, Reuters reported on June 26.
The $892.6 billion request maintains the overall …
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told U.S. President Donald Trump that the determination shown by the U.S. toward Iran should also be applied to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, she said on June 25 on the sidelines of the NATO summit …
Russia has lost 1,015,750 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 26.
The number includes 1,100 casualties that Russian forces suffered just …
A Russian military court has convicted 184 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) captured in Kursk Oblast of acts of terrorism, Mediazona reported on June 25.
Ukraine first launched a surprise offensive into Russia’s Kursk Oblast in August 2024. …
Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Explosions were reported in Moscow overnight on June 26, with Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claiming two drones were shot down by air defenses.
Two drones were shot down, Sobyanin said, …
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio surprised NATO allies this week with conflicting messages on Russia sanctions, delivering a tougher stance in private than in his public remarks, POLITICO reported on June 25.
Rubio met with NATO foreign …
