Key findings: * Despite international sanctions, Russia's strategic missile plant was able to import complex machinery to dramatically increase missile production. * The Kyiv Independent has identified the equipment supplied to the plant, as well as the supply chains, mostly from China. * We located the plant's new premises, built to house the
In the video, Russian activist Anna Kiryakova reads from a book of poetry that glorifies her country’s war against Ukraine. The anthology’s title — “Poetry of the Russian Winter” — is written with the Latin Z in place of its Russian analog. The inclusion of that one letter aligns the
Dmytro Bodyu, a U.S. citizen and the pastor of the "Word of Life" Pentecostal Church in Russian-occupied Melitopol, was detained by Russians in March 2022. During his detention, he was accused of working for the CIA and received death threats from the Russian military. Only an intervention by the
Editor's note: This story is based on the Kyiv Independent's investigative documentary, "Curated Theft" – watch it in English here, for free. As Ukraine's liberating forces advanced in the fall of 2022, several trucks stopped near the rear yard of the Kherson Local History Museum. Inside the building itself, dozens of
On March 29, the sanctioned Russia-flagged vessel Sv. Nikolay quietly docked at the Algerian port of Annaba near the coal terminal, waiting to be unloaded. The metallurgical coke the ship was carrying — a key ingredient in steelmaking produced from coal — had been stolen. The Kyiv Independent traced the vessel’s
On a Sunday afternoon in mid-February, a small but politically charged event took place in the heart of Amsterdam. A group of eight people gathered for a photo-op protest on the city’s Dam Square holding placards that called for an end to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine and the
The Kyiv Independent's Alisa Yurchenko went undercover as a representative of a Russian defense manufacturer to try buying American chips through Russian suppliers. Our investigation reveals how China helps Russia obtain the Western weapon components through gray import schemes.
Despite bans put in place by the U.S. and Europe on the supply of electronic components to Russia, dozens of Russian microelectronics suppliers continue to obtain and resell imported chips to Russian arms manufacturers successfully. Without these Western chips, Russia would not be able to produce key weapons — like
According to an investigation by the Kyiv Independent, the Russian military interfered with the work of locals who were evacuating people from the flooded areas on their own — their boats were confiscated, while the volunteers were threatened and forced to stop their efforts.
The Kyiv Independent analyzed leaked emails of a Russian defense company revealing Russia’s arms trade after the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The letters confirm that Russia continued to fulfill a huge contract signed shortly before the attack on Ukraine to supply its air defense systems and missiles to Saudi Arabia.
Few agreements are shrouded in more secrecy than inter-government arms deals — especially when one of the parties is a global pariah leading a bloody war. But a recent massive leak of emails and documents has given us an unprecedented glimpse into a particularly secretive transaction. The leak reveals that Saudi
During the occupation of Kharkiv Oblast in 2022, Russian forces established nearly 30 torture chambers in various parts of the region. This story focuses on just one of them — the torture chamber at the Vovchansk Aggregate Plant.
The collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria following a lightning rebel offensive in November has shaken Assad-ally Russia’s near-decade of influence in the country. It has also had one other lesser-known consequence: disrupting Moscow’s ability to recruit Syrian fighters for its war in Ukraine. The Kyiv
Ukrainian law enforcement agents have charged a platoon commander of Ukraine's 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade with abuse of authority, accusing the individual of beating and humiliating subordinates, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Dec. 26.
An American-made HIMARS artillery system races down a Ukrainian road as a kamikaze drone hunts it down. The drone flies into the vehicle, followed by an explosion. The scene was caught on video by a Russian reconnaissance drone in mid-November. The drone that hit the HIMARS was a Lancet — one
Warning: This article contains graphic photos and descriptions of graphic scenes. A decomposed human hand with the remains of flesh, bleak and brown save for one splash of color — two thin blue-yellow rubber bracelets. The colors of the Ukrainian national flag. The hand was from a body of the hundreds
On the morning of Nov. 20, 2023, Russians came to Raisa Rusnak’s home, looking for her 28-year-old son Ruslan. Four masked men threw him onto the ground and began beating him. "Guys, what have I done to you? What do you want from me?" Ruslan shouted. Those were the
The Kyiv Independent fills in the gaps in the story of Sergey Korolev, Vladimir Putin’s second-main spy chief, stripping him of a significant portion of his long-lived anonymity.
Key findings: * International sanctions lists contain mistakes in key identifying data of Sergey Korolev, deputy head of Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). * The European Union and Swiss sanctions list the incorrect date of birth of Korolev. Almost all other sanctions lists don’t include the most likely spelling of his
Editor’s Note: This is the third part of the Kyiv Independent’s investigation into the International Legion – a military formation created for foreign fighters defending Ukraine. Published in August 2022, the first part revealed leadership misconduct in the military-intelligence-led wing of the Legion. The second part, published in November
Editor’s Note: This story was produced in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption and Reporting Project (OCCRP) and is published by both organizations. The story is based on the Kyiv Independent’s latest investigative documentary, “He Came Back.” The day after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine,
The Kyiv Independent's journalists have identified two Russian soldiers who were involved in the rape of two women during the occupation of Kyiv and Kherson oblasts in March 2022. The findings have served as the basis for the Kyiv Independent's documentary about Russian sexual violence in occupied parts of Ukraine
Editor's Note: The story is based on the documentary "Destroy, in Whole or in Part," published by the Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigations Unit. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed thousands of crimes in Ukraine. Ivan Vyhivskyi, the National Police head, said that Kyiv is investigating
Editor’s Note: This story is based on dozens of interviews with Ukrainian active servicemen, veterans, and experts with knowledge of Ukraine’s military medical system. Some of the soldiers and veterans in the story are identified by their first name or callsign only because they fear retribution as they
Editor's note: This investigation, based on leaks obtained by Delfi Estonia and compiled for a joint investigation with VSquare and Frontstory.pl, Expressen, Meduza and iStories, Paper Trail Media, Der Spiegel and ZDF, Der Standard, and Tamedia publications, has been republished by the Kyiv Independent with VSquare's permission. “I will
Welcome to Investigative Stories from Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent's newsletter that walks you through the most prominent investigations of the past week. If you are fond of in-depth journalism that exposes war crimes, corruption, and abuse of power across state organizations in Ukraine and beyond, subscribe to our investigative newsletter.
Welcome to Investigative Stories from Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent's newsletter that walks you through the most prominent investigations of the past week. If you are fond of in-depth journalism that exposes war crimes, corruption, and abuse of power across state organizations in Ukraine and beyond, subscribe to our investigative newsletter.
TOP FINDINGS: * An apparent Russian state-aligned group is targeting Ukraine’s International Legion in a disinformation campaign * The Kyiv Independent obtained and analyzed exclusive video that shows the group used doctored footage to pose as the Ukrainian ex-president on a Zoom call that took place in early January * Legion members
Kyrgyz authorities ordered the detention of 11 independent journalists and conducted searches of their homes on Tuesday. According to attorney Zamir Zhooshev, the journalists are now held in custody for 48 hours, before the court decides to release them or to extend the detention.
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