July 29, 2025 12:01am

Ben Borges

Explosions and fires were reported in Donetsk, followed by a blackout amid an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the occupied city just before midnight on July 28.

July 28, 2025 10:16pm

Ben Borges

“Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) signed an additional Hr 158 billion ($3.8 billion) in contracts with domestic weapons manufacturers in the first six months of 2025, compared to the same period last year, the Defense Ministry announced on July 28."

July 28, 2025 10:14pm

Ben Borges

Ukraine and other non-EU countries in Europe are welcome to begin negotiations to join the bloc’s new IRIS-2 secure satellite communication program, European Defense and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said in an interview published July 28.

July 28, 2025 9:04pm

Ben Borges

Key developments on July 27:

• 'I already know the answer' — Trump to shorten Ukraine deadline for Putin to 10–12 days
• Ukraine to receive 11 more IRIS-T air defense systems from Germany, ambassador says
• Ukraine has exchanged over 5,850 captives held by Russia since 2022,

July 28, 2025 8:42pm

Ben Borges

Amid the heavy strain of Russian attacks and anti-corruption protests, a festival organized by Georgians and Ukrainians brought much-needed respite and solidarity to Kyiv.

Over the weekend of July 25-27, thousands of people danced their way through the ICKPA (meaning “Spark” in Ukrainian) electronic music festival, which returned

July 28, 2025 8:28pm

Ben Borges

Videos and social media posts circulating online impersonate the Kyiv Independent’s branding, falsely claiming that President Volodymyr Zelensky has imposed sanctions on a list of American citizens, such as Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., Elbridge Colby, Mike Flynn, and Senator Mike Lee.

July 28, 2025 7:54pm

Ben Borges

The 26th Artillery Brigade has officially entered service with the 16th Army Corps of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, also referred to as the Kharkiv Army Corps. The announcement was made…

Source

July 28, 2025 7:50pm

Ben Borges

Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) explained that under its host-state agreement, it is obliged to facilitate the participation of official delegates in international events held on Swiss territory.

July 28, 2025 7:29pm

Ben Borges

A U.S. company is among several worldwide that have sold U.S.-made pickup trucks to Russia, despite U.S. sanction restrictions prohibiting the sale of such vehicles to the country, the Kyiv Independent can reveal.

Further, one type of vehicle in particular — Ram 1500 pickup trucks —

July 28, 2025 6:29pm

Ben Borges

“This is a serious and unacceptable incident,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. “That message has been clearly communicated to the Russian charge d’affaires."

July 28, 2025 5:57pm

Ben Borges

As Ukraine continues its long-range drone campaign, major airports across Russia have been repeatedly forced to suspend operations, reroute flights, and ground aircraft.

In July alone, nearly every day of the month, at least one formally operating Russian airport shut down temporarily.

Hundreds of domestic and international flights were canceled

July 28, 2025 5:50pm

Ben Borges

North Korean troops had fought alongside Russia since late 2024. They saw combat in Russia's Kursk Oblast but didn't cross into Ukraine.

That might soon change. Ukrainian officials assess that North Korea has additionally deployed 20,000 to 30,000 troops to Russia, though the number

July 28, 2025 4:51pm

Ben Borges

Three years ago, on the night of July 28-29, 2022, Russians blew up a barrack in the penal colony in Olenivka, killing over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and injuring around 130.

The victims were soldiers of the Azov Brigade who had defended Mariupol and left the Azovstal plant

July 28, 2025 4:46pm

Ben Borges

“Each system currently produced for Ukraine includes three medium-range SLM launchers, and two short-range SLS launchers, as part of a unified complex,” Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev said.