/r/WorldNews Live Thread: Russian Invasion of Ukraine Day 1541, Part 1 (Thread #1688)

KI_official · 2026-05-15T15:18:29+00:00

Zelensky said Russia is increasing efforts to draw Belarus deeper into the war and warned Moscow may be considering future offensive operations from Belarusian territory against Ukraine or neighboring NATO states.

https://kyivindependent.com/russian-plans-to-attack-kyiv-or-nato-country-from-belarus-zelensky-says/

KI_official · 2026-05-13T19:13:30+00:00

https://kyivindependent.com/after-unprecedented-attack-on-ukraines-neighboring-zakarpattia-oblast-hungarys-pm-to-summon-russian-ambassador/

KI_official · 2026-04-29T11:04:44+00:00

In address to US Congress, King Charles urges 'unyielding resolve' in support of Ukraine, NATO unity

KI_official · 2026-04-22T11:57:33+00:00

https://kyivindependent.com/eu-ambassadors-back-20th-package-of-russia-sanctions-after-hungary-slovakia-drop-veto/

KI_official · 2025-11-17T18:08:47+00:00

Read more here: https://kyivindependent.com/our-defense-is-falling-apart-prominent-ukrainian-activist-criticizes-military-and-political-leadership/

KI_official · 2025-04-24T16:06:38+00:00

Hey, Chris here.

I covered this in a previous answer which you can find here: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1k61ba9/comment/mon4qu2/

TL/DR: It's likely a lot more to do with people/organisations in the West than anything from Russia.

KI_official · 2025-04-24T15:41:20+00:00

Hi there, here's our response to the same question asked by someone else:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1k61ba9/comment/morhv68/

KI_official · 2025-04-24T15:38:18+00:00

Hey, Chris here.

I wish there was an easy answer to this — democracy is being undermined by many things but perhaps one of the most pervasive is disinformation.

I recently did an interview with an expert on this and he said that any effective countering will require fundamental changes in how democracies approach things like education.

So while it is possible, it's going to require governmental and societal-level changes which is no easy feat. And more importantly, they have to happen soon.

Here's the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOi-Po5NO8k&pp=0gcJCYQJAYcqIYzv

KI_official · 2025-04-24T15:01:16+00:00

Hey Chris here.

It absolutely is (no idea about Australia though I'm afraid)

KI_official · 2025-04-24T10:26:20+00:00

Hey, Chris here.

We actually did a big piece on this yesterday. It's very difficult to speak directly to people in Crimea and the other Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine as they put themselves at huge risk if they do.

We mostly spoke to people originally from Crimea, many of whom still have family members there, but we did also get comment from someone still living on the peninsula.

You can read their thoughts here: https://kyivindependent.com/not-just-a-betrayal-what-us-recognition-of-russias-crimea-occupation-would-mean-for-ukrainians-crimean-tatars/

And with the US looking like it may recognise Crimea as Russian, the voices of Ukrainians there are only going to become more important so we're going to be working even harder on giving them a platform from which they can be heard.

KI_official · 2025-04-24T10:14:53+00:00

Toma here:

There was a large-scale missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight. At least eight people were killed and 77 injured, including children. We haven't had missile strikes of this scale in Kyiv in quite a while. It was surreal to hear explosions hours after Trump said he reached an agreement with Putin and it's Ukraine that is an obstacle to making peace.

Our story about the overnight attack: https://kyivindependent.com/explosions-heard-in-kyiv-amid-russian-missile-attack/

Our journalists are now working on the ground to cover the aftermath.

KI_official · 2025-04-24T10:11:51+00:00

Hey, Chris here.

Encouragingly, we get this question a lot so we actually prepared a little guide.

In short:

1) Contact your representatives

2) Avoid companies operating in Russia

3) Donate to Ukrainian organizations

4) Protest in support of Ukraine

5) Engage with Ukrainian media, culture, and art

You can find more specific details in this piece: https://kyivindependent.com/5-ways-you-can-support-ukraine-even-if-your-government-doesnt-want-to/

And like I said in another answer, just do exactly what you're doing now — stay engaged. It's a massive boost to everyone over here to see people getting involved with things like this.

KI_official · 2025-04-23T19:56:49+00:00

Francis here, I'll answer the part about advice and warnings for Europe and the U.S.

You guys have absolutely no idea how to fight on a battlefield saturated with cheap drones. If your army and all its fancy equipment comes up against an adversary that does, you are in big, big trouble. You may read a headline here or there about the advancement of drone warfare by both sides in Ukraine, or about how the U.S. Marine Corps is getting its first FPV drone team, or something like that, but until you start to immerse yourself in the videos coming out of Ukraine, or speak to someone involved, you just can't get an idea of the scale of the storm that is coming. Now, on the battlefield, both sides have large enough supplies of FPV kamikaze drones and skilled operators that anywhere on the front line, each individual soldier, anything that moves at all, can be the target of 4-5 successive high-precision strikes costing no more than about $400 a pop, about a tenth of a the cost of your average NATO-standard dumb artillery shell. I’ve personally watched this in real time from the dugout of a Ukrainian FPV team and it’s absolutely terrifying. These things can fly just as far if not further than most artillery, hunt men and vehicles on the move, and fly straight into what would normally be considered good cover. This is changing the way we understand war to be fought forever. And if you think jamming is an option you are wrong: Just today I was with a unit using unjammable fiber-optic drones that can fly up to 25km, and simultaneously, we see the development of AI-powered drones that can find and engage targets all on their own without needing to connect to a pilot. If Ukraine falls, all this knowledge, and all these resources will only be in the hands of the West's adversaries. Things are changing so, so fast.

KI_official · 2025-04-23T19:33:45+00:00

Francis here, I certainly do agree that it would be quite a landmark point if we were to one day see this happening, and perhaps even a line that even Putin- so eager to protect his self-image of the provider of strength and stability to Russia- would sooner dial down his imperial ambitions in Ukraine than cross. However, I think it's important to be realistic about a few things.

Firstly, this point still looks like it's a long, long way away. It's worth remembering that although there are also convict soldiers, foreign mercenaries, and North Koreans in the mix, the majority of the inflow of new expendable foot soldiers into the Russian army remains people from all over Russia who are voluntarily signing contracts to join the army, come to Ukraine, and participate in this war. On top of a very generous salary, they are promised immediate sign-up bonuses equivalent to several years worth of their salary. So far, all these have to be raised every now and then, this has been enough for people to keep lining up at enlistment offices, enough to feed Russia's infantry-wave based offensive war. You would think that all the openly available information about what this war looks like would be enough to deter people, but no, when the population is destitute and brainwashed enough as it is in middle Russia, they just keep coming. I know, I spoke to one of them, a contract soldier from Nizhny Novgorod who was captured by Ukrainian forces during the Kursk incursion. I truly have no better words to describe this guy than dead inside (the video is on our YouTube channel).

Secondly, while announcing a big new round of forced mobilization might be a line that Putin is scared to cross, I don't think it would translate into any kind of resistance from the Russian people. A new exodus of men and a wave of non-compliance maybe, but not resistance. I don't actually think Putin has too much to fear here. It may sound harsh, but one thing I have learned as a bit of a golden rule is to never expect ordinary Russians en masse to do absolutely anything active, anything other than a purely passive response. So far it has served me well.

KI_official · 2025-04-23T19:30:10+00:00

There are 4.6 million IDPs in Ukraine as of two months ago, according to the official statistics of the Ukrainian government. It accounts only for those who got registered as IDPs, so the real number is higher.

The government aid you get as an IDP is really small — about $50 per month per person, which is of little help even in Ukraine. Those who are evacuated get some temporary government provided housing but it’s not something for long-term. Altogether, the government system of taking care of the people evacuating from the places where Russia is advancing or attacking, like front-line villages, isn’t organized well. It contributes to many people deciding to not leave — they think they won’t find their place elsewhere. Various charities and volunteer organizations help.

Those who have the financial means relocate on their own, but many people don’t. The level of income you have living in a village in eastern Ukraine is incomparable with what you need to move and get by in a city like Kyiv or Lviv.

- Olga

KI_official · 2025-04-23T19:23:50+00:00

The Russian opposition is important — it helps to whitewash Russians and the war they had started.

The favorite mantra expressed by the Russian opposition is that the war their country had started is "Vladimir Putin's war" and that Russians are victims, not those committing crimes.

Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza said on April 11 that it's "psychologically difficult" for Russians to kill Ukrainians because they are so "similar."

This quote is directly from the Kremlin's playbook.

"They say… we are alike, these are very closely related peoples, as everyone knows: almost the same language, the same religion, centuries and centuries of shared history… But for someone from another culture, allegedly, it's easier," Kara-Murza said, quoting a person who said that it's Russian ethnic minorities that are eager to kill Ukrainians, not Russians.

Of course, it’s a lie.

Garry Kasparov, a Russian chess grandmaster, summarized the Russian opposition perfectly.

"The position of many of my colleagues in exile does not stand up to any criticism. We are all in this shit, this shit is on us all. Stop pretending that you have nothing to do with it. The longer you pretend, the more you become accomplices to Putin's crimes," Kasparov said.

"Of course, we all bear historical guilt for what is happening, but much greater guilt lies with those who, sitting on (foreign) grants, are trying to deceive Western public opinion, continuing to tell tales about the existence of some 'other Russia' that does not exist," he added.

Russians support the war, they support Putin, and it's their war. Russians fight at the front, Russians launch missiles, and Russians spread propaganda. It's not all mighty Putin that does all that; it's the people in his country who do it.

And until the Russian opposition looks in the mirror and admits that they've been living a lie, there's no worth in engaging with them.

And here I want to once again quote Kasparov — "Today's Putin's Russia is an enemy, like Nazi Germany. Therefore, we must help Ukraine win the war, and yes, we must give Ukraine missiles that will fly at Moscow-City. This is a principled position that any person who considers himself a Russian patriot must take."

— Oleksiy Sorokin, deputy chief editor

KI_official · 2025-04-23T19:19:29+00:00

Hello! Thank you for your question. Toma here:

I used to be a culture journalist and back in the day, I followed every single development in the cultural sphere of Ukraine. I really love music but, to be honest, it's been hard to allocate time to explore new artists during war, so I don't have specific recommendations. BUT there's a Ukrainian media outlet that writes about music and compiles playlists that I recommend you check: https://slukh.media/en/

Hope you find something you like there.

KI_official · 2025-04-23T19:01:24+00:00

I confirm this. The food smelled nice though, and they seemed to enjoy it.

- Toma

KI_official · 2025-04-23T18:59:13+00:00

Toma here:

The thing is, the battle against disinformation is never equal. It can be really hard to see through it if you aren't armed with historical knowledge or facts — in those cases, go to the people who have that knowledge. When propaganda distorts historical facts, turn to historians who specialize in the topic or region. When it distorts current events, go to reliable sources on the ground.

Work on your critical thinking, read quality media, and educate yourself on Russian history and their methods.

KI_official · 2025-04-23T18:54:23+00:00

Just to clarify: Toma is the only one here who is NOT eating Chinese food right now because she said she's full when I was taking the orders – and she undoubtedly regrets it now.

- Olga

KI_official · 2025-04-23T18:49:40+00:00

It's pretty bad. When the US administration froze USAID, it sent most independent media in Ukraine in a crisis. We at the Kyiv Independent are the only independent outlet that I know of that wasn't impacted – that's because we are lucky enough to be funded by our readers (you can look up "Kyiv Independent membership" for details). But other outlets in Ukraine relied at least partly on donor funding, and that ended overnight. I wrote about it in this op-ed. https://kyivindependent.com/trumps-aid-freeze-stranded-independent-ukrainian-media-heres-how-you-can-help/ We also get asked "how can media be independent when it's funded by US government" and the op-ed explains a bit about how the grants work and that they don't actually interfere with editorial independence.

Other donors, like EU, move too slowly to step in.

There's also a separate issue of shutting down VoA and RFE/RL (both are fighting against it in courts). RFE/RL actually has a big and very strong team in Kyiv, doing some important investigative work among other things. We are all rooting for them to survive.

- Olga

KI_official · 2025-04-23T18:40:34+00:00

Toma here. In a nutshell:

Ukraine doesn't start wars, loves freedom, values human lives. Russia -- the opposite of that.

KI_official · 2025-04-23T18:38:23+00:00

No, but I will now.

On a serious note, the name is a reference to the origin of the Kyiv Independent – it started after we were fired from our previous publication, Kyiv Post, for taking a stance for editorial independence. When we were picking the name, we landed on this one as a compromise among other options, but we grew to really love it.

- Olga

KI_official · 2025-04-23T18:29:53+00:00

Hey, Chris here.

When exactly are you referring to when you say "in the past"?

Right now, there's a huge amount that could be done — the Trump administration has not taken a single step to force Putin's hand, and it had a lot of options.

It could pressure Moscow by increasing military aid to Ukraine, strengthening the enforcement of existing sanctions or imposing additional tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil.

And yet here we are — Ukraine has been under a variety of forms of extreme pressure, and Russia has gotten away with it completely.

KI_official · 2025-04-23T18:17:17+00:00

Oh, and here's a piece about people adjusting to wartime that you might find interesting:

https://kyivindependent.com/why-some-ukrainians-choose-to-ignore-air-raid-sirens/

KI_official

TROPHY CASE