The Kyiv Independent

In Ukraine, Russia’s war of aggression has upended not just borders but the country’s cultural landscape. Conversations about identity, gender, and sexuality have gained new urgency. Women are increasingly stepping into combat roles once dominated by men, while relationships can dissolve as quickly as they form. Many people now live as if there might be no tomorrow.

Ukrainian author and singer Irena Karpa has never been afraid to dive into these topics, having challenged long-standing taboos and patriarchal norms in Ukraine from the very beginning of her career. Karpa’s words cut through the sometimes stifling silence imposed by traditions, daring to speak openly of female sexuality, longing, and the quiet revolutions raging beneath the surface of a society in flux.

In an interview with the Kyiv Independent during the Book Arsenal Festival, the largest international literary event in Ukraine, Karpa reflected on the evolving roles of women in Ukrainian society and the military, the raw intensity of love and desire in times of crisis, and the emotional aftermath that will shape a new generation of Ukrainian storytellers.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Kyiv Independent: As someone who writes extensively about womanhood, how do you see gender roles in Ukraine?

Irena Karpa: When I first started writing in my early 20s, it felt really rebellious to talk openly about female sexuality, women’s choices, and subjectivity — I’m not sure if that’s the right word in English, but you know what I mean. The idea that a woman isn’t just a "nice lady," a toy in a man’s bedroom, or a decorative part of his life. For me, it was a challenge. I kept wondering: Why is it always the man who gets to choose? Even as a kid, that felt deeply unjust to me.

I grew up in the Carpathian Mountains, among the Hutsuls, and there was this awful saying: "An unbeaten woman is like a blunt tool – you can’t harvest with it." It’s horrifying, right?

I always pushed back against that mindset. I told myself no man would ever touch me against my will or hurt me, even though that kind of behavior was often normalized in the patriarchal society around me.

So my writing became a form of resistance. It was about young, brave, decisive women who wanted to make their own choices — who didn’t want to be just someone’s wife or mother or endlessly accommodating to others. Of course, that kind of writing wasn’t always well-received.

Especially because if you don’t win the so-called genetic lottery — being the stereotypical "ideal" Ukrainian woman — then it’s even harder. I didn’t fit that mold either.

So you have to find something else — you need to tap into a strong inner force to show the world who you really are. That’s why I turned to alternative music. I couldn’t see myself going into pop — I didn’t fit the mold.

It was the same with literature. I didn’t quite fit the typical profile there either. There weren’t many women writing in the way I wanted to write. Probably the most prominent figure (in Ukrainian literature) was [Oksana Zabuzhko](https://kyivindependent.com/oksana-zabuzhkos-the-longest-journey-an-excerpt/) — she still is. I read her work and thought, “Wow, you really can talk openly about sex.”

Of course, she used different language — more literary terms for private parts and so on — but still, it was powerful. I remember one part that really struck me: she wrote about male arousal and a woman approaching him. I must’ve been around 18 at the time when I read it, and I was stunned — not because it was the first sexual scene I’d ever read. I had read (Guy de) Maupassant, for instance, since I grew up with a lot of French literature. And in the '90s, we had this funny tabloid called “Pan plus Pani,” which was full of erotic stories.

Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko attends a press conference prior to the opening of the 74th Berlinale in Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 15, 2024. (John Macdougall / AFP via Getty Images)

But Zabuzhko was different. She was older than my parents, and here she was, unapologetically writing about sex. I thought, “Wow, she’s a woman and she can do this?” That felt like permission — like she opened a door for the rest of us.

Then there were other writers — like Yuri Izdryk or Yuri Andrukhovych  — who also wrote about the body and physical experiences, in very bold and different ways. Sure, there were patriarchal elements in some of their work, but I never felt like I had to accept "secondhand sex," you know? Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I’m beneath a man. Never. It always felt equal — or at least, it depended on the person. If someone’s clearly less intelligent than me, why should his opinion carry more weight just because he’s a man? No way.

The Kyiv Independent: Do you feel that the war has shifted these patriarchal ideas about gender roles?

Irena Karpa: Things are changing a lot now. In the beginning, if you listen to activists or women in the military — like Maria Berlinska — she’ll tell you how bad it was. There wasn’t even basic underwear designed for female soldiers. The uniforms didn’t fit: too tight around the chest, too loose elsewhere. There was nothing made for women — it was all designed with men in mind.

And even if a woman was trained to be a shooter, they’d still list her as a kitchen worker. It was absurd.

But now, things are shifting. The last numbers I saw said there are around 75,000 women serving in the Ukrainian army, and many of them hold commanding positions. So yes, the war is forcing these roles to evolve.

We’re seeing incredible women rise — like Natasha, the woman who made headlines for shooting down a Russian missile. Before the full-scale war, she was a kindergarten teacher. That kind of transformation is powerful.

We’re also hearing many more female voices — not just in the military but across the volunteer sector and civil society. We still don’t have enough women in politics, but there are many leading in business. Though even there, they face sexism. I have friends who head major companies, and they still get talked down to like they don’t belong.

But it is changing — and it’s changing fast.

I really hope I live to see the day when a woman becomes president of Ukraine. And in the U.S. too — we all had hopes. A woman of color in leadership should be normal by now. People need to accept that change is here. The time for sexism and racism should be over, but the fight goes on. And it will continue.

Read also: Ukrainian Valkyries: Women embrace military training to learn to defend their homeland (Photos)

The Kyiv Independent: As a storyteller, how do you see the ways in which wartime is reshaping intimacy between people?

Irena Karpa: Life speeds up — and when it does, everything within it starts moving faster too.Relationships, love stories — it’s all true. I know people who lived through three or even five love stories just during the war. And each time, it felt like: “This is the one.”

People get married quickly, and often very young, because you never know — tomorrow might not come. So why wait? Why postpone something meaningful, some experience you deeply want to live? You live fast because there's no guarantee of later.

I really hope that kind of urgency won't become the norm for the younger generation — but who knows anymore? In Ukraine today, no one is truly safe — not even in (western cities like) Lviv.

Relationships, especially in times like these, are about shared values. Not hormones. Not a piece of paper. But something deeper — something forged in the intensity of shared experience.

Back in my youth, we had the luxury of time — to fall in love slowly, to live with someone, to figure it out. Young people today don’t have that. Over three years of their lives have already been stolen by war. Before that, it was Covid.

It’s heartbreaking. They missed school, missed university. Now, they live in constant anxiety, in a permanent state of risk. So of course, they live fast. It’s not surprising they get married quickly, divorce quickly.

I’ve seen it firsthand. As a storyteller, I even wrote about one such woman in my (upcoming) book. She fled to France with her teenage daughter. From that distance, she began to see her past relationships for what they were — dead long before she left. Sometimes, distance gives you clarity.

It’s the same for a soldier. If his wife is emotionally disconnected — whether she’s in Ukraine or abroad — and there's a woman beside him, maybe a volunteer or fellow fighter, someone who shares his values in the here and now… naturally, a connection forms.

Because relationships, especially in times like these, are about shared values. Not hormones. Not a piece of paper. But something deeper — something forged in the intensity of shared experience.

It was like that during the Maidan revolution, too. So many couples got married right there, in the tents. It was romantic, yes — but also fast, impulsive, driven by adrenaline and the sense that time was running out.

War is like that, but even more intense. Because when death is near, every emotion is amplified. You feel things more deeply. Life becomes sharper, more vivid. Even the smallest decisions feel profound.

A bride and groom kiss during their wedding in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 18, 2024, amid the Russian invasion. (Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images)

As a writer, I use those stories. I just finished writing a book called “My Boyfriend Comes Back on Sunday.” It’s dedicated to a different kind of hero — not the ones who act fast, but the ones who wait. And the ones who are waited for. The novel is about a long-term, long-distance relationship between two people who have never met — but they're in love.Imagine loving someone you may never actually see in person. And yet, people stay faithful, deeply committed to each other, even with that uncertainty. It's another way of experiencing the war — through emotion, through longing, through love that exists in absence.

I find it incredibly compelling to explore these emotional landscapes — the different kinds of relationships, the transformations of the human soul under pressure. The events of the war — the battles, the destruction — those are being documented everywhere already: in videos, in news reports, in documentaries. They don't need me for that.

As a writer, what interests me is something else entirely: the passion, the sexuality, the bonds, the commitments — how all of that shifts and evolves during wartime.

The Kyiv Independent: We're talking about how many things are changing and becoming more open — but what taboos do you think the next generation of Ukrainian authors will have to contend with?

Irena Karpa: Oh, I think there will be a kind of emotional low tide after all this. I wonder what it will look like — like post-war fashion, for example, where designers use colors to compensate for the heaviness, like Dior with their floral dresses.

There will definitely be a new subculture born from this — a fresh expression of society. I don’t know exactly what it will be yet, but, like after every war, there will be a very empty, quiet moment.

There will be grief — because right now, we don’t even allow ourselves to fully mourn those we’ve lost, our loved ones. Afterward, society will have to adjust to many people living with the physical consequences of war — those with prosthetics, new faces of a changed community.

Even our perception of sexuality and what we consider sex symbols will shift. It’s already changing right now.

Writers will need to explore all this — the loneliness many will feel, because a lot of people will be left alone.

I try to focus on brighter sides, but there will be a lot of PTSD among civilians and especially those returning from the front lines. The adrenaline, the sense of purpose, the support of true friends — all of that will be gone, making everything feel dull and gray.

I believe this moment — this aftermath — will be a rich, complex subject for many writers to explore in the years ahead.

Note from the author:

Hi there, it's Kate Tsurkan, thanks for reading my latest interview. It's really important for me to do my own small part to promote Ukrainian authors in the English-speaking world. Irena Karpa is one of my favorites because she's such a great role model for women — beautiful, strong, and fearless. If you like reading this sort of thing, please consider supporting us and becoming a member of the Kyiv Independent today.

Read also: 10 authors shaping contemporary Ukrainian literature

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Ukraine's Defense Ministry has officially approved the new domestically produced unmanned ground vehicle, known as the Termit, for front-line use, the ministry announced on June 21.

The tracked robot is a next-generation version of Ukraine's existing ground-based unmanned systems already deployed across the front. These systems have supported operations by transporting supplies, conducting reconnaissance, and carrying explosives in contested areas.

Termit, the newest model in the series, features improved mobility and modularity. The drone can carry up to 300 kilograms and operates on various terrains thanks to its low profile, tracked design, and improved weight distribution.

Its traction battery system allows for several hours of continuous movement over dozens of kilometers. According to the Defense Ministry, Termit drones can be equipped with combat modules, used for medical evacuations, or for transporting specialized equipment as needed.

Ground drones such as Termit are being used more frequently to minimize soldier exposure to front-line risks. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Kyiv has prioritized the development of unmanned systems across all domains — air, sea, and land.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the production of at least 30,000 long-range drones in 2025, alongside expanded investment in strike-capable hybrids such as the Palianytsia and Peklo missile-drone platforms.

Read also: Russia ‘afraid to admit’ scale of losses, trying to hide by dumping soldiers’ bodies on Ukraine, Zelensky says

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Editor's note: This item has been expanded with additional details.

Belarusian opposition leader and political prisoner Sergei Tikhanovsky was released on June 21, shortly after dictator Alexander Lukashenko met in Minsk with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg.

Tikhanovsky, a popular blogger who planned to challenge Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election, was arrested shortly before the vote and later sentenced to 18 years in prison on politically motivated charges. Amnesty International recognized Tikhanovsky as a prisoner of conscience.

His wife, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, stepped in and became the main opposition candidate against Lukashenko.

At least 13 political detainees, including prominent blogger Ihar Losik, were also released on June 21, Belarusian independent outlet Nasha Niva reported.

In a post on social media, Tsikhanouskaya welcomed the news but highlighted that "1,150 political prisoners remain behind bars."

My husband Siarhei is free! It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart.Thank you, 🇺🇸 @POTUS, @SPE_Kellogg, @JohnPCoale, DAS Christopher W. Smith, @StateDept & our 🇪🇺 allies, for all your efforts.We’re not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released. pic.twitter.com/MhngqBHFq3

— Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) June 21, 2025

Kellogg's deputy, John Coale, said the released political prisoners had been transferred to Vilnius and expressed gratitude to the Lithuanian government for facilitating their relocation.

"President Trump's strong leadership led to the release of 14 prisoners from Belarus today. Thanks to the Lithuanian government for its cooperation and assistance — they remain a true friend and ally," Coale wrote on X.

According to official results of the 2020 election, Lukashenko won with 80% of the vote, while Tikhanouskaya received just 10%. Evidence indicates that the election was heavily rigged, and Tikhanovskaya could have realistically won the vote.

As a result, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Belarus in 2020 to demand a fair election. Thousands were arrested, and many were beaten and tortured. At least seven demonstrators were killed during the protests.

Minsk has faced repeated Western sanctions since the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

Lukashenko, in power since 1994, is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory for military operations against Ukraine.

"You have caused quite a stir in the world with your arrival," Lukashenko told Kellogg during their meeting at the Palace of Independence, according to state-run outlet Belta.

"But I wonder why. Can't we have a normal dialogue and talk about our affairs – about relations between Belarus and the United States of America?"

Kellogg is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Belarus in recent years, following former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's 2020 trip under Trump's first term.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Lukashenko's regime has played a key logistical role in supporting Moscow's campaign, offering its territory for troop deployments and weapons stockpiles.

Read also: Russia ‘afraid to admit’ scale of losses, trying to hide by dumping soldiers’ bodies on Ukraine, Zelensky says

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President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 20 said sanctions are "urgently" needed on more Russian defense companies in order to stall the mass-production of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).

Speaking at a press briefing attended by the Kyiv Independent, Zelensky said a "large number" of companies were involved in the manufacture of Oreshnik which Russia has launched at Ukraine once, and used the threat of more launches to intimidate Kyiv and its Western allies.

Russia first launched the experimental Oreshnik missile in an attack against Dnipro on Nov. 21. Putin claimed the strike was a response to Ukraine's use of U.S. and British long-range missiles to attack Russian territory.

While little is known about the missile, defense experts say it is likely not an entirely new development, but rather an upgraded version of Russia's RS-26 missile. The RS-26, also known as the Rubezh, was first produced in 2011.

While Putin has announced plans for mass production of the Oreshnik, a U.S. official previously  told The Kyiv Independent that Russia likely possesses only a small number of these experimental missiles.

Zelensky said 39 Russian defense companies were involved in its production, 21 of which are not currently under sanctions.

"And this means that they receive parts and components for the Oreshnik, and they need it, because without these parts there will be no Oreshnik," he said.

Highlighting apparent difficulties Russia was already having in mass-producing the missile, Zelensky said it is "absolutely incomprehensible why sanctions should not be imposed urgently."

An infographic titled "Russia's new missile Orehsnik" created in Ankara, Turkiye on November 29, 2024. (Omar Zaghloul/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Financial Times (FT) reported on Dec. 27. that the upgrades were developed using advanced manufacturing equipment from Western companies, despite sanctions.

Two key Russian weapons engineering institutes — Moscow Institute for Thermal Technology (MITT) and Sozvezdie — were named by Ukrainian intelligence as developers of the Oreshnik.

According to the FT, they posted job listings in 2024 that specified expertise in operating German and Japanese metalworking systems.

The listings cited Fanuc (Japan), Siemens, and Haidenhein (both Germany) control systems for high-precision computer numerical control machines essential for missile production.

Despite sanctions slowing the flow of such equipment, FT analysis found that at least $3 million worth of Heidenhain components were shipped into Russia in 2024, with some buyers closely tied to military production.

Read also: Russia pulls its scientists out of Iranian nuclear plant, as Israeli strikes threaten decades of collaboration

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Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) announced on June 20 the establishment of a new command group that will unite the branch with other top drone units in the country's military.

Drones have become one of the defining tools of the full-scale war, used extensively by both Ukraine and Russia for surveillance, long-range strikes, and tactical battlefield firepower.

The new formation will unite all military units of the USF with the Drone Line, a project launched by President Volodymyr Zelensky in February this year to coordinate and expand five of the country's strongest drone units.

The new command umbrella was created to "improve the efficiency of management, transform the Forces, and adapt to the requirements of modern warfare," according to the statement.

The units will operate within a single chain of command, with a defined structure and a common vision of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tactics in order to harmonize approaches, establish joint work, and use unmanned systems more effectively in combat, the USF said.

The Unmanned Systems Forces were created as a separate branch of Ukraine's military in June 2024.

At that time, Ukraine's strongest existing drone units served in other branches of the defense forces, including the Ground Forces, National Guard, and the Security Service of Ukraine.

The newly-created group will be led by Major Robert Brovdi, better known by his callsign Magyar, whom Zelensky appointed as the commander of the USF in early June.

Brovdi had previously served as commander of the eponymous Magyar's Birds Unmanned Systems Brigade, a founding member of the Drone Line initiative and one of the most consistently high-performing drone units in the Ukrainian military.

A world-first phenomenon, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces works to improve the country's drone operations, creating drone-specific units, ramping up training, increasing drone production, and advancing innovation.

The USF has also carried out hundreds of operations deep within Russian territory.

Following in Ukraine's footsteps, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of his country's own individual drone branch on June 12.

Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, previously deputy commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, was named the first commander of the USF on June 10, 2024.

Brovdi replaced Sukharevskyi, who was dismissed on June 3.

According to military personnel who spoke anonymously to Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne, Sukharevskyi's relationship with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi was tense from the beginning of the USF's formation.

Sukharevskyi's appointment was a decision by president Zelensky, not Syrskyi, sources said.

People close to both Syrskyi and Sukharevskyi also claimed the two men avoided face-to-face interactions.

Read also: Not content with waging war inside Ukraine, Russia has now taken it into the virtual world

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said 'all of Ukraine' belonged to Russia in a speech on June 20 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, amid increasingly aggressive official statements about Moscow's final territorial ambitions in Ukraine.

Putin's claim was based on the false narrative often pushed both by himself as leader and by Russian propaganda that Russians and Ukrainians are "one people."

The narrative has long figured prominently in Putin's rhetoric, often brought up as justification for its aggression in Ukraine.

In July 2021, just half a year before the full-scale invasion, the Russian leader stoked fears of a larger attack when he wrote and published an essay on the "historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians."

In the same speech in St Petersburg, Putin made several other statements, some contradictory, about Moscow's aims in the war going forward.

"Wherever the foot of a Russian soldier steps is Russian land," Putin said, directly implying Russia's intention to continue occupying more than just the five Ukrainian regions that Moscow has illegally laid claim to: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

As per the "peace memorandum" presented by the Russian delegation at the last round of peace talks in Istanbul on June 2, Moscow demands Kyiv recognize the oblasts as Russian and hand over all territory not yet controlled by Russian forces into occupation, including the regional capitals of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Asked whether Russia aimed to seize the regional center of Sumy in Ukraine's northeast, Putin said that while such a mission has not been assigned, he wouldn't rule it out.

Russian ground attacks into Sumy Oblast have intensified along the northeastern border in the past weeks, having first crossed the border after Ukraine's withdrawal from most of its positions in Kursk Oblast in March.

Russian troops have moved 10-12 kilometers (6-8 miles) deep into the region, according to Putin.

"The city of Sumy is next, the regional center. We don't have a task to take Sumy, but I don't rule it out," Putin said.

Since March, Russia has reportedly taken control of about 200 square kilometers (80 square miles) in northern Sumy Oblast, including roughly a dozen small villages, according to open-source conflict mapping projects.

As of May 31, mandatory evacuations had been ordered for 213 settlements.

In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to create a so-called "security buffer zone" along the border with Ukraine, while Zelensky said on May 28 that Moscow had massed 50,000 troops near Sumy.

In a separate interview with Bild on June 12, Zelensky dismissed Moscow's claims of significant territorial gains as "a Russian narrative" aimed at shaping global perceptions. He stressed that Ukrainian forces have managed to hold off a renewed offensive for nearly three weeks.

When asked if Moscow requires the complete capitulation of Kyiv and the Ukrainian leadership, Putin denied this, saying that Russia instead demands the "recognition of the realities on the ground."

The statement follows a consistent line from Russian officials since the return of U.S. President Donald Trump brought new momentum to the idea of a quick negotiated peace in Ukraine.

Projecting a winning position on the battlefield and gaining confidence from Trump's frequent anti-Ukrainian rhetoric and refusal to approve further military aid to Kyiv, Moscow has stuck to maximalist demands, refusing the joint U.S.-Ukraine proposal of a 30-day unconditional ceasefire along the front line.

On June 18, in an interview to CNN, Russian ambassador to the U.K. Andrei Kelin said that while Russian forces were advancing on the battlefield and taking more Ukrainian, there was no incentive to stop, and that Kyiv must either accept Moscow's peace terms now or "surrender" after losing much more.

Read also: With no new US aid packages on the horizon, can Ukraine continue to fight Russia?

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Russia has lost 1,010,390 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 21.

The number includes 1,060 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

According to the report, Russia has also lost 10,955 tanks, 22,865 armored fighting vehicles, 52,617 vehicles and fuel tanks, 29,393 artillery systems, 1,421 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,188 air defense systems, 416 airplanes, 337 helicopters, 41,422 drones, 3,369 cruise missiles, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.

Read also: Russia pulls its scientists out of Iranian nuclear plant, as Israeli strikes threaten decades of collaboration

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Russia's memorandum on a peace proposal is the "best offer Ukraine can get today," Russia's envoy to the United Nations (UN), Vasily Nebenzya, said at a UN Security Council meeting on June 20.

"During the direct Russian-Ukrainian talks that were held, we presented our memorandum on a peaceful settlement. It consists of two parts: conditions for a comprehensive long-term peace and conditions for a ceasefire," Nebenzya said.

"This is the best offer Ukraine can get today. We advise accepting it as things will only get worse for Kyiv, from here on out," he said.

At Istanbul peace talks on June 2, Russian negotiators told the Ukrainian delegation that their so-called "peace memorandum" is an ultimatum Kyiv cannot accept, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview published on June 10.

"They even told our delegation: we know that our memorandum is an ultimatum, and you will not accept it," Zelensky said. "Thus, the question is not the quality of the Istanbul format, but what to do about the Russians' lies."

"In Istanbul, we also agreed on a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war," Nebenzya said at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

Aside from agreeing on large-scale prisoner exchanges, peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have been largely inconclusive as Moscow continues to issue maximalist demands toward Kyiv.

Nebenzya noted that Ukraine and Russia should resume direct peace talks in Turkey after June 22, despite Russia's intensified drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.

On June 17, a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv killed 30 people and injured another 172. The nearly nine-hour-long strike saw Moscow's forces launch large numbers of drones and missiles at Ukraine's capital.

Russia's statements diverged from those of other speakers at the UN Security Council meeting on June 20.

"We call on Russia to agree to an unconditional ceasefire. Russia initiated this war; we call on Russia to end it," Barbara Woodward, the U.K.'s Permanent Representative to the UN, said.

Russia has illegally laid claim to five Ukrainian regions despite not controlling all of the territory. The regions include Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

Read also: Not content with waging war inside Ukraine, Russia has now taken it into the virtual world

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The beginning of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts' occupation in 2014, the battle for Mariupol in 2022, and the capture of Avdiivka in 2024 are no longer just episodes of Russian aggression against Ukraine. They are now missions in the new Russian video game Squad 22: ZOV.

Nearly a year after the Russian studio SPN announced in July 2024 that it had started working on the game in cooperation with Russia's Defense Ministry, Squad 22: ZOV became available for free in Russian, English, and Chinese on Steam, an international distribution platform with over 30 million active users daily.

Before the game begins, players choose from characters from Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, where Moscow launched its 2014 invasion under the false pretext of protecting Russian speakers from persecution, a baseless claim widely debunked as Kremlin propaganda.

In the game, the characters say they are seeking to "bring peace" to their homeland — but under the Russian flag. Their mission is to capture positions held by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and advance deeper into Ukrainian territory, repeating Kremlin narratives that portray Russia’s war as a response to “Kyiv’s terror,” another certifiably false claim.

The new game is not the first time Russia has used video games as a vehicle for propaganda aimed at young audiences. But it is the first to focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine, featuring real battles and characters based on actual individuals.

Almost immediately after it was published on Steam, the game was unavailable in Ukraine. As of June, it has received mixed reviews. But experts interviewed by the Kyiv Independent said that even if the game fails to attract a wide audience, it still poses a threat — and there is nothing to stop Russia from continuing to develop another, potentially more effective tool for spreading its propaganda.

Character selection screen from Squad 22: ZOV - the game whitewashes Russian war crimes and promotes anti-Ukrainian narratives. (X)

"Saying that Squad 22: ZOV promotes the genocide of Ukrainians, justifies the terrorism of the Russian army, and presents itself as 'a savior from the Nazis' is an understatement," Mykhailo Hrabar, a Ukrainian gaming blogger with a nickname OLDboi, told the Kyiv Independent.

The first Russian tutorial on how to wage war in Ukraine

Squad 22: ZOV was produced by Russian national Alexander Tolkach, who held various positions, including in Ukraine, before working on the video game.

Tolkach was a diplomat in Europe, led external communications at DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, and worked for Hungarian video game developer Gaijin Entertainment, particularly on the War Thunder video game popular among soldiers as a military simulator.

In an interview with pro-Russian military blogger Kirill Fedorov, Tolkach said Russia's Defense Ministry contacted him at the beginning of 2024 to develop a game as soon as possible "to demonstrate that we can." Tolkach also said that Russian companies are usually reluctant to make games about the Russian war in Ukraine because of their dependence on international partners and the threat of sanctions.

"The Russians are trying to figure out how far they can go with their future, more expensive, technically superior games, with which they can attract the attention of Western players and pour anything into their ears."

"We had to launch our own studio. The work continued, and we released the game in nine months (on the local market). It is not the perfect one, but we are not ashamed. And most importantly, we showed people: 'Look, nothing happened to us,'" Tolkach said on May 20 on Fedorov Live, referring to sanctions or bans from the international gaming community.

The game frequently refers to pro-Russian narratives that glorify the Russian army and justify Russian aggression, calling for the "liberation" of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories fron Ukraine. The developers also said on the game’s website that they consulted with those who participated in Russia's war in Ukraine, including Vladislav Golovin, a career Russian military officer who took part in the siege of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast in 2022.

According to the game's description on Steam, Squad 22: ZOV is recommended by the Russian army as a basic infantry tactical manual for cadets and members of Yunarmiya ("Youth Army"), the state-sponsored youth organization that combines ideological indoctrination with military training for children and teenagers.

Artwork from Squad 22: ZOV depicts Russian troops overlooking a burning Ukrainian city. (X)

Oleh Kulikov, an esports analyst, told the Kyiv Independent that the fact that a game is recommended at the state level may interest an average user even more than its content. According to the expert, Squad 22: ZOV is of low quality and will be difficult to affect a wide range of users worldwide.

"For the most part, propaganda video games are low-grade and unattractive, and this is where the Barbra Streisand effect comes in," Kulikov said, referring to a phenomenon where an attempt to hide something only brings more attention to it.

Oleksandr Petryk, a Ukrainian esports commentator with the nickname Petr1k, echoed Kulikov's stance, saying that Squad 22: ZOV has graphics of games released in the early 2000s, and is unlikely to attract young people in the way that the Ukrainian video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has. However, even if someone accidentally downloads the game abroad and sees the interpretation of events in Ukraine from a Russian perspective, it will play into Russia's hands, he added.

How to resist Russian propaganda in cyberspace?

Squad 22: ZOV, made in a matter of months and openly funded by the Russian government, is unlikely to cause large-scale damage to Ukraine, but a better Russian product can, the experts interviewed by the Kyiv Independent said.

"The Russians are trying to figure out how far they can go with their future, more expensive, technically superior games, with which they can attract the attention of Western players and pour anything into their ears," game blogger Hrabar said, adding that Russia is already developing better projects, particularly about Russia's Wagner Group of mercenaries.

According to the experts, Steam, owned by the American Valve Corporation, has already been involved in scandals when controversial games were published on its platform that illegally collected user data or had a plot that contained sexual violence and were removed only after public outcry. The fact that Steam approved Squad 22: ZOV was no surprise.

"Steam has very weak moderation, which is partially performed not even by Valve employees, but by active community members," Hrabar said. "After the platform canceled the Greenlight system, which allowed the community to vote for games to be published, the pipe burst. Now you can get to the platform even with a piece of crap."

Esports analyst Kulikov added that to effectively counter Russian propaganda in video games, Ukraine must develop its own, thereby promoting the Ukrainian brand on the international market. At the same time, the Ukrainian government should respond to the launch of such propaganda projects as Squad 22: ZOV.

"Ukraine's Digital Transformation Ministry needs to reach out to companies like Valve Corporation, the very next day after the game is released or announced," Kulikov said.

"Even if it doesn't work, it will help to develop connections to establish operations and prevent something more serious from happening in the future. And it is bound to happen."

Author's note:

Hi, this is Kateryna, the author of the article. Thank you for reading. The war between Ukraine and Russia has long gone beyond the battlefield, and Russian propaganda is widely spread in the media, movies, and video games. The game Squad 22: ZOV is one of many examples of Russian propaganda tools, targeting one of the most vulnerable audiences, youth. If you want to see more articles like this, and support us in countering Russian propaganda, consider joining our community today.

Read also: Russia just accidentally admitted to its staggering troop losses in Ukraine

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Russia's wartime economic momentum is fading fast, with key resources nearly exhausted, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said, warning that the country can no longer rely on the same tools that sustained growth in the first two years of the full-scale war against Ukraine, the Moscow Times reported on June 19.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Nabiullina said that the Russian economy had been expanding on the back of "free resources," including labor, industrial capacity, bank capital reserves, and liquid assets from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) — all of which are now reportedly nearing depletion.

"We grew for two years at a fairly high pace because free resources were activated," she said. "We need to understand that many of those resources have truly been exhausted."

Her comments come after Russia's ambassador to the U.K., Andrei Kelin, claimed in an interview with CNN this week that Russia is spending "only 5–7%" of its federal budget on the war. Kelin claimed that Russia can continue waging its war, saying Moscow "is winning."

According to the state statistics agency Rosstat, Russia's unemployment rate has dropped to a historic low of 2.3%. At the same time, mass emigration and large-scale wartime recruitment have created a labor shortage estimated at 2 million people. Industrial capacity utilization has surged beyond 80%, the highest in modern Russian history.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia accidentally admits to its staggering troop losses in Ukraine

Russia's economy is now "on the verge of a transition to recession," Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said at the same forum. Official data show that GDP growth slowed from 4.1% in late 2023 to just 1.4% in the first quarter of 2024, with the economy contracting quarter-on-quarter for the first time since 2022.

Business profits in March fell by one-third overall and dropped by half in the critical oil and gas sector. Industrial growth stagnated at 1.2% year-over-year between January and April, while civilian sectors of the economy began shrinking. Retail turnover growth slowed from 7.2% in December to just 2.4% in April.

An anonymous Russian analyst told Novaya Gazeta Europe that government technocrats are effectively telling Russian President Vladimir Putin it's time to choose between "war or economy."

During its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has faced rising inflation due to record military spending, pushing the central bank to maintain high interest rates. Under government pressure, the bank cut the rate slightly from 21% to 20% earlier in June, despite concerns about weakened private investment.

Officials have scaled back key development projects and reduced shipments of metals and oil products. Early hopes for recovery in 2025, driven by talks with the U.S., have faded as inflation and sanctions weigh heavily on growth.

Read also: As Russian losses in Ukraine hit 1 million, Putin’s war economy heads toward breaking point

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have alarmed none more than Russia, the country that first brought nuclear power to Iran in defiance of Western objections.

We’re “millimeters from catastrophe,” said Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on June 18 in response to a bombing campaign that Israel launched against Iran on June 13.

Decades of conflict with the West have united Iran and Russia, despite a cultural gulf between the two nations that dwarfs the Caspian Sea that physically divides them.

Russia has spent the past decade backing Iran-aligned regimes and militia groups throughout the Middle East. Most famous is Bashar al-Assad, a longtime dictator in Syria, on whose behalf Russia began actively fighting against rebels back in 2015. Assad fell in December.

"We're dealing with the domino effects of those changes," Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute focusing on Russia's policy toward the Middle East, told the Kyiv Independent.

"In my view, the Russians were not just mere opportunists. They weren't just hedging their bets. They weren't just watching on the sidelines. They were actively fueling chaos across the Middle East."

"Of course, they've (Iran and Russia) had such extensive nuclear cooperation because it was Russia that built the Bushehr nuclear reactor in the first place."

In addition to a broad sense of being at war with the West, nuclear energy is a rare concrete tie joining Russia and Iran, alongside the arms trade and a shared interest in dodging sanctions on fossil fuels. Strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities are, for Russia, personal.

"Of course, they've had such extensive nuclear cooperation because it was Russia that built the Bushehr nuclear reactor in the first place," said Borshchevskaya.

Opened in 2007 and providing power by 2010, Bushehr is to date the only functioning nuclear power plant in Iran. Originally a project by German company Siemens, construction was on hold for decades following the toppling of the Shah in 1979. Built and maintained by Russia, it was the first nuclear reactor in the Middle East.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant is seen in a coastal village in Bushehr province, Iran, on April 29, 2024. (Morteza Nikoubazl / NurPhoto via Getty Images)Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) on Jan. 17, 2025. (Kremlin Press Office / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images)

On June 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had agreed with Israel as to the safety of the "over 200" specialists working at Bushehr on behalf of the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom.

The same day, Rosatom Head Aleksei Likhachov said at a conference in St. Petersburg that the agency had evacuated “tens” of their employees from Bushehr and were weighing a full evacuation, Russian news outlet Interfax reported.

Bushehr has yet to fall under Israeli strikes, at least in part because that would be a nuclear disaster.

The West stonewalled the Bushehr plant that Russia ultimately built out of concern that at least expertise, if not materials, would be redirected to Iranian nuclear weaponry. But Russia wanted a sale. Experts note that the uranium that Iran uses at its enrichment sites is separate from Bushehr, where Russia holds a monopoly.

But why Iran would pay Russia to build Bushehr and supply all of its uranium, as it does to this day, is an odd arrangement given that the oil and gas-rich Iran has little real need for nuclear energy.

"It is dubious to say that the reason why (Iran) did so is because they were absolutely desperate for having a nuclear power program. It is my belief that they did it to have a weapons program," Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s energy program and former U.S. President Joe Biden’s special envoy to Iran said to the Kyiv Independent.

John Erath, senior policy director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, echoed the sentiment.

“There was some question as to why they would build a nuclear power plant at great expense when they had no room for energy. I think the motives were pretty clear: Iran wanted experience with the technologies. They wanted to develop greater technical expertise and manage nuclear materials,” Erath told the Kyiv Independent. He maintained, however, that “Bushehr doesn’t have a role in the weapons program.”

Bushehr is the primary site of Russia’s nuclear engagement with Iran. But as a result of its ties as well as its position on the UN Security Council, Russia became a primary broker of the Barack Obama administration’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, colloquially the Iran nuclear deal.

The nuclear enrichment site that Israel is asking for U.S. aid in blowing up is Fordow, built under the mountains outside the city of Qom.

Nephew reminds that per the JCPOA, Russia was supposed to convert the Fordow plant from an enrichment facility to a “stable isotope separation plant.”

Experts interviewed by the Kyiv Independent all maintained that Russia was to all appearances a fair broker of the JCPOA in Iran. But it illustrates the resilience of Russia’s nuclear soft power and hard economics.

Kazakhstan is by far the largest source of uranium in the world. Russia, in turn, remains the largest seller of enriched uranium in the world, even as the European Union struggles to break free of energy dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

The equipment and even the fuel that goes into nuclear power plants are far less replaceable than oil and gas, providing an economic umbilical cord to Russia.

“Neither of them needs each other for the thing they primarily export, so it's all secondary stuff, and that secondary stuff is nuclear and arms,“ said Nephew.

Iranian youth stand under an Iranian-made Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicle in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 11, 2023. (Morteza Nikoubazl / NurPhoto / Getty Images)

One infamous example is Iran’s Shahed drones, which Russia began importing and firing at Ukraine near the end of 2022. Russia has since made more and more of its own copy, the Geran.

For Russia, nuclear generation and the prestige of being one of the few nations that can build nuclear reactors have been a rare source of geopolitical soft power, including the JCPOA.

Even U.S. President Donald Trump recently floated the idea of Russian President Vladimir Putin functioning as a mediator between Iran and Israel, which he subsequently backtracked.

Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear agency, announced the construction of another nuclear plant in Iran in 2019. And on June 9 of this year, news broke that Iran’s nuclear agency had inked a contract with Rosatom for eight more reactors, including four at Bashehr. On June 13, Israel’s strikes began.

Even without Israel attacking, experts were doubtful that Russia would build these new plants. Their announcement was, rather, a "symbolic" gesture of support.

"They want to show cooperation with Russia," said Erath. "The nuclear power sector is something that's important to the Russian government. It's one of the areas that they export that has high value, that the Russians still are exporting, profiting from, when the rest of their economy is in big trouble."

Note from the author:

Hi, this is Kollen, the author of the article. Thank you for reading. The Kyiv Independent doesn’t have a wealthy owner or a paywall. Instead, we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism funded.

We’re now aiming to grow our community that has reached 20,000 paying members — if you liked this story, consider joining our community today.

Read also: There’s loads of video of Israeli air defenses, and none of Ukraine’s — this is why

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Russian authorities are considering a request from the New People's Party to offer political asylum to U.S. tech billionaire Elon Musk, claimed the party's lawmaker, Vladislav Davankov, to the Russian media on June 20.

Davankov, deputy speaker of the State Duma, told reporters at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that his party had formally petitioned the Russian Foreign Ministry to provide Musk with asylum. The request is expected to be reviewed within a month, he reportedly said.

"I think Elon Musk has made mistakes, but those mistakes should be forgiven," Davankov said. "If things don't work out for him, we are always ready to welcome him — from a technological and visionary point of view, he's very impressive."

The claim could not be independently verified, and there has been no official confirmation from the Russian Foreign Ministry or Musk. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, telling reporters, "Let's wait for a statement from the Foreign Ministry or from Musk himself before we say anything."

The alleged request follows a public conflict that erupted between Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month. The billionaire later expressed regret over a series of critical posts aimed at Trump, calling a proposed government spending bill "disgusting" and warning of economic consequences.

Trump hit back during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on June 5, saying on Truth Social that Musk had "just gone crazy."

In response, Musk claimed on social media that Trump owed him his electoral victory, suggesting his influence prevented Democrats from retaining the House.

Earlier this month, Dmitry Novikov, deputy chair of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told state-run news agency TASS that Russia would be ready to provide Musk with political asylum if needed.

"I think Musk is playing a completely different game, that he won't need political asylum, although if he did, Russia could certainly provide it," Novikov said on June 6.

The feud has attracted attention in Russia, where Musk is increasingly viewed as a sympathetic figure. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, joked on X that Moscow could broker peace between "D and E," referring to Donald and Elon, in exchange for Starlink shares. "Don't fight, guys," Medvedev wrote.

Musk led a federal commission on government efficiency until May 30 and has been a key figure in dismantling U.S. foreign aid institutions, including USAID, which has delivered billions in aid to Ukraine.

Though he initially supported Ukraine by providing Starlink satellite systems to aid its defense, Musk eventually adopted Russian talking points, claiming President Volodymyr Zelensky lacks popular support and accusing Kyiv of running a "never-ending draft meat grinder."

He has also spoken out against U.S. military aid to Ukraine, a stance that aligns closely with Kremlin messaging aimed at discouraging Western support for Kyiv.

Read also: Russia’s war-fueled economy is running on empty, Central Bank chief warns

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Ukraine should continue to inflict "entirely justified" losses on Russia in the face of escalating aggression, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on June 19.

His remarks come two days after Russia launched one of its deadliest assaults on Kyiv, attacking the capital with ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones on June 17 in a nine-hour attack that killed 30 people and injured 172 others.

"There was no military sense in this strike; it added absolutely nothing to Russia in military terms," Zelensky said, refuting Moscow's claims that the attack targeted Ukraine's "military-industrial complex."

The president described Russia's attack — which struck residential buildings, student dorms, and a kindergarten — as "deliberate terror."

Zelensky urged Western partners to mount economic pressure on Russia and said he was working on new proposals for coordinated sanctions. He also said he held meetings with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to discuss deep strikes in Russia.

"Russia must continue to suffer entirely justified losses due to its aggression," he said.

While Russia has intensified its campaign of aerial terror against Ukrainian cities, Kyiv has stepped up its efforts to reduce Russia's military capabilities, launching successful strikes on airfields, weapons factories, and oil refineries.

The most audacious of these attacks was the large-scale Operation Spiderweb, a coordinated drone strike on four key Russian military airfields on June 1. According to the SBU, the operation damaged 41 Russian warplanes, including heavy bombers and rare A-50 spy planes.

Since March, Ukraine has repeatedly offered to declare an unconditional ceasefire if Russia agrees to the same terms. The Kremlin has resisted at every turn. U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to broker a peace deal have led to continued escalation and more civilian deaths.

With Western support eroding and no ceasefire in sight, Ukraine continues grasping for leverage against Moscow — including by developing its own long-range weapons. Kyiv has developed several weapons capable of deep strikes in Russian territory, such as the Palianytsiaand Peklo(Hell) missile-drone hybrids.

Ukraine has proven its ability to strike targets far from the border. A June 15 attack reportedly hit a drone factory in Russia's Tatarstan, around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Ukraine.

Russia also continues to suffer staggering troop losses on the front lines. Earlier on June 19, Russian Ambassador to the U.K. Andrey Kelin accidentally admitted that Moscow is rapidly losing personnel in Ukraine during an interview with CNN.

According to figures from Kyiv, Russia has suffered more than 1 million dead, wounded, and missing soldiers since the start of its full-scale invasion.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia accidentally admits to its staggering troop losses in Ukraine

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russian forces struck residential buildings in Odesa overnight on June 20, injuring at least 13 people, including three emergency workers, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported.

The attack, which the service described as "massive," rang out around 1 a.m. local time. The attack drones struck over 10 targets, including seven residential building, and led to multiple large-scale fires.

At the site of one of the attacks, a 23-story residential building caught fire between the 18th and 20th floors, and led to the evacuation of over 600 people.

In a separate attack on a four-story building within the city, three firefighters were injured when structural elements collapsed on the responders. The building is described as being "completely engulfed in flames," according to the State Emergency Service.

The three injured firefighters are currently hospitalized in stable condition. Additional information on the attacks as well as casualties are being clarified as search efforts under rubble and debris continue.

Firefighters extinguish a fire at a residential building in Odesa on June 20, 2025 following a Russian drone attack that injured at least 13 people, including three firefighters. (Ukraine State Emergency Service/Telegram)The aftermath of a Russian drone attack on a residential building in Odesa on June 20, 2025. The attacks on the city injured at least 13 people, including three firefighters. (Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper/Telegram)

Odesa, a port city on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast with a population of around 1 million, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks throughout the full-scale war.

On June 10, a missile and drone attack on Odesa killed two people and injure eight.

Russia has continued to increase the frequency and severity of its attacks on Ukrainian cities, while rejecting a ceasefire in Ukraine. Overnight on June 17, Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Kyiv since the start of full-scale war in February 2022, killing 30 people and injuring 172 others.

Read also: ‘A brutal strike’ — Massive Russian missile and drone attack hits Kyiv, killing 30, injuring 172

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

A senior Russian official on June 19 inadvertently confirmed the staggering troop losses incurred by Moscow's forces during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In an interview with CNN, Russian Ambassador to the U.K. Andrey Kelin was asked about Moscow's maximalist intentions in Ukraine and its ability to recruit enough soldiers to fulfill them.

Despite ongoing U.S.-led peace efforts, Russia continues to demand Ukraine withdraws from the four partially occupied regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia — as a precondition for negotiations.

Meanwhile, according to figures from Kyiv, Russia has suffered more than 1 million dead, wounded, and missing soldiers since the start of its full-scale invasion.

Kelin dismissed the 1 million casualties figure but did confirm that "about 600,000" Russian soldiers were fighting in Ukraine, a number which tallies with Ukrainian estimates from January.

The number is actually lower than the 700,000 (Russian President Vladimir) Putin claimed in June 2024, and the 617,000 he claimed in December 2023.

Kelin was then asked about Russian army recruitment.

"I'm not a specialist in this area, but as I understand it we have 50-60,000 a month, those volunteers who are coming, recruiting, posting, and they would like to get engaged in this thing (in Ukraine)," he replied.

He did not explain why the size of the Russian army fighting in Ukraine has gone down despite what would amount to around 250,000 extra troops being recruited and sent to the front since the beginning of the year.

According to figures from Ukraine's General Staff, Russia has lost 217,440 troops since Jan. 1, 2025.

The discrepancy tallies with Western analysis of Russia's staggering losses.

"They lose somewhere in the ballpark of 35,000 to 45,000 people per month, and perhaps they recruit a little bit north of that number," George Barros, Russia team lead at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), told the Kyiv Independent earlier this month.

Given that Russia is having to pay people to sign up, the losses have potentially huge ramifications for the country's economy.

According to an analysis by economist Janis Kluge, Russia's daily bill just for sign-up bonuses is $24 million.

The ballooning bills come at a time when Russia's economy is already under huge strain from Western sanctions and falling oil and gas revenues.

"The implications for Russia are grave," energy security analyst Wojciech Jakobik wrote in an op-ed for the Kyiv Independent this week.

According to Barros, making any predictions about whether or not the Russian economy is going to collapse is "supremely difficult to do," but the signs for the Kremlin "don't bode well."

"If you look at the current Russian economic indicators, for example their inflation rate, their overnight lending interest rates, Russian monetary constraints… government spending is out of control — it's a very loose fiscal policy and so the economy is at risk of overheating," he said.

"I don't know to what extent the economy can continue to last."

Read also: As Russian losses in Ukraine hit 1 million, Putin’s war economy heads toward breaking point

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Editor's note: The story is being updated.

Ukraine has brought home another group of prisoners of war released from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 20, following another prisoner exchange a day earlier.

"Most of the warriors returning today from Russian captivity had been held for over two years. And now, at last, they are home," Zelensky said on X, without revealing how many captives were exchanged.

Russia's Defense Ministry also said that a group of Russian soldiers had been released by the Ukrainian side, without specifying the number of personnel involved.

This week's exchanges follow four similar swaps carried out last week in accordance with Ukraine-Russia agreements reached at peace talks in Istanbul on June 2.

The latest swap was another in a series focusing on seriously ill and wounded prisoners, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War (POW) said.

"These are defenders of Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv regions. Warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the Border Guard Service," Zelensky said.

The released POWs included privates and non-commissioned officers, some of whom were captured after the siege of Mariupol in 2022, according to the Coordination Headquarters. The oldest one is 60 years old, said Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

While no political breakthrough was achieved at the Istanbul negotiations, both sides agreed to a phased exchange of prisoners and the repatriation of fallen soldiers' bodies. As part of that agreement, Russia pledged to return the bodies of up to 6,000 Ukrainian service members and citizens.

Moscow has handed over 6,057 bodies to Ukraine in several stages over the past few days, though Kyiv later said that these remains also included fallen Russian soldiers.

The June 2 agreements came after the largest known POW swap in late May, when 1,000 prisoners were exchanged on each side.

Ukraine repeatedly called for a prisoner exchange in an all-for-all format, but Russia continues to reject the offer.

Read also: ‘Unwanted by their homeland’ — Ukraine confirms Russia returned bodies of its soldiers disguised as Ukrainian

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Latvia's parliament adopted a bill on June 19 that prohibits citizens of Russia and Belarus from purchasing real estate in the country, Latvian media reported.

The bill — which carves out exceptions for EU and Latvian permanent residence holders, Belarusian refugees, and repatriates — establishes the new restrictions under the pretenses of protecting the country's national security.

In addition to citizens, the bill prohibits entities that are at least 25% owned by Russian or Belarusian nationals from purchasing property.

"This is a step to limit the influence and presence in Latvia of persons and companies that are adverse to the country,” said Agnese Krasta, an Estonian member of parliament and one of the authors of the initiative.

Latvia, which borders both Russia and Estonia, is widely viewed as one of the most likely targets for a future Russian attack on NATO or the European Union. As the war in Ukraine continues to rage on, Latvia has taken action to increase civil preparedness measures and has drafted plans to relocate a quarter of its population in the case of war.

EU intelligence and security agencies have warned of mounting Russian sabotage operations, including several arson attacks believed to have been coordinated by Moscow.

Latvia joins Finland in imposing a ban on Russians from buying, as Baltic and Nordic countries continue to impose restrictions on Russia over its aggression in the region.

In September 2022, Latvia imposed entry restrictions on Russian citizens as part of a jointagreement with Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Latvia has been one of Ukraine's most vocal backers.

The Baltic state ranks among Europe's top defense spenders, allocating over 3% of GDP to defense in 2025, according to NATO estimates.

Read also: Diplomacy in crisis: G7 letdowns reveal limits to Western solidarity on Ukraine

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 20 condemned Russia's attempts to advance in Sumy Oblast, as Moscow intensifies its rhetoric of maximalist demands toward Ukraine.

"The Russians had various plans and intentions there — absolutely insane, as usual. We are holding them back and eliminating these killers, defending our Sumy Oblast," Zelensky said in his evening address.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, earlier on June 20, claimed that "all of Ukraine" belonged to Russia, citing the Kremlin's propaganda talking points. Moscow regularly claims that Russians and Ukrainians are "one people."

Putin singled out Sumy, saying that "the city of Sumy is next, the regional center. We don't have a task to take Sumy, but I don't rule it out."

Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast borders Russia and regularly faces Russian shelling as well as drone and missile attacks.

"There was a meeting of the Staff — a very detailed report on the frontline. Particular attention was paid to the Sumy Oblast, to operations in the border areas. I am grateful to our units for their resilience," Zelensky said.

Ukraine continues efforts to work with its allies to increase investment in defense production, he said.

"The volume of support this year is the largest since the start of the full-scale war," Zelensky noted.

Ukraine and Russia held direct peace talks in Turkey on May 16 and June 2. The efforts were largely inconclusive, with Moscow reiterating maximalist demands towards Ukraine.

The two sides were able to agree on large-scale prisoner exchanges. Despite the efforts, Russia has intensified drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.

On June 17, a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv killed 30 people and injured another 172. The nearly nine-hour-long strike saw Moscow's forces launch large numbers of drones and missiles at Ukraine's capital.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Kyiv calls on West to isolate Moscow after Putin claims ‘all of Ukraine’ belongs to Russia

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

A coalition of European Union countries is pushing to bar Russian citizens who participated in the war against Ukraine from entering the Schengen Area, citing serious security concerns,  Estonian broadcaster ERR reported on June 19.

The call comes as Russia increased its hybrid operations targeting the European Union. EU security agencies have repeatedly warned of Russian-linked sabotage operations, including arson attacks, orchestrated by Moscow as part of hybrid warfare strategies.

Interior ministers from the Baltic states, Nordic countries, and Poland met in Tallinn on June 19, where they issued a joint statement confirming their intent to prevent entry into the visa-free Schengen zone for Russians who took part in the war against Ukraine, ERR reported.

"There are hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens who have fought against Ukraine," Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets said following the meeting. "We must take a clear stance; these individuals cannot freely travel across Schengen."

"We will not issue them residence permits or visas," he added. "This group, which has been killing and destroying, poses a very significant security threat to all of us."

The ministers emphasized that this restriction should remain in place even after active hostilities cease in Ukraine.

The high-level meeting also included European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, as well as representatives from the EU border agency Frontex.

The Schengen Area allows for visa-free travel across 29 European countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. While several EU member states have imposed national restrictions on Russian travelers, others continue processing applications, keeping access routes open.

Latvia has been among the most vocal proponents of stricter visa policies for Russian nationals. Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze urged on May 25 all EU countries to suspend visa issuance to Russians, citing escalating security threats from Moscow.

"Latvia calls on the EU countries to halt visa issuance for Russian citizens, citing security concerns," Braze wrote on X. She noted that Schengen visa approvals for Russian nationals had surged by 25% in 2024 compared to 2023.

Latvia imposed entry restrictions in September 2022 as part of a coordinated effort with Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland. Czechia followed suit in October 2022.

Concerns over the abuse of Schengen visas and diplomatic privileges have intensified amid a wave of suspected Russian sabotage and espionage on EU soil. Polish and Czech authorities have recently led an effort to limit the movement of Russian diplomats within the bloc, targeting individuals allegedly working under diplomatic cover for Russian intelligence services.

Read also: Latvia prohibits Russian, Belarusian citizens from purchasing real estate

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

As of June 2025, Ukraine has documented 366 cases of sexual violence committed in connection with Russia's full-scale war, the Foreign Ministry reported on June 19, citing data from the Prosecutor General's Office.

The statement was published on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, marked every year on June 19.

The victims include 231 women, 134 men, and 19 children. The documented crimes span rape, sexual torture, forced nudity, and other violent acts, many of which occurred in occupied territories or during the early stages of Russia's invasion.

Sexual violence in conflict is prohibited under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, which mandate the protection of civilians, especially women and children. It is also recognized as a war crime under international law.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Russia is "grossly violating international humanitarian law" and the legal framework established by multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The ministry said that Moscow has employed sexual violence "as a weapon of war" to terrorize civilians, destroy communities, and weaken resistance.

Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, raised the issue at the Security Council in April 2024, warning that such violence is being used against both civilians and prisoners of war.

In June 2024, the Kyiv Independent identified two Russian soldiers implicated in the rape of women during Russia's occupation of parts of Kyiv and Kherson oblasts in March 2022.

One of them, Mykola Senenko, was formally charged by Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office for a rape committed in Kherson Oblast.

Read also: Trump’s peace push falters in both Ukraine and the Middle East — for similar reasons

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Russian attacks across Ukrainian regions killed two civilians and injured at least 39, including minors, over the past day, regional authorities reported on June 20.

Russian forces launched 86 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys against Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses reportedly shot down 34 drones, while 36 disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare.

Russia launched "massive" drone attacks against Odesa overnight, authorities reported, resulting in one civilian killed and at least 14 injured, including three emergency workers.

The attack drones struck over 10 targets, including seven residential buildings, and led to multiple large-scale fires. At the site of one of the attacks, a 23-story residential building caught fire between the 18th and 20th floors, and led to the evacuation of over 600 people.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, two men aged 39 and 64 were injured in Russian attacks, Governor Serhii Lysak said. Two industrial facilities, two schools, and four houses were damaged during strikes against the Nikopol district overnight.

In Donetsk Oblast, one person was killed and another injured in Kostiantynivka, while five others were injured elsewhere in the region, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.

Russian attacks against Kharkiv and eight other settlements in Kharkiv Oblast injured six people, two of them minors, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. Multiple residential buildings, houses, a school, warehouses, and other property were damaged.

In Kherson Oblast, 11 people were wounded in Russian strikes, said the regional governor, Oleksandr Prokudin. Seventeen houses were damaged.

Read also: There’s loads of video of Israeli air defenses, and none of Ukraine’s — this is why

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

The lower house of the Dutch parliament on June 19 officially recognized the 1944 mass deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union as genocide, according to a statement from the parliamentary press service.

The motion cited precedent from other countries that have recognized the forced deportations as genocide, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine.

In the adopted text, Dutch lawmakers declared that the Soviet-led deportation of Crimean Tatars, which took place between May 18 and 21, 1944, constitutes genocide by contemporary legal and historical definitions.

The 1944 deportation was carried out under direct orders from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who labeled the entire Crimean Tatar population as traitors following the peninsula's liberation from Nazi occupation.

Over 190,000 Tatars were forcibly removed from Crimea in a matter of days, though some estimates place the number closer to 430,000, and sent to remote areas in Central Asia, mainly Uzbekistan, in brutal conditions that led to mass deaths.

The document pointed to the ongoing repression of Crimean Tatars under Russian occupation since 2014. It said that "many Crimean Tatars have been unjustly imprisoned, subjected to torture by the Russian Federation, or forcibly disappeared," and added that "Russia has likely continued a policy of genocide against Crimean Tatars."

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the decision, calling it "a powerful gesture of solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people, who are still facing persecution under Russia’s temporary occupation of the Ukrainian Crimea peninsula."

Sybiha noted that the Netherlands is now the seventh country to formally recognize the deportation as genocide and urged other nations to follow suit.

"Recognizing this historical injustice is critical not only for establishing truth and justice, but also for preventing future atrocities," the minister wrote.

Ukraine's parliament recognized the deportation as genocide in 2015 and established May 18 as the official Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People.

Read also: Who are the Crimean Tatars?

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Russia handed over some bodies of its own soldiers to Ukraine under the guise of Ukrainian casualties during a recent exchange of the deceased, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced on June 19.

"Yes, we have facts. We have established the names of these soldiers and officers who are unwanted by their homeland," Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

The discovery was made after the handover of remains under an agreement reached during the June 2 talks in Istanbul. In total, Ukraine received 6,057 bodies of its fallen soldiers as part of the phased exchange. Russia, according to Kremlin aide and negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, took back 78.

One of the bodies returned to Ukraine, labeled No. 192/25, was dressed in a Russian military uniform and carried a Russian passport issued to Alexander Viktorovich Bugaev, born in 1974.

Alongside the passport, officials found a military ID indicating Bugaev had served in the 1st Battalion of the 39th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade.

According to Klymenko, Bugaev went missing during heavy fighting near Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast in March 2025. His family had been searching for him for months. Klymenko said Russia had located Bugaev's body but chose to "dump" it among the Ukrainian dead.

"This is yet another proof of how Russia treats its people with contempt, throwing their bodies onto the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers," Klymenko said.

"This shows how little human life means to Russia. Or maybe it's just a way to avoid paying compensation to the families. But they will have to pay anyway: we are returning these bodies."

The official has not mentioned the total number of Russian soldiers' bodies given to Ukraine.

The June 2 negotiations in Istanbul resulted in the most expansive prisoner and body exchange agreement of the full-scale war, although no ceasefire was reached.

Russia accused Kyiv on June 7 of rejecting a proposed body return, publishing footage allegedly showing Ukrainian corpses stored in refrigeration units. Ukraine dismissed the claims, saying the footage was filmed on Russian territory, not at a designated handover site.

Kyiv has consistently called for an "all-for-all" exchange of prisoners of war, but Moscow has so far refused to agree to a comprehensive swap.

Read also: Ukraine, Russia carry out another POW exchange under Istanbul deal

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The European Union has postponed a move to lower the existing price cap on Russian oil, after concerns that the Iran-Israel conflict could lead to higher prices, Politico reported on June 20, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.

The price cap, introduced in December 2022 as a measure to limit the Kremlin's ability to finance its war against Ukraine, prohibits Western companies from shipping, insuring, or otherwise servicing Russian oil sold above $60 per barrel.

Ukraine has been calling on Western partners to lower the price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $30 per barrel. Meanwhile, two diplomats told Politico that the escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel would make it impossible to impose new restrictions.

"The idea of lowering the price cap is probably not going to fly because of the international situation in the Middle East and the volatility," said one diplomat on the condition of anonymity.

The issue of reducing the price cap on Russian oil was discussed during the Group of Seven (G7) summit, which was held June 15-17 in Canada. However, the participants failed to reach a consensus.

"At the G7 meeting this week, it was agreed by all the countries they would prefer not to take the decision right now," the diplomat added. "The prices were quite close to the cap; but now the prices are going up and down, the situation is too volatile for the moment."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during the G7 summit that the existing measures on Russian oil exports "had little effect," while noting that oil prices had risen in recent days, so "the cap in place does serve its function. "

Global oil prices spiked on June 13, after Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a long-range war between the two countries that has continued for over a week.

Brent and Nymex crude prices surged more than 10% before stabilizing around 7.5% higher, with Brent at $74.50 a barrel and Nymex at $73.20 as of June 20, the BBC reported.

The spike threatens to undermine Western efforts to restrict the wartime revenue of the Russian state, which depend heavily on oil exports.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas previously urged the European Union to pursue lowering the oil price cap on Russian oil, even without U.S. support, warning that Middle East tensions could otherwise drive prices up and boost Russia's revenues.

Read also: After 3 years of full-scale war in Ukraine, Europe finally lays out road map to detox from Russian oil and gas

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From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

Officials in Washington are frustrated with the diplomatic efforts of Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, and believe he may be undermining Ukraine's efforts to win favor with U.S. President Donald Trump, Politico reported on June 19.

Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky's close friend and chief adviser, has represented Ukraine's interests in Washington since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

According to 14 people who spoke to Politico, including U.S. and Ukrainian officials, many people in Washington find Yermak abrasive and uninformed, and fear that he is inaccurately conveying U.S. positions to Zelensky. While the Biden administration was willing to cooperate with Yermak, the Trump team is less accommodating — and more likely to rescind support for Ukraine.

"All the people (in the U.S.) who want to withdraw and abandon Ukraine are thrilled to have Yermak around," one person told Politico.

One person familiar with the situation described Yermak as a "bipartisan irritator" who also frustrated officials under U.S. President Joe Biden. The former administration, however, did not find Yermak's personality a valid reason to withdraw military and humanitarian aid from a key ally defending itself from an all-out war.

Trump's stance on Ukraine has been less supportive from the beginning. Since his inauguration in January, he has refused to approve new military aid packages for Kyiv or impose additional sanctions against Moscow. He has pursued warmer ties with Russia and criticized Zelensky more frequently and harshly than Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Any hopes Ukraine has of winning over Trump may be jeopardized by the administrations tense relationship with Yermak, Politico's sources suggested.

During Yermak's most recent visit to Washington, a last-minute trip in early June, he reportedly struggled to land meetings with Trump officials. One person familiar with the visit described Yermak as an "existential liability for Ukraine."

Sources described Yermak as overly demanding and ignorant of U.S. politics and processes. One person accused Yermak of acting as if Ukraine was the "center of the world" and said his attitude "has already affected the relationship (with Trump)."

In a statement to Politico, Yermak said he was doing everything in his power to protect and support Ukraine.

"If that means being considered 'challenging' by others — so be it," he said.

"I will wait many more hours outside any door if that helps my country and my president's mission. I have no ambition to fully grasp how American politics works — I come to speak about the country I know best: Ukraine."

Read also: Once firm, support for Ukraine among its neighbors wavers amid a populist surge

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