The Kyiv Independent

Key developments on July 10:

Rubio discusses 'new approach' to ending Russian war in talks with Lavrov despite US 'frustration'U.S. reportedly resumes some arms deliveries to Ukraine after pause2 killed, 25 injured as Kyiv slammed with drones, ballistic missiles in Russian mass attack against Ukraine for 2nd night in rowZelensky urges 'Marshall Plan-style' support for Ukraine at Recovery Conference in Rome

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he discussed a "new and different approach" to ending Moscow's war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia on July 10, speaking at a follow-up press conference.

"I wouldn't characterize it as something that guarantees peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I'll take back to the president (Donald Trump)," Rubio said, without giving further details.

"We're going to continue to stay involved where we see opportunities to make a difference."

Rubio's remarks came after a meeting with Lavrov, which took place after another Russia's large-scale drone and missile strike on Ukraine.

The diplomatic push continues amid efforts by Trump to broker a ceasefire and peace agreement in Ukraine. However, despite Moscow's intensified attacks, the Trump administration neither imposed new sanctions on Moscow since taking office nor approved additional aid packages.

Read also: ‘Coalition of the willing’ moves to finalize command structure for future reassurance force in Ukraine

U.S. reportedly resumes some arms deliveries to Ukraine after pause

The Trump administration resumed shipments of at least some weapons to Ukraine after a Pentagon-ordered pause, Reuters and the Associated Press reported on July 10, citing undisclosed U.S. officials.

The full content of the resumed shipments is not immediately clear, though officials told the U.S. media they include 155 mm artillery rounds and GMLRS guided rocket munitions.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly ordered a halt on some of the ongoing deliveries, including Patriot air defense missiles and precision munitions, last week amid a review of U.S. stockpiles.

The move apparently took Ukraine, European partners, and the U.S. State Department by surprise. CNN reported that Hegseth did not consult with the White House before ordering the pause.

According to Reuters, the paused shipment included 30 Patriot missiles, 8,500 155 mm artillery shells, 250 GMLRS rockets, and 142 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles.

The State Department and the White House confirmed earlier this week that a decision has been made to continue providing arms to Ukraine, without providing additional details.

When asked during a press conference on July 10 about reports of a recent pause in U.S. military aid to Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the situation had been "mischaracterized." He added that assistance to Kyiv is proceeding according to the established schedule.

"It was a pause pending review on a handful of specific type munitions... It was a very limited review of certain types of munitions to ensure that we (the U.S.) have sufficient stockpiles," Rubio said.

"Generally speaking, aid to Ukraine continues along the schedule that Congress appropriated."

Read also: After years of relative calm, a western Ukrainian city comes to terms with being in Russia’s crosshairs

2 killed, 25 injured as Kyiv slammed with drones, ballistic missiles in Russian mass attack against Ukraine for 2nd night in row

At least two people were killed and 25 injured in Kyiv as Russia launched a mass attack against Ukraine for the second night in a row, rocking Ukraine's capital and cities far from the front lines overnight on July 10.

At around 1:15 a.m. local time, Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground began reporting explosions in the capital and the buzzing of Shahed-type drones. Reporters said large numbers of drones were flying over the Pechersk neighborhood, a historical district in the city center.

Later in the night, reporters said they heard several dozen explosions and the distinctive sound of ballistic missiles. At least an hour of near-constant explosions rolled through the city.

Blast waves also set off car alarms throughout Kyiv, adding to the roar of drones, ballistic missiles, and air defense fire. Air raid alerts ended at approximately 7 a.m. in Kyiv Oblast.

Ukraine's Air Force issued multiple alerts overnight, warning that groups of Russian drones were targeting regions throughout the country, including the far-western Ternopil and Rivne oblasts.

The attack caused fires at apartment buildings in Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi and Darnytskyi districts, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported. Gas stations and garages are also in flames, he said, and medics have been dispatched to the scene.

Two people were killed in the Russian attack, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported. Both fatalities were women – a 68-year-old resident and a 22-year-old police officer, the Interior Ministry said.

At least 25 people have been injured, with at least 10 hospitalized, local authorities reported, adding that some of the injured sustained shrapnel wounds.

People leave a shelter with their belongings after a night of Russian strikes in Kyiv on July 10, 2025. (Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP via Getty Images)

In the Podilskyi district, a primary healthcare center "was almost completely destroyed" in the Russian attack, Klitchsko later reported.

The attack damaged the studio of the Kanal 5 television channel, owned by former President Petro Poroshenko. While no employees were injured, filming equipment sustained damage, causing a temporary disruption to broadcasting.

It remains unclear whether Russia targeted or hit any military or other strategic targets in the attack, as Ukrainian authorities largely do not disclose such information for security reasons. This makes the full extent of casualties and damage impossible to verify.

Russian forces launched 397 drones against Ukraine overnight, with almost 200 of them being Shahed-type kamikaze drones and the rest decoys used to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, according to the Air Force.

Russia also fired eight Iskander-M ballistic missiles, six Kh-101 cruise missiles, and four S-300 guided air defense missiles, targeting primarily Kyiv, the statement read.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 164 Shahed-type drones, eight Iskander-M missiles, and six Kh-101 missiles. Some 204 drones and missiles reportedly disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare.

Read also: ‘You think the end has come’ — as Russian attacks on Ukraine escalate, Kyiv grapples with terrifying new normal

Zelensky urges 'Marshall Plan-style' support for Ukraine at Recovery Conference in Rome

President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a Marshall Plan-style reconstruction strategy to help Ukraine recover from Russia's all-out war in his opening remarks at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on July 10.

Earlier in the day, the president and First Lady Olena Zelenska arrived at the two-day event focused on mobilizing political and private-sector support for Ukraine's reconstruction. The previous three conferences have taken place in Lugano, London, and Berlin.

"We need a Marshall Plan-style approach, and we should develop it together," Zelensky told representatives of governments, international organizations, and businesses who gathered in Rome.

The Marshall Plan was an economic aid program that the United States offered to European countries after World War II to help them rebuild their economies.

"Rebuilding Ukraine is not just about our country. It's also about your countries, your companies, your technology, your jobs," Zelensky said.

Drawing comparisons to existing international coalitions supporting Kyiv's military efforts, he called upon international partners to form a recovery coalition and help Ukraine rebuild with a systematic approach.

"The way we rebuild our country can also modernize your infrastructure and industries. And I ask you to support the recovery coalition and help define specific financing mechanisms."

Zelensky stressed that Kyiv would welcome only "true partners" in the initiative, "those who are not helping Russia continue this war."

Read also: As leaders attend Ukraine Recovery Conference, rebuilding is distant dream for Ukrainians who need it most

Note from the author:

Ukraine War Latest is put together by the Kyiv Independent news desk team, who keep you informed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you value our work and want to ensure we have the resources to continue, join the Kyiv Independent community.

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

CHERNIVTSI — This afternoon in the normally quiet western Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi, I found myself running home in terror, chased by the sounds of a Shahed flying overhead.

It was a first for me — despite my trips to frequently-targeted cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv since the start of the full-scale war, I’d never heard any major explosions. I caught myself on trains to and from those cities during attacks, yet was lucky enough to be on the ground when they weren’t actively targeted by missiles and drones.

Other than soldiers’ funerals, my home region, Chernivtsi — Ukraine’s smallest, tucked away in the southwest near the Romanian border — usually feels as distant from the front lines as one can get. It has long been a haven for those escaping the war’s daily horrors, with little in the way of critical infrastructure to draw the enemy’s eye.

At first, I was in disbelief — it couldn’t possibly be a Shahed in my Chernivtsi. Yet, as the sound grew louder, ominously close, denial ultimately gave way to dread. All I could do was run as fast as possible, desperate to close the distance between myself and home. My mind fixated on one fragile consolation: my little daughter was at home with family, not in imminent danger with me. But that hope was quickly shattered by a fresh surge of anxiety — what if they weren’t safe, either?

Chernivtsi is just an hour and a half drive from the Romanian city of Suceava. Looking online, I see that Suceava’s international airport is welcoming flights today not only from Bucharest but from London and Milan, too. It feels like an alternate universe where less than a hundred kilometers away, people make plans for travel, be it for work or pleasure, and most certainly do not give a second thought to the nearby war.

They believe the war is confined within Ukraine’s borders — a grim reality that cannot possibly touch them. To be honest, many people here in Chernivtsi once thought the same. There was always a temptation for such people to dismiss the air raid siren as mere noise and to believe that missile and drone strikes would remain confined to regions eastward.

Yet, back in June, military volunteer Mariia Berlinska warned that Russian drones are capable of hunting civilians deep inside cities far from the front lines, even mentioning Chernivtsi and Lviv by name. She cautioned that by 2026, swarms of thousands of drones in “hunting mode” could become a grim new reality for people in western Ukraine.

In my opinion, the past 24 hours — Russia launched a Shahed drone at Chernivtsi overnight, too, I should add — have signaled yet another decisive moment in the war, even if it might not immediately seem that way.

Read also: ‘You think the end has come’ — as Russian attacks on Ukraine escalate, Kyiv grapples with terrifying new normal

Let me explain.

Until now, missiles and drones rarely targeted Chernivtsi Oblast. However, the truth since the start of the full-scale war in 2022 is that no region is completely safe from Russian drone and missile attacks.

Today’s drone attack on Chernivtsi, Ukraine’s “little Vienna,” which is beautiful yet admittedly unremarkable in scale, is a blatant act of sadism on the part of Russia. This attack isn’t remotely capable of influencing the situation on the battlefield. I’m sure that wasn’t its task.

Those in the Kremlin who declare their sphere of influence will stretch “from Lisbon to Vladivostok” were never going to stop at Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Their hunger for empire is ravenous and unrelenting — a bloodthirst that can never be satiated. This was never just a “territorial dispute” for them — it has always been a brutal quest for world domination fueled by endless violence, because only through force and fear does Russia believe its power can be maintained.

I wonder when the rest of the world — especially our neighbors in Europe — will truly grasp this.

We occasionally hear about drone parts being shot down and landing in border settlements in Poland, Romania, or Moldova. Today, a Russian drone landed in Lithuania.

If these incidents become more frequent, and if their own people start to suffer casualties, will they finally recognize the threat posed by Russia is facing not just Ukraine, but them as well? How many kilometers must war travel before it reaches your doorstep — and you finally see it’s also coming for you?

Tonight, I’ll be doing something I haven’t done since the full-scale war began: packing an emergency bag with my personal documents and other essentials for the shelter. I doubt today’s strike on Chernivtsi will be the last — why would it be? After everything that’s happened over more than three years of the full-scale war, I can’t shake the sinking feeling that, for those of us in what was once “peaceful” western Ukraine, this is only the beginning of something much worse. Not only because Russia appears to take sick pleasure in targeting Ukrainian cities.

As I’ll place each item in that emergency bag, I’ll think of the dumb luck I’ve had up until now.

When I once mentioned to someone here in Chernivtsi the fact that I’d never heard the sound of explosions despite occasionally traveling throughout Ukraine since 2022, they replied that I have a “very powerful guardian angel” watching over me.

But even angels, I suppose, can start to grow weary of war.

Read also: Russia turns sound into weapon

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.

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

Leaders of the "coalition of the willing" are finalizing command structures for a future multinational reassurance force in Ukraine, the U.K. government announced following an online meeting on July 10.

The "Coalition of the Willing," a group of Ukraine's partners has met repeatedly to determine potential security guarantees and a peacekeeping force for Ukraine. Leaders of 31 nations met in Paris on March 27 at a summit for the coalition.

The coalition, led by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, aims to establish a multinational force to help monitor a potential ceasefire deal in Ukraine and boost Kyiv's defense capabilities.

The recent meeting conveyed 32 participants, including heads of state, government officials, and representatives from international organizations. For the first time, the United States took part, represented by U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg and Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal.

In April, Bloomberg reported that the coalition’s efforts had stalled due to Washington’s refusal to offer concrete security guarantees to Kyiv. The latest meeting came as U.S. attempts to broker a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine faltered, with two largely inconclusive rounds of peace talks held in Turkey.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron host a meeting of the "coalition of the willing" during a joint military visit to the Northwood Headquarters in London, England, on July 10, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

"Everyone acknowledges that this is a war that can only be overcome through unity — and we have built the unity we need," President Volodymyr Zelensky said after joining the meeting via video from Rome.

Coalition leaders agreed to continue preparations for a force that could deploy to Ukraine immediately after the hostilities stop, but has not so far publicly come up with contingencies in which Russia refuses to stop on the battlefield.

The mission will be coordinated by a UK- and France-led three-star operational headquarters in Paris, which will rotate to London after 12 months. A UK-led coordination cell will also be established in Kyiv upon deployment.

The post-war plan will aim to regenerate Ukraine’s land forces, provide air policing in coordination with Ukraine’s Air Force, and expand Black Sea mine-clearing efforts to restore maritime access.

"The 'Multinational Force Ukraine' will bolster Ukraine’s ability to return to peace and stability by supporting the regeneration of Ukraine’s own forces," the statement read. "Strong Ukrainian Armed Forces is the best way to deter Russia — and ensure the country is able to rebuild a thriving economy and attract international investment."

Read also: Rubio discusses ‘new approach’ to ending Russian war in talks with Lavrov despite US ‘frustration’

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

President Volodymyr Zelensky is considering appointing Defense Minister Rustem Umerov as Ukraine’s next ambassador to the U.S., he announced on July 10 during a press conference in Rome.

Zelensky confirmed plans to replace Ukraine’s current ambassador in Washington, Oksana Markarova, who has held the post since 2021.

He said he will decide who will replace her "in the near future."

"We need a person (as an ambassador to the U.S.) to be strong and to be in the context of the most important thing, in the context of strengthening Ukraine — through weapons, first of all. Therefore, one of my ideas is that it can be Ukraine's defense minister," Zelensky said.

The president's statement came days after Bloomberg reported that Umerov was on Kyiv's list of the candidates for ambassador to the U.S. along with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna and Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.

A source familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent on July 7 that the possibility of a new ambassador was discussed in a recent phone call between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump. According to the source, Kyiv raised the topic, suggesting the change could be "useful for both sides," and added that there are multiple "strong candidates" in the running.

"I am grateful to Oksana Markarova," Zelensky said. "I can't tell you what will be the continuation of her work, a lot depends on her... I would like her to continue working in Ukraine."

Amid growing speculation of a government reshuffle, Zelensky has not ruled out ministerial changes if Umerov is appointed as ambassador.

"If I decide that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will represent Ukraine in the United States, our key ambassador, that would lead to a serious reshuffle in Ukraine’s government," the president said.

Umerov was appointed Ukraine’s defense minister in September 2023. Prior to that, he served as a member of parliament, headed the State Property Fund, and was part of Ukraine’s delegation to negotiations with Russia at the outset of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

When direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow resumed in 2025, Umerov led the Ukrainian delegation in two rounds of negotiations.

At the beginning of the year, the Defense Ministry came under scrutiny as Umerov faced an investigation over his alleged abuse of power.

Pro-reform MPs and anti-corruption activists have criticized him for what they saw as efforts to destroy the independence of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA), which was created in 2022 to make defense procurement more transparent and counter corruption.

Read also: ‘You think the end has come’ — as Russian attacks on Ukraine escalate, Kyiv grapples with terrifying new normal

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

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Produced by the Tech Force in UA (TFUA), the powerful voice of Ukraine’s defense tech industry, together with KI Insights, the analytical unit backed by the Kyiv Independent, this catalog showcases verified flagship products developed by TFUA member companies, including reconnaissance and strike drones, electronic warfare systems, unmanned ground vehicles, and simulators. All data and specifications were provided directly by the manufacturers.

The catalog is aimed at international defense platforms, investment funds, and private companies looking to partner with battlefield-proven Ukrainian innovators. The first edition, in English, will be presented at the key investment conference — Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, Italy, in digital format. This catalog is intended for those ready to offer real value to Ukrainian manufacturers — through industrial partnership or investment.

The systems featured here evolve on a near-weekly basis, driven by a unique innovation loop that rapidly turns battlefield feedback into new prototypes. This catalog is a living document, updated regularly to reflect the latest advancements. A preview is available on the KI Insights website. To request full access, please email insights@kyivindependent.com with a brief description of your professional activities, or complete this short form. For security reasons, access is restricted to vetted recipients only.

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About KI Insights: KI Insights delivers critical intelligence through analytical subscriptions and bespoke research services. Subscribers receive: weekly updates, access to a comprehensive research library, invitations to exclusive events, custom data, and analysis. Whether navigating Ukraine’s political landscape or identifying investment opportunities, KI Insights provides the essential knowledge to stay ahead.

Read also: ‘Neither side wasted time’ — Ukraine’s economy minister on minerals deal negotiations with Trump’s ‘business-oriented’ administration

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

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he discussed a "new and different approach" to ending Moscow's war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia on July 10, speaking at a follow-up press conference.

"I wouldn't characterize it as something that guarantees peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I'll take back to the president (Donald Trump)," Rubio said, without giving further details.

"We're going to continue to stay involved where we see opportunities to make a difference."

Moscow has consistently ignored a U.S.-proposed ceasefire agreement, has escalated attacks on Ukrainian civilians, and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared in June that "all of Ukraine is ours."

Russia and Ukraine have held two rounds of face-to-face talks in Istanbul this year, first on May 16 and again on June 2, following more than three years without direct negotiations. The meetings resulted in major prisoner exchanges, but no significant steps toward a ceasefire.

Rubio's remarks came after a meeting with Lavrov, which took place after another Russia's large-scale drone and missile strike on Ukraine.

The diplomatic push continues amid efforts by Trump to broker a ceasefire and peace agreement in Ukraine. However, despite Moscow's intensified attacks, the Trump administration neither imposed new sanctions on Moscow since taking office nor approved additional aid packages.

On July 2, the Pentagon announced a pause in deliveries of key military aid to Kyiv, including Patriot interceptors and precision-guided munitions.

Trump later denied involvement in the decision and expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for failing to pursue a ceasefire. As of July 10, shipments of at least some weapons to Ukraine have been reportedly resumed.

Earlier in a day, Rubio said that aid to Kyiv is proceeding according to the established schedule. He also echoed Trump’s "disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress."

"We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this (war) can conclude. And then we shared some ideas about what that might look like," Rubio added.

Read also: ‘You think the end has come’ — as Russian attacks on Ukraine escalate, Kyiv grapples with terrifying new normal

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

The Kyiv Independent staff documented what it feels like to live and sleep in Kyiv, Ukraine, as Russia intensifies its drone and missile attacks on the city. Filmed over several weeks in June and July, our journalists take shelter in bathrooms, basements, and parking garages as explosions ring out overhead.

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

Editor's note: Journalists frommisto.media contributed to the reporting of this article.

Located in far-western Ukraine, just 90 kilometers from the Polish border, the city of Lutsk in Volyn Oblast has largely avoided the mass Russian missile and drone attacks that regularly terrorize cities further east.

That has all changed over the last few weeks as Russia ramps up aerial attacks across the country, with Lutsk being struck heavily on June 6, and then little over a month later on July 9.

During the June 6 attack, 30 people were injured, and a couple, a 26-year-old man and his 24-year-old fiancee, were killed.

It wasn't the first time Russian missiles and drones wreaked havoc in Lutsk — in August 2023, three people were killed in a missile strike on the city, and almost exactly a year later, five people were injured, one killed in another attack.

But the scale of recent strikes, the apparent increase in frequency, and the wider context of massively escalating Russian aerial attacks across Ukraine have rattled the city's residents.

"For the first time in my two-and-a-half years of living in Lutsk, I went to a shelter," 26-year-old Antonina Stetsenko told the Kyiv Independent the morning after the July 9 attack, describing the experience as "terrifying."

"I woke up to the sound of a Kinzhal (Russian hypersonic) missile strike and realized I had to go. The closest shelter to me was the cathedral," she added.

Ukraine's Volyn Oblast (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent)

Around midnight, a strong thunderstorm covered Lutsk, but the sound of thunder was soon replaced by drones and missile explosions.

"I woke up because of the air alarm at 1:55 a.m. Between 2 and 3 a.m., I could no longer distinguish between a thunderstorm and an air attack," 30-year-old Lutsk resident Yaroslava Savosh-Davydova, told the Kyiv Independent.

"Our ‘shelter’ was the corridor of an apartment on the 4th floor. The windows were curtained, flowerpots were removed. It was very loud. Air defense was working," she added.

"I heard a Shahed drone howling, and I reassured myself that if I heard this sound above my head, it means that the beast has flown on and we are alive."

Kardash Mykhailo, 46, told the Kyiv Independent he was not too worried when he first heard the air raid sirens, a regular occurrence across Ukraine that don't always signify a mass attack.

But he changed his mind when monitoring channels on Telegram reported missiles heading towards Lutsk, waking his wife and 10-year-old child and heading to a shelter in a nearby theater.

"Last time (June 6), when a missile hit the residential building, we didn’t go to a shelter. But this time, we decided to go, because we had learned from that experience," Mykhailo said.

"Everyone was glued to Telegram channels, reading the news. At first, we didn’t even realize that so many Shaheds had been aimed specifically at Lutsk," he added.

The attack would become the largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Russian forces deployed 728 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys, as well as seven Kh-101 or Iskander-K cruise missiles and six Kinzhal missiles, the Air Force reported.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 296 drones and all seven cruise missiles, while 415 drones disappeared from radars.

"Nearly everything was aimed at Lutsk," Volyn Oblast Governor Ivan Rudnytskyi said.

Lutsk Mayor Ihor Polishchuk said that a fire damaged an "industrial site" as well as a garage, in what he called the "most massive Russian attack" on the city since the start of full-scale war.

In some places, all that remained were skeletal frames of buildings, Tetiana Pryimachok, editor-in-chief of Lutsk-based misto.media told the Kyiv Independent. Drone debris lay scattered across the city.

Perhaps due to the increased caution in the city, there were no casualties in Lutsk, but the targeting of the city has raised an obvious question in the city — why now?

"Maybe to demoralize everyone once again? To trigger the PTSD of internally displaced people there? To heighten the anxiety of relocated businesses? To scream, with a mix of sirens, buzzing, and stench, that there is no safe place? To terrorize people into being utterly ineffective at work the next day?" Savosh-Davydova said.

"This is an attempt to undermine the rear, because there is a large concentration of logistics and people here who are helping the front," she added.

As Russia's aerial attacks increase across the entire country, there is likely something in Savosh-Davydova's theory.

On July 10, Russia launched a mass attack against Ukraine for the second night in a row, rocking Ukraine's capital and cities far from the front lines. At least two people were killed and 25 were injured, just the latest of Russia's escalating strikes against civilian population centers..

"Back in 2015, a wounded soldier in a military hospital told me 'this is a war of attrition.' And ten years later, I am shocked by how brutal the methods have become," Savosh-Davydova said.

Read also: ‘You think the end has come’ — as Russian attacks on Ukraine escalate, Kyiv grapples with terrifying new normal

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

DTEK, Ukraine's biggest private energy company, has begun final commissioning of the country's largest battery energy storage project, the company announced on July 10 at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Rome.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has deliberately targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, causing electricity shortages in the system and leading to blackouts. Once operational, the batteries will help stabilize Ukraine's electricity grid and keep the power supply steady, avoiding emergency power outages.

The project was developed in partnership with American energy company Fluence Energy Inc. The 200-megawatt system spans six locations across Ukraine and represents one of Eastern Europe's most significant energy storage deployments.

Each site has a capacity between 20 and 50 megawatts, with almost seven hundred Fluence Gridstack battery units installed collectively. According to DTEK, the project can store 400 megawatt-hours of electricity — enough to power 600,000 Ukrainian homes for two hours.

DTEK announced that commercial operations are scheduled to begin in October 2025, just before Ukraine's critical winter heating season.

"We are laying the foundation of a new energy system in Ukraine because bringing an energy storage system of this scale into the Ukrainian power grid means that we are building an absolutely new, much more resilient energy system in the country," Maxim Timchenko, DTEK CEO told the Kyiv Independent in Rome.

The project marks the first major energy infrastructure delivery since Ukraine and the United States signed an economic partnership agreement in April 30, according to DTEK.

Julian Nebreda, CEO at Fluence, told the Kyiv Independent that they decided to pursue this project because "we're convinced that Ukraine is going to win the war."

"In the United States, the average time to put up a new generation asset, be it a combined gas turbine or a wind farm or a solar PV plant at industrial scale, is approximately six years. We've seen that done in six months in Ukraine. And that's in the middle of a war," said Nebreda.

Due to wartime restrictions, Fluence conducted its first fully remote project launch. Twenty Ukrainian engineers were trained at the company's facilities in Germany and Finland to operate the systems independently.

Fluence will continue providing remote technical support and monitoring to ensure the project runs safely.

"The project of this scale we are realizing in Ukraine under the new administration of the United States is proof that real partnership shouldn't wait for the end of war or any other conditions," Timchenko said.

Read also: ‘You think the end has come’ — as Russian attacks on Ukraine escalate, Kyiv grapples with terrifying new normal

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

The U.K. and Ukraine will sign a deal on July 10 to supply Ukraine with Thales air defense missiles, the U.K. government announced on its website.

Kyiv has repeatedly urged Western partners to expand air defense coverage as Russian forces continue to target Ukrainian cities with drones, missiles, and aerial bombs.

The U.K has committed to producing Thales-produced missiles for Western air defense systems in support of Ukraine over the next 19 years, in a £2.5 billion ($3.1 billion) project. Under the agreement, the U.K. will supply Ukraine with a total of 5,000 missiles.

"This announcement underlines our continued support for Ukraine — boosting their air defences against devastating drone and missile attacks and supporting the critical work to reconstruct this nation and provide the hope that they need," British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said.

"This will also provide skilled jobs in the U.K. and is all part of our Plan for Change — bolstering the U.K. defence industry and strengthening our international ties," Rayner added.

The deal is set to be signed on July 10 during the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference in Rome.

In addition to missile supplies, the U.K. will provide bilateral assistance to Ukraine totaling up to £283 million ($354 million) through 2026.

Thales-made missiles, including the high-speed Starstreak and versatile Martlet models, have become key elements of Ukraine's air defense. Designed for precision and resistance to jamming, they are effective against drones and low-flying aircraft.

The missiles have a range of up to three kilometers (nearly one mile), and in some variants, feature laser guidance.

Read also: 2 killed, 24 injured as Kyiv slammed with drones, ballistic missiles in Russian mass attack against Ukraine for 2nd night in row

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

Berlin is ready to purchase Patriot air defense systems from the United States and transfer them to Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on July 10 amid an uptick in Russian aerial strikes, Sky News reported.

Merz's statement came hours after another large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine. Moscow's forces launched 397 drones and 18 missiles overnight, primarily targeting Kyiv, killing two people and injuring at least 24 others.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, Merz said he had asked U.S. President Donald Trump last week to supply Patriots to Ukraine.

"We are also prepared to purchase additional Patriot systems from the U.S. to make them available to Ukraine," the German chancellor said.

"The Americans need some of them themselves, but they also have a lot of them," he added.

A final decision on the delivery has not yet been made, Merz said.

A day before, on July 9, Trump said that his administration is "going to have to take a look" at supplying Ukraine with another Patriot system.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the White House is considering sending Kyiv a Patriot battery in what would be the administration's first major new weapons transfer since taking office in January.

According to Axios, the White House is working on a deal under which Germany would sell a Patriot battery to Ukraine, with the U.S. and European allies sharing the cost.

The proposal comes amid a series of conflicting signals from Washington. On July 2, the Pentagon announced a pause in deliveries of key military aid to Kyiv, including Patriot interceptors and precision-guided munitions.

Trump later denied involvement in the decision and expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for failing to pursue a ceasefire. As of July 10, shipments of at least some weapons to Ukraine have been reportedly resumed.

Kyiv has repeatedly urged Western partners to expand air defense coverage as Russian forces continue to target Ukrainian cities with drones, missiles, and aerial bombs.

Patriot batteries, with their high-precision tracking and interception capabilities, are a cornerstone of Ukraine's layered air defense system.

Washington has so far delivered three Patriot batteries to Ukraine, while Germany has sent three more. A European coalition has contributed an additional battery, though not all systems are currently operational due to maintenance rotations.

If approved, a new transfer would mark Trump's first major military package to Ukraine not initiated by the previous Biden administration.

Read also: Russia’s summer offensive becomes its costliest campaign during Ukraine invasion, Economist reports

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

In the early hours of July 10, many Kyiv residents were jolted awake by the thundering sound of ballistic missiles shaking their buildings.

Others were already lying awake in beds, bathtubs, and underground shelters across the city, as residents endure a new normal of intensified Russian strikes on the capital.

"You lie down, look into the abyss of night, and hear the loudest attack," Hryhorii Matsebok, a 47-year-old artist, told the Kyiv Independent. "And you think the end has already come."

Matsebok, a resident of Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, said the overnight attack was one of the most intense he had experienced in three years of war.

Since the start of the year, Russia has dramatically scaled up its aerial attacks across Ukraine, breaking record after record of firepower used — and of civilian casualties. The sound of explosions and the whine of drones overhead has become increasingly familiar in recent months, as residents cope with new anxieties, tragedies, and mounting hours of lost sleep.

Red Cross medics evacuate a woman from a damaged residential building after a Russian drones and missiles attack on July 10, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine (Oleksandr Gusev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

The capital city has long been a refuge for displaced civilians fleeing for safety from the eastern and southern areas of the country. But as Russia steps up its attacks, residents in Kyiv, too, are increasingly vulnerable.

In the latest overnight strike, Russian armed forces launched 397 Shahed loitering munitions and decoy drones, along with 8 ballistic missiles and 10 cruise missiles, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

The main target was the capital city, where two were killed and at least 19 were injured during the mass attack.

“Children spend many nights not tucked in bed, but sheltering in corridors, basements, and bathrooms.”

Aiida Nashchanska, an 18-year-old student studying to become a singer, had an exam in the morning and had wanted a full night’s rest.

"I woke up, and it’s still shaking and everything is shaking. I was very afraid that the windows would fly out," she said. The explosions were so close to her in the Troyeshchyna region of Kyiv that it "felt like it was exploding under my house," she said.

She ran to the bathroom  — often the safest part of a building away from windows and exterior walls —  and had difficulty tearing herself away from the news alerts about the latest launches and flight directions of missiles and drones overhead.

"I watch the news and I understand that I don't know when (the attack) will end, but I needed to sleep," she said. She lay awake praying for survival until she calmed down enough to get some rest.

A resident looks at the damage to apartments following Russian air strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, July 10, 2025 (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Emergency service workers at the site of a Russian air strike which hit a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, July 10, 2025 (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)A local resident reacts at the site of a Russian attack that damaged a resident building in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 10, 2025 (Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images)A communal worker is seen working at the site of a Russian attack that damaged a resident building in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 10, 2025 (Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images)A view of a damaged residential building after a Russian drones and missiles attack on July 10, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine (Oleksandr Gusev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Last month, civilian casualties reached a three-year high, with 232 killed and 1,343 injured in June, according to a public statement from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU). A key reason for the rise is Russia’s increased use of missiles and drones in urban areas.

Compared with June of last year, Russia launched ten times more missiles and loitering munitions, HRMMU wrote, and "virtually no region of Ukraine was spared, regardless of its distance from the frontline."

"Civilians across Ukraine are facing levels of suffering we have not seen in over three years," Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU, said in the July 10 statement released.

Russian drones launched against Ukraine by month. (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent)

"The surge in long-range missile and drone strikes across the country has brought even more death and destruction to civilians far away from the frontline."

"Children spend many nights not tucked in bed, but sheltering in corridors, basements, and bathrooms, covering their ears from the sounds of sirens and explosions. These experiences bring lasting scars," Bell added.

During the attack, drones and missiles pummeled the city for hours. Fires broke out in apartment buildings, gas stations, and garages, and a primary healthcare center was almost completely destroyed, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

In the aftermath of the attack, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha shared photos of firemen standing amid falling building debris, aiming their hoses at a smoldering apartment several stories above their heads.

Firemen work to put out a blaze after a mass aerial attack on Kyiv on July 10, 2025. (Andrii Sybiha / X)

"Kyiv had a particularly dreadful night, with brutal attacks by swarms of drones and missiles, including ballistic missiles," Sybiha wrote on X.

"There are damaged residential buildings and civilian casualties in the capital, as well as thick smoke in the morning sky."

Viktor Kuzmenko, an 85-year-old who lives close to the damaged building in the Lukianivska district, told the Kyiv Independent that the sound of the strike was "very sharp, like a comet."

Because of his age, he struggles to walk or leave the house, he said, and didn’t think he could make it in time to an underground shelter from his 5th-story apartment when he heard the sound. In the morning, he saw smoke rising from the strike site.

"This is a clear escalation of terror by Russia — hundreds of 'Shaheds' every night, constant strikes, and massive attacks on Ukrainian cities," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.

The attack came one day after the largest aerial attack yet of the war, when on July 9, Russia launched more than 700 drones and 13 missiles. The main target during that attack was the Western city of Lutsk.

Olesia, a 33-year-old teacher who declined to give her last name, had been visiting friends in Kyiv's Pechersk region with the hopes of relaxing.

Instead, she said the attack on Kyiv was the first time since the outbreak of the full-scale invasion that she felt compelled to shelter underground. In her native Cherkasy region, the attacks haven't been as strong, she said.

About 40 minutes after the initial air raid alert, she heard neighbors in her building making their way past her and joined them as they sheltered on the first floor of the building – fearing that the walk to the underground subway would leave them too exposed.

"It was very difficult for me," she said. "I'll rest in Cherkasy."

Note from the author:

Hi, I’m Andrea Januta, thank you for reading our latest piece from Kyiv. We believe that now, more than ever, the world needs access to reliable reporting from the ground here in Ukraine. To keep our journalism going, we rely on our community of over 20,000 members, most of whom give just $5 a month. If you’d like to support the Kyiv Independent’s work, please consider supporting us by becoming a member.

Read also: Investigation: How Russia prepares its strategic missile plant for ‘eternal war’

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

Moscow's ongoing summer offensive has been the most costly in terms of Russian manpower losses during the entire full-scale war in Ukraine, the Economist said in its analysis published on July 9.

Russia launched its new campaign at the beginning of May, aiming to advance deeper into eastern Donetsk Oblast and carve out a buffer zone in northeastern Sumy Oblast.

The news outlet estimates roughly 31,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the offensive so far, in comparison to some 190,000-350,000 deaths and up to 1.3 million overall Russian casualties of the entire full-scale war.

The outlet based its analysis on NASA satellite footage and data from Western governments and independent researchers. Its figures come close to Ukraine's estimates, which put Russian overall losses to over 1 million.

The Economist wrote it was unable to provide estimates for Ukrainian losses during the offensive.

A June research by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated Ukraine's casualties during the full-scale war at 400,000, including between 60,000 and 100,000 fatalities.

Russia, nevertheless, continues to rely on its capacity to muster fresh troops and offset the losses. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in May that while Kyiv manages to mobilize about 25,000-27,000 troops every month, Moscow mobilizes between 40,000 and 45,000 in the same period.

Ukraine's challenges are compounded by escalating Russian aerial strikes and uncertainties about U.S. support, with at least some U.S. aid packages, including Patriot missiles, being held up by a Pentagon stockpile review earlier this month.

Kyiv has claimed success in holding off a Russian advance into northeastern Sumy Oblast. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said last month that the Russian offensive is "faltering," with Ukrainain forces allegedly pinning down about 50,000 Russian troops in the sector.

Russia launched the offensive despite calls by Kyiv and its Western allies for an unconditional ceasefire.

Read also: In historic feat, Ukraine’s 3rd Brigade captures Russian troops using only drones and robots, military says

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

Editor’s Note: The following is part of a series of reports by the Kyiv Independent about the memorialization of Ukraine’s fallen soldiers and civilians.

Every nation-defining event in Ukraine's nearly 35 years of independence has begun in the main square of its capital city, Kyiv. There, on what is now called Independence Square, democratic protests sparked three revolutions, each commemorated by several memorials.

But none of those memorials are as prominent as the square's newest addition — a collection of flags, photos, and candles installed by passersby since 2022 on a lawn of the square to pay tribute to those killed fighting in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

At almost any moment throughout the day, people can be seen walking through the memorial, placing a new flag or photograph, or just stopping by to pay their respects.

For now, it's the closest thing Ukraine has to a national memorial to the war with Russia — a conflict that has united Ukrainians more than any other event in their history.

In 2025, stalled peace talks reignited debate over how the war might ultimately end. But only its outcome will determine the story future memorials tell Ukrainians and the world — whether one of victory, tragic loss, or a frozen front line that stands as a warning of wars yet to come.

A woman displays a portrait of a Ukrainian army serviceman at a memorial at Independence Square, commemorating Ukrainian and foreign fighters, as well as civilians, killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, on May 27, 2024. (Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images)

While the improvised memorial reflects a public need to honor those killed in the war, designing a permanent monument for a conflict with no clear end presents a unique challenge for urban planners and designers. Lingering Soviet-era practices and customs around memorialization also call for a radically new vision for commemoration.

There is no way to tell how people will remember this war decades from now. But there is little doubt that Ukraine's war-forged national identity will be central in shaping the country's future.

‘The memory of the war is everywhere’

Experts agree that Ukrainians’ need for the war commemoration is stronger than ever, driven not only by daily personal losses they endure and witness in the news but also by the threat of their country's history being rewritten to serve geopolitical agendas.

"People demand that this war be remembered here and now, because we are not sure that we will survive a genocidal war against Ukraine," said Anton Liahusha, a historian and dean of the recently founded master's degree in memory studies at the Kyiv School of Economics.

"The memory of the war is indeed everywhere because each of us carries our dead with us — even those who think the war is far away," he told the Kyiv Independent.

As trauma continues to compound over time, spontaneous acts of commemoration emerge as people struggle to process their grief over experiences that continue each day, and as a result of a lack of time and distance from them.

An improvised memorial in honor of the children who died as a result of the Russian drone attack is displayed on March 5, 2024 in Odesa, Ukraine. (Tanya Dzafarowa/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

“We cannot afford to calmly sit and debate about the past today,” Liahusha said.

It is often through debates that take place long after a tragic event that its true impact on society becomes clear — shaping how it is remembered and what lessons are passed on to future generations.

"Each of us carries our dead with us — even those who think the war is far away."

A famous showcase of this process was the first national memorial to the Vietnam War in the United States, built in Washington, D.C. in 1982, seven years after the two-decades-long war ended. Its design by a Yale architecture undergraduate, Maya Lin —  two black granite walls engraved with the names of dead and missing servicemen that was selected by an expert jury in a nationwide competition — was revolutionary and faced harsh criticism at the time.

One loud objection was the lack of triumphant attributes in its austere V-shaped black granite slicing into the slope of the park — "the earth cut open," as Lin called it — which contrasted with monumental white memorials long the norm in Washington, D.C.

A U.S. Army Reserve soldier reads some of the 58,272 names etched into "The Wall" of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington as the sun rises on July 22, 2015. (Sgt. Ken Scar via the U.S. Department of Defense)

Maya Lin's Vietnam memorial started a new page in the world's memorialization practice, because it spoke to people in "a completely new language" which made sense in the context of that war, said Oksana Dovhopolova, a historian who co-founded a non-governmental educational project in Ukraine called the "Memorialization practices lab" that teaches students to develop meaningful commemorative designs.

"Every war and every tragic event creates its own language of memorialization because every historical event is unique — World War I, World War II, 9/11 in New York," Dovhopolova told the Kyiv Independent.

In Ukraine, she believes the language of memorialization will be invented eventually. "But for now, this search resembles a repetition of the World War I memorials," she said.

Children stand in front of memorial plaques for those killed by the Russian war on the first day of the new school year in Lviv on Sept.2, 2024. (Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images)

'We don't know the final destination'

The primary problem for commemorating the ongoing war with Russia is that no one knows how it will end.

While there are efforts around the world to commemorate traumatic events as they continue, such as an online museum dedicated to murdered journalists in Mexico, physical memorials throughout the past century almost exclusively appeared after the event's conclusion.

"Just imagine, we build a monument to victory now, and then we lose the war," Liahusha said. "Or we make a very tragic monument, and then we win the war, and we will have a celebratory narrative of survival," he added.

Another scenario, one in which the war is frozen at the current front line, leaving Crimea and territories from five Ukrainian oblasts with an estimated 5 million people under Russian occupation, would portray an even more complex narrative — about a fight that is expected to continue sooner or later.

"Just imagine, we build a monument to victory now, and then we lose the war. Or we make a very tragic monument, and then we win the war."

"(In that case), we would need a third type of monument — a 'present continuous' type, where there is no completed narrative of this war," Liahusha said.

Ukrainian civil society is already working to build memory sites for some episodes of an ongoing war, such as the Bucha massacre that occurred outside of Kyiv during Russia's month-long occupation there, or human rights violations in Yahidne in Chernihiv Oblast. Building memorials in these places is possible because Russia was driven out of those areas in 2022, giving these local events a sense of finality.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken enters the basement of the school in Yahidne on Sept. 7, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

However, experts agree that the nationwide commemorative policy will take shape after the war, "when we are no longer in the midst of it," Dovhopolova said.

"Oftentimes, memory actually comes after other processes of truth-seeking, justice, and criminal accountability," said Kerry Whigham, assistant professor of genocide and mass atrocity prevention at Binghamton University in New York, during an online workshop on memorializing ongoing atrocities.

"First, we need to get a really clear view about what crimes occurred that we need to memorialize and remember," he said.

'A symbol of those who are attacking us'

It is natural for a nation to draw guidance on commemorating something new from the commemorative heritage that their culture has accumulated — things people are used to seeing in place of a war memorial, as illustrated by a statue called "Three Soldiers" that was added beside Maya Lin’s memorial in Washington D.C., two years after its construction to satisfy a more conservative public.

But in Ukraine, this has become nearly impossible, as much of the country’s memorial heritage — including Soviet-era war monuments and statues — is now linked to Russia, the successor to the USSR and its current invading aggressor.

Ukrainian cadets attend a ceremony at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, in Kyiv, on Sept. 8, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Soviet coat of arms on the Motherland Monument's shield was replaced with a Ukrainian trident in 2023. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)

"No country has ever been in such a situation — where the (Soviet style) of commemoration that people are used to is now becoming a symbol of those who are attacking us," Dovhopolova said.

According to Dovhopolova, who held workshops for over 300 students in 2024 that developed 25 memorial projects after interviewing locals in various communities, the Soviet-style has become "absolutely unacceptable to people to be used with regards to our (ongoing) war."

"So we are forced to look for our new language," she said.

The makeshift memorial with thousands of flags on Kyiv's central square, each representing someone killed by Russia, is the most well-known and internationally understood example of an emerging commemorative language in Ukraine.

Started by Ukrainians memorializing a Ukrainian tragedy, it nevertheless "works on everyone," whether they are foreigners or bystanders who didn’t lose friends or family to the war, Dovhopolova said.

The inscription "Soviet occupiers" is seen on a World War II memorial in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, on Dec. 13, 2023. (Dmytro Larin/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

'We have to listen to each other'

Public discussion around memorial sites in Ukraine is complicated. Developing them is a painstaking task for which the state has few resources, and there are no playbooks or examples of successful large-scale commemoration of ongoing or recent events in the country’s modern history.

But Ukrainian and foreign memory experts say that even as the war continues, ensuring transparent communication between the state, society, and experts is key to the process.

According to Dovhopolova, the interviews her students held with survivors of Russian war crimes in communities like Bucha, Irpin and Kharkiv suburbs, heavily damaged by Russian shelling, showed that it's important for local residents to have a say in how a memorial in their community should look, since they will live with it.

"People in Bucha and Irpin do not need a 'big man' to come and build them a beautiful monument," she said.

A young woman and her son stand in front of a recently inaugurated memorial, including 501 plates bearing the names of identified local civilians killed by Russian troops during their occupation of Bucha, north of Kyiv, on July 3, 2023. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

"Local communities say: 'We are not seen.' The government says: 'We don't have the resources,'" Dovhopolova added. "Artists say: 'Everyone has no taste, so we will teach everyone (how to build memorials).' And when people don't hear each other, it can't work out well."

So far, most of the work toward memorializing the war in Ukraine has been done through grassroots initiatives by local communities, activists, or organizations.

"When people don't hear each other, it can't work out well."

They criticize the state for being too slow to react to people’s needs and inadequately managing existing projects, such as the construction of the national military cemetery, which was postponed several times in light of corruption scandals and the public's demands for an open, transparent competition on its design.

Open competitions that allow people to submit designs, Liahusha said, are usually "a very good tool and fuel for continuing discussions" on national memorial sites.

A pedestrian walks next to the "The Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine," a memorial for Ukrainian soldiers, in Kyiv, on Feb. 23, 2025, ahead of the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images)

"(A major war memorial) cannot be discussed on the margins or even among experts and specialists," he added.

However, Liahusha argues that while the state must ensure a transparent development process, it is experts who should lead the way in shaping the conversation around a national war memorial — whether on Independence Square or elsewhere in Kyiv.

"Even a proposal for the competition on what should be there, what the memorial should mean, is a very difficult professional job," he said.

When to build a war memorial?

Experts agree that now is not the time to build a monument on Independence Square to commemorate the war.

"If we work too quickly to concretize memory in the immediate aftermath (of atrocities), before a shared narrative has been created, it can oftentimes increase tensions among a society rather than decrease them," Whigham said.

Instead, while the war is ongoing, the state can collect testimonies and artifacts for future museums and support people who find numerous temporary ways to commemorate, including the makeshift memorial with flags on Independence Square, Dovhopolova said.

"Temporary solutions will give everyone a feeling that they are seen, that their pain or pride will not be forgotten," she added.

A woman walks past an open-air memorial located in the center of Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine on Dec. 20, 2022. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Local sites of memorialization, such as in places of mass executions, could also be developed already to give voices to the victims and provide recognition and a sense of symbolic repair of some harm, according to Whigham.

Often started by victims, survivors, or family members of people who were killed in conflicts around the world, they have a much smaller audience than national memorials, but pave a much richer way for a long-lasting impact on their communities, he said.

To help with this, the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory published a set of recommendations on memorialization in 2024 that includes two pages of guidelines for communities developing memorials, along with ethical and legislative norms. Later, they could be used to guide the development of a national war memorial.

"But first, we need to make sure that Russians don't kill us all," said Anton Drobovych, ex-head of the Institute of National Memory, who co-developed the guidelines and former soldier.

"Only then can this new language of remembrance take shape, along with all these memorials."

A view from above of the new memorial for Ukraine's military intelligence members, designed by Nazar Bilyk and built in the courtyard of the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) in Kyiv, in June, 2025. (Dmytro Kolos via Past / Future / Art platform)A new memorial for Ukraine's military intelligence members, designed by Nazar Bilyk and built in the courtyard of the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) in Kyiv, in June, 2025. (Dmytro Prutkin via Past / Future / Art platform)A new memorial for Ukraine's military intelligence members, designed by Nazar Bilyk and built in the courtyard of the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) in Kyiv, in June, 2025. (Dmytro Prutkin via Past / Future / Art platform)

Note from the author:

Hi, this is Natalia Yermak. I wrote this story for you. Commemorating an ongoing war is an unparalleled challenge that Ukrainians wrestle with, and sadly, Ukraine's experience will set an example for potential future conflicts around the globe.

We are committed to reporting on memorialization efforts in Ukraine. If you’d like to support our work, please consider becoming our member.

Read also: With music festival honoring fallen combat medic, Ukrainians reinvent memorial culture

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

Outgoing Polish President Andrzej Duda criticized Kyiv and its allies' attitude toward Poland's role in the pro-Ukraine coalition, particularly in transporting foreign aid through the Polish-Ukrainian border, Polsat News reported on July 9.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Poland has emerged as one of Ukraine's most committed allies, providing weapons, sheltering millions of refugees, and rallying international support.

Over time, relations between the two countries have faced strains due to political and economic disagreements, namely disputes over grain imports and historical grievances.

"I think the Ukrainians, along with our allies, seem to believe that the Rzeszow airport and our highways somehow belong to them, as if they were theirs. But they're not. They are ours," Duda said in a joint interview with Otwarta Konserwa, Nowy Lad, and the Jagiellonian Club.

"If someone doesn't like it, we'll close it, and goodbye."

The Rzeszow-Jasionka airport is located less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Ukrainian border and transports the vast majority of Western materiel bound for the front lines in Ukraine. It is also a main stopover point for foreign leadership traveling to Kyiv on official visits.

Some 90% of aid for Ukraine was going through the airport in Rzeszow as of 2024, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Duda expressed frustration over Poland's exclusion from key international discussions on aid deliveries through its territory, calling the omission a "scandal."

The president added that "there is no point in talking to Ukraine on this topic," suggesting instead that talks should be held with Poland's Western allies. "We need to have the courage to talk to the Germans and the Americans," he said.

Duda, a close ally of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, has served as the Polish president since 2015. During his two terms, he has been a key ally of the United States and a vocal critic of Russia, particularly following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In early June, conservative historian Karol Nawrocki won the Polish presidential election with 50.89% of the vote. He has previously voiced opposition to Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO but supported Ukraine's sovereignty and ongoing Polish military aid.

Read also: Dnipropetrovsk village likely contested despite Russia’s claim of its capture

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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.

The European Investment Bank Group (EIB) and the European Commission announced nearly 600 million euros ($700 million) in new financing for Ukraine's critical infrastructure and businesses at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) on July 10.

The package focuses on restoring energy systems damaged by Russian attacks, repairing transport networks and border crossings, and supporting small enterprises. Most funding comes through EIB loans backed by EU guarantees.

The EIB has now delivered over 3.6 billion euros ($4.2 billion) in financing since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022, according to the bank's press release.

"The agreements announced today reflect the strength of our commitment to Ukraine, and our determination to respond to the country's most urgent needs – through critical infrastructure, support for businesses in Ukraine and EU companies wanting to trade and export to the country," said EIB President Nadia Calvino.

The largest single component of the announced package is a 120 million euro ($140 million) loan to Ukrhydroenergo, Ukraine's biggest hydropower company, to repair three strategic plants: Kaniv, Kremenchuk and Dnipro.

100 million euros ($117 million) will go to district heating systems across Ukrainian cities through loans to Ukrgasbank and Oschadbank. Local authorities can use these funds for renewable energy projects and energy efficiency upgrades in public buildings.

Infrastructure repairs will receive further support through a 134 million euro ($156 million) loan to help repair roads and bridges, including the M06 highway connecting Kyiv to the Hungarian border.

The funding also covers improvements to border crossings that form part of EU "Solidarity Lanes" designed to keep trade flowing with Ukraine.

The private sector will benefit from 230 million euros ($268 million) in loans specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises, distributed through Ukrainian banks including Ukreximbank, Ukrgasbank, and Bank Lviv.

The EIB is also extending EU-backed guarantees to four Ukrainian lenders to unlock additional private sector financing.

"From the European Investment Bank's perspective, supporting the private sector is of the essence," EIB President Nadia Calvino told The Kyiv Independent.

To further boost trade relationships, ten EU countries – Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain – have joined a 300 million euro ($350 million) through the InvestEU Ukraine Export Credit Pilot facility.

Their national export agencies will receive EIF-backed guarantees to support trade with Ukraine, with three more countries expected to join soon.

"The program is oversubscribed. So once we are close to exhausting it, we will see whether we need to extend the program," EIB President Nadia Calvino told The Kyiv Independent.

"It means that there is demand, there is interest on the side of EU companies to export to Ukraine. This is important as a basis for the reconstruction and also the accession process to the European Union."

Read also: As US aid to Ukraine dries up, new platform connects Americans investors with Ukrainian startups

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

From her window, Elena Demchenko can see the school where she taught for 17 years. Nearly three years have passed since Izium was liberated from Russian occupation, yet the building still lies in ruins.

"People still live with damaged roofs, windows, and doors — there are so many old ladies that live alone in their apartments, earn a $50 monthly pension, and have no idea what to do," according to Demchenko, who lived through Russian occupation.

Liberated in September 2022, Ukrainian troops found Kharkiv Oblast’s third biggest city reduced to rubble, with 80% of Izium destroyed. Like many other liberated territories, housing was the most severely affected.

"The destruction was enormous, unbelievable — there were no windows, no roofs, nothing," says Demchenko.

But 530 kilometers to the west, the modern and manicured Kyiv suburb of Bucha boasts sleek housing, smooth pavements, and a 1-million square foot shopping mall under construction.

Both small towns of about 40,000 before the full-scale invasion, Izium and Bucha endured destruction, Russian occupation, civilian massacres, and subsequent liberation. Today, only one of them feels like its former self.

While reconstruction is transforming some communities, much of the most brutal damage in eastern Ukraine remains unaddressed. The upcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on July 10-11 is meant to chart a path forward — but with Russia advancing on the battlefield and no peace in sight, those still trying to help wonder if these communities will ever be restored to life.

Ukrainian military members inspect a damaged building after a missile attack in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, on Feb. 4, 2025. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused immense physical damage — $176 billion worth as of December 2024, according to the World Bank.

Eastern Ukraine has borne the brunt of constant artillery, drone, and missile attacks. A crescent of the worst damage tracks the front line through Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, which have sustained two-thirds of the total damage.

"Along the front line, a huge amount of damage is just broken windows," according to Harry Blakiston Houston, founder of Insulate Ukraine, a Lviv-based NGO that has installed almost 50,000 shatterproof windows in front-line regions since January 2023.

"A shell will hit a building and tend to shatter windows on any building within 50 meters — after that, you have roofs for places that got directly hit, and then all the internal stuff."

Nationwide, a third of the total damage is to residential buildings. About 13% of all housing in Ukraine has been damaged or destroyed, affecting 2.5 million homes. Critical infrastructure, like transport and energy, is the next most affected.

False start

Soon after Ukraine began liberating territories from Russian occupation, reconstruction was palpable. Electricity, water, and gas supplies were fixed for at least some residents relatively quickly. Volunteer organizations flooded in, bringing humanitarian aid and hopes of a return to normality.

"In 2022, it felt like territories were being liberated every week, and that it would be the beginning of a mass wave of reconstruction," according to Ada Wordsworth, director of KHARPP, a grassroots charity which has repaired over 900 homes in formerly occupied villages surrounding Kharkiv.

The aftermath of a Russian attack on the Retroville shopping center in Kyiv's central Podil district on March 21, 2022, just under a month after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (Servet Ulku /Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

But in eastern Ukraine, that wave never came. Most organizations had left Izium by Spring 2023. More left Ukraine after Russian advances in Spring 2024. Today, only half of the necessary repairs are complete in Izium, according to Demchenko.

The current circumstances are unlikely to lure them back. According to Black Bird Group, a research organization tracking battlefield developments, Russian troops captured 961 square kilometers of Ukraine in May and June 2025 — a sharp increase compared to the beginning of the year.

This advance has been accompanied by intensifying strikes — civilian deaths and injuries in the first five months of 2025 were nearly 50% higher than the same period last year across Ukraine, according to a recent UN report.

That means more doors, windows, and roofs to repair — yet fewer NGOs are willing or able to venture out east to fix them.

Even the remaining NGOs are having to reconsider. After three years, Wordsworth had to tell some villagers in April that KHARPP would no longer be able to help them.

First-person-view (FPV) drones make the work too dangerous. Small, agile devices equipped with an explosive payload, FPVs have a range of about 25 kilometers — but that is expected to rise. It has been widely reported that Russians use them to indiscriminately target civilians.

"Even if (the villages) aren’t currently swarming with FPV drones, it’s only a matter of time. Once you get to that point, the priority should be evacuation," said Wordsworth.

"It’s the most painful thing I’ve ever done, but there is no choice."

Building back better

Away from the front-line regions, reconstruction is in full swing. Of the 29,000 sites damaged in Kyiv Oblast since the full-scale invasion, 21,000 have already been restored.

Towns and villages in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, and parts of Sumy oblasts — where Russia concentrated its initial full-scale invasion — require the most attention.

Serhii Sukhomlyn heads Ukraine’s Restoration Agency. Partnering on an ad hoc basis with local governments on various reconstruction projects, the agency spent Hr 60.3 billion ($1.45 billion) in 2024 with the goal of building back better.

"Our task is not only the restoration and rebuilding of these societies, but also to transform and exceed what was there before to have better communities," says Sukhomlyn.

Yahidne, a small village in Chernihiv Oblast, 110 kilometers north-east of Kyiv, is one such example. Damaged by Russian occupation in 2022, Yahidne now has 143 solar-powered LED street lamps, new pavements, and 56 rebuilt houses, including 16 high-rises.

And there is still more to come.

"We will build a park, a new community center, and a small solar power plant, which will provide 3.5 megawatts of electricity. The inhabitants will be able to export energy to other parts of the region and generate revenue," said Sukhomlyn.

0:00/1×A video of reconstruction efforts in Yahidne, Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, which was occupied by Russia at the start of the full-scale invasion and was heavily damaged in the early days of the war. (Restoration Agency of Ukraine)

Yahidne is one of five formerly occupied settlements that the agency is aiming to comprehensively restore and modernize. Across Ukraine, the agency also plans new biofuel plants, water treatment facilities, playgrounds, solar plants, and modernized border crossings.

"This is a model of restoration that we want to provide communities with, to show communities that they can be self-sufficient and capable."

But Sukhomlyn knows all too well that for areas closer to the front line, there are other priorities.

"When we talk about reconstruction for the west and center of Ukraine, we are talking about industrialization, building parks, and community centers. If we are talking about communities near the front line, they are asking us for bomb shelters and energy provision."

What would it take to bring this to the east?

The World Bank estimates that reconstruction will cost $524 billion over ten years. That number accounts for "building back better," such as meeting energy efficiency measures and sustainability standards.

Almost three times Ukraine’s GDP, it’s not clear where that money might come from — even if a lasting ceasefire was achieved.

"I’m quite pessimistic," said Sukhomlyn. "It’s going to be very hard to restore these regions without private investment."

According to a 2023 paper by the International Finance Corporation, a World Bank organization that supports the private sector, private investment could cover a third of the total reconstruction needs — if Ukraine accelerates economic reforms and EU integration.

But in the last few months, a more pressing issue has emerged, keeping reconstruction at bay.

"We’ve not been able to find any workers in most of the new settlements where we are working," according to Wordsworth.

A recent mobilization drive has compounded an already severe labor shortage — 6.9 million Ukrainians have crossed into neighboring countries as refugees as of February 2025, according to UNHCR.

Even if cash and man-power can be found, Russia continues to fire 28,000 shells a day at Ukraine, precluding a Bucha- or Yahidne-style transformation for Ukrainians living in the eastern crescent.

For Insulate Ukraine*,* theirshatterproof window is starting to feel less like a temporary solution and more like a permanent reality.

"What if people have to continue living under Russian shelling for ten more years? That is a future we have to be prepared for," said Blakiston Houston.

Read also: Amid relentless Russian strikes, Ukraine’s businesses rebuild alone

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Editor's note: This story is being updated.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during the Association of South East Asian Nations *(*ASEAN) Summit on July 10, Reuters reported.

The bilateral meeting between Lavrov and Rubio occurred as the two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference kicked off in Rome.

Read also: Zelensky urges ‘Marshall Plan-style’ support for Ukraine at Recovery Conference in Rome

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The EU has signed agreements with financial institutions to mobilize up to 10 billion euros (around $12 billion) in investments to help Ukraine rebuild amid the Russian invasion, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference on July 10.

"With 2.3 billion euros in agreements signed, we aim to unlock up to 10 billion euros in investments to rebuild homes, reopen hospitals, revive businesses, and secure energy," von der Leyen said at the fourth international conference focused on mobilizing support for Ukraine's reconstruction.

The agreements include 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in loan guarantees and 580 million euros ($680 million) in grants.

Von der Leyen also unveiled the new European Flagship Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, describing it as "the largest equity fund globally to support (Ukraine's) reconstruction."

The fund aims to mobilize 500 million euros (over $580 million) by 2026 in private sector investment across energy, transport, critical raw materials, and dual-use industries.

"We are literally taking a stake in Ukraine's future by leveraging public money to bring large-scale private sector investments and help the rebuilding of the country," von der Leyen explained.

Read also: Zelensky urges ‘Marshall Plan-style’ support for Ukraine at Recovery Conference in Rome

The initiative involves Italy, Germany, France, Poland, and the European Investment Bank as founding partners.

Von der Leyen emphasized that the EU will "ensure that Ukraine is supported until 2028 and beyond when the new European budget kicks in."

Her remarks followed those of President Volodymyr Zelensky, who urged international partners to join the Ukraine recovery coalition and help the country rebuild in a manner similar to the post-World War II-era Marshall Plan.

The EU and its member states have been key allies of Ukraine throughout the full-scale war, providing over $162 billion in financial, military, and humanitarian assistance since 2022.

Brussels has launched various initiatives to help Kyiv sustain its economy and resist Russian aggression, including the Ukraine Facility program and financial assistance using proceeds from immobilized Russian assets.

Von der Leyen also reiterated that the European Commission considers Ukraine ready to open the first cluster of accession negotiations.

Ukraine applied for EU membership at the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The country has made quick progress, achieving candidate status within months, with the initial negotiations formally launching in June 2024.

The Hungarian government, broadly seen as the most Moscow-friendly in the European bloc, continues to block the opening of the initial cluster, which requires a unanimous agreement of all 27 members.

"For them (Ukraine), the future has two flags. The flags of Ukraine and the flags of Europe," Ursula von der Leyen said.

"Under relentless fire, Ukraine is passing reform after reform. Ukraine is delivering on its reforms. Now we must too".

Read also: 2 killed, 19 injured as Kyiv slammed with drones, ballistic missiles in Russian mass attack against Ukraine for 2nd night in row

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In summer 2023, Anna arrived in the United States to start a new life in the midwestern state of Illinois.

After more than a year of war, she had fled her home in Kyiv to seek shelter abroad from the drone and missile strikes that regularly target the Ukrainian capital. Now, she finally had a safe place to settle for the long term.

Or so she thought.

Today, Anna is again at risk of losing her home. As the U.S. President Donald Trump administration clamps down on illegal immigration and seeks to largely end refugee resettlement in the United States, Ukrainian refugees find themselves in a particularly certain predicament.

Anna, who asked to remain anonymous due to concerns for her legal status, is one of nearly 240,000 Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in the U.S. since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion under Uniting for Ukraine (U4U). Launched under U.S. President Joe Biden, the humanitarian program grants these Ukrainians asylum in the country for two years.

Then, President Donald Trump returned to office on promises to secure the U.S. border with Mexico and conduct mass deportations of illegal immigrants.

On the one hand, Ukrainians were not the targets of Trump's campaign rhetoric, which largely focused on drug cartels and criminal gangs from South and Central America. On the other, they risk getting caught up in the new administration's broader push for expedited deportations and refugee repatriations.

In some cases, the Ukrainian refugees' humanitarian parole will expire in 2025, and their applications for a new status are still pending. While they wait for these bureaucratic issues to be resolved, White House statements and media reports have painted a complicated and at times alarming picture of what their future may hold.

"Ukrainian refugees in the U.S. are in the most difficult situation compared to those in other countries," Anna told the Kyiv Independent. "We have become puppets in a political game."

Ukrainians stuck in limbo

Launched in April 2022, U4U offers more than a right to remain in the United States. It also grants Ukrainian refugees benefits like work permits, health insurance, childcare, food assistance, and cash.

The program's application process ran for nearly three years before being suspended in January 2025. It has not resumed. Since then, Ukrainian refugees have been left trying to read the smoke signals from the White House.

In May, the Washington Post reported that the government planned to spend $250 million in foreign aid money to repatriate refugees from active conflict zones, including about 200,000 Ukrainians.

But the documents cited by the newspaper were labeled "pre-decisional" and a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security described them as "outdated."

U.S. President Donald Trump during a bilateral meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on April 7, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In early June, the Post reported that the Trump administration was planning to transfer thousands of undocumented immigrants — including Ukrainians — to its prison facility at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A White House spokesperson later called the publication "fake news."

Even if these reports were not accurate, they frightened many Ukrainians in the U.S. But some of the challenges facing these Ukrainian refugees actually began even before Trump returned to the White House.

After their two-year asylum period under U4U ends, Ukrainian nationals typically apply for temporary protected status (TPS), which allows them to remain in the U.S. legally. However, today, not everyone can get TPS. Under U.S. law, it is only available to those Ukrainians who arrived in the country before Aug. 16, 2023.

As a result, the number of Ukrainians at risk of deportation after the U4U program expires may increase sharply this August. Moreover, thousands of Ukrainians are still waiting for their TPS to be extended.

The situation grew even more fraught in February, when the U.S. government suspended the processing of applications for immigrant benefits — including work permits and changes of status — for foreign nationals who entered the country through humanitarian programs.

On May 28, the U.S. district court in Massachusetts ordered the Trump administration to resume reviewing immigration applications. On June 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it had started to process them again.

But according to Ukrainians interviewed by the Kyiv Independent, their cases have not moved forward.

Olena Manilich, an immigration attorney in New York and herself a Ukrainian immigrant, says the uncertainty is making life for the refugees more difficult.

"As an immigrant myself, I know that the first three or four years are tough," she said. "Now, when people have come to their senses a little bit and felt what life is like, they are again uncertain — it's terrible."

No way back home

The chaos and confusion have hit Ukrainian refugees hard.

Anna, who settled in Illinois in 2023, is fluent in English and previously worked in the financial sector in Ukraine. That allowed her to quickly find a job in the same field in the U.S.

But after her two-year asylum period through U4U expired, she was unable to receive a work permit under TPS — it has not yet been approved.

"Being left without a work permit is the worst thing in the U.S., because (that document) allows you not only to work, but also to get a driver's license, unemployment benefits, food assistance, and so on," Anna said.

She feels disappointed by the turn of events. She emphasizes that, contrary to what many people assume, moving to the U.S. during wartime “wasn't the American dream."

Ukrainians "came to the U.S. to start their lives anew," Anna said. "They have extreme trauma because of the war."

At the same time, returning home also often isn't an option. She notes that several of her friends have no place to return to: Their hometowns have been destroyed or remain under Russian occupation.

Anna hopes that the Ukrainian government will lobby the U.S. to allow Ukrainian refugees to stay.

"I believe that it is better to focus on helping people to settle down rather than forcibly returning them to Ukraine," Anna said.

People walk down an avenue in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Apr. 12, 2022, as Russian troops intensify their campaign to capture the strategic port city. (Alexander Nemenov / AFP via Getty Images)

At risk

Anna isn't the only Ukrainian who doesn't know whether she will receive a U.S. work permit. Many others have had their legal status expire, but have been unable to receive a new one.

Oleksandra Budenko, 24, came to Massachusetts from Kyiv in 2022 under U4U. Before moving to the United States, Budenko competed for the Ukrainian national fencing team. After the full-scale invasion began, she shifted her focus to coaching and now works at a local fencing club in Boston.

But her TPS expired in May, and her application for an extension remains under review.

In many ways, Budenko is more fortunate than Anna: She applied for TPS earlier, so her work permit was automatically extended in January. That means she can continue to work even as her application is reviewed.

"Like most Ukrainians I know here, I'm officially employed and pay taxes every month," Budenko said, "so I just don't see the point of Trump kicking out honest people who are just working and living their lives there."

But like other Ukrainians with similar cases, Budenko may still be at risk: She has not yet received confirmation that her legal status will be extended.

The uncertainty even extends to organizations that help Ukrainian refugees.

Lina Ngo, a Vietnamese-Ukrainian from Kyiv, arrived in Washington state in 2022 through U4U. Her family fled Ukraine on the third day of the full-scale invasion. After spending several months in Europe, they settled in the U.S. in August 2022.

In Ukraine, Ngo studied at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and worked in marketing. After relocating to the United States, she pursued further education and now works for the Refugee Women's Alliance, a nonprofit supporting Ukrainian and Afghan refugees.

But the Trump administration's sharp cuts to foreign aid and domestic spending have left Ngo's organization without funding for several of its projects. Meanwhile, its clients are often afraid to visit its office: They worry that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will try to detain them there. After all, the Trump administration has tasked it with making 3,000 immigration-related arrests a day.

"There were precedents when (ICE) detained residents with valid documents based on skin color and cultural affiliation," Ngo said. "People are trying to be careful."

Despite having built a life for herself in the U.S., Ngo wants to return home — eventually. For the moment, she does not feel that Ukraine is safe because of the constant Russian aerial attacks.

This summer, Ngo earned an associate's degree in business administration from Bellevue College with the help of federal student loans. She wants to continue her studies. However, she remains uncertain about her future in the United States, as recent policy changes under the new administration could impact educational programs and access to federal aid.

"It is unclear how to plan my life, whether Ukrainians will be allowed to stay in the U.S. after 2026, and whether I will be able to work or study," Ngo said. "The uncertainty is very stressful."

Anastasiia Verzun contributed reporting to this story.

Author's note:

Hi, this is Kateryna Hodunova, the author of this article. The outbreak of a brutal, large-scale invasion has torn hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians away from everything they know and love. Forced to flee their homes against their will, they face the heartbreaking reality of starting over in foreign lands, haunted by the constant threat of Russian attacks that keep them from returning.

If you liked reading this story, please consider supporting us and becoming a member of the Kyiv Independent today.

Read also: ‘We need to learn how to live without America’ — Ukraine’s survival amid faltering US aid

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Belarusian authorities have designated the United Transitional Cabinet, a government-in-exile led by opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, as a "terrorist organization," the Belarusian Prosecutor General's Office said on July 9.

Dictator Alexander Lukashenko's regime often labels organizations that oppose its policies as terrorists or extremists in order to ban their activities.

According to the prosecutor's office decision, the cabinet's subdivisions were also recognized as terrorists, and the organization's activities were subsequently banned in Belarus.

The United Transitional Cabinet, previously branded as "extremist" by Minsk in 2022, is an opposition government-in-exile established on Aug. 9, 2022, to challenge Lukashenko's rule. Led by Tsikhanouskaya, it aims to unite democratic forces and push for a peaceful transition of power in Belarus.

Tsikhanouskaya stepped in as the opposition candidate in 2020 after her husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski's arrest, but was forced into exile after Lukashenko declared victory in what was broadly seen as massive election fraud.

Siarhei Tsikhanouski was sentenced to 18 years in prison on politically motivated charges, but he was released on June 21 this year after Lukashenko met U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, in Minsk.

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.

The Belarusian dictator has maintained a tight grip over his country by electoral fraud, surveillance, and brutal crackdown on free press, civil society, and political opposition, prompting Western countries to impose sanctions on Belarus.

Read also: Diplomacy or deal-making? Unpacking the U.S.-Belarus prisoner deal

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Editor's note: This story is being updated.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska arrived at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, taking place on July 10 and 11, Suspilne broadcaster reported.This conference marks the fourth major international event focused on mobilizing political and private-sector support for Ukraine's reconstruction.

Read also: 2 killed, 16 injured as Kyiv slammed with drones, ballistic missiles in Russian mass attack against Ukraine for 2nd night in row

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

A Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officer was murdered on July 10 in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv, the SBU's press service told the Kyiv Independent after a reported shooting in the district.

The police reported a shooting in the area earlier in the day, saying that law enforcement officers discovered the body of a person with a fatal gunshot wound.

"The SBU and the National Police are taking measures to establish the circumstances of the crime and bring perpetrators to justice," the SBU's press service said.

Names of the victim or possible suspects have not been disclosed.

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

The European Commission has revoked a French-Ukrainian interpreter's accreditation over suspicions she secretly recorded meetings involving President Volodymyr Zelensky, raising concerns of espionage, Le Monde reported on July 10.

The news comes amid growing concerns of Russian espionage and subversive operations across EU countries.

The European Commission's interpreter was present during a closed-door meeting between European Union leaders and Zelensky on Dec. 19, 2024, just ahead of the start of Donald Trump's second presidential term.

During the talks, European allies pledged continued support for Ukraine, including assistance with arms purchases and protection of its energy infrastructure.

Czech interpreters noticed that their colleague, who was translating from French into Ukrainian, was recording the participants' conversation. Interpreters are strictly prohibited from taking notes or making recordings during closed-door negotiations, according to Le Monde.

The incident was reported to security services in Brussels, after which the interpreter was suspended and her recordings confiscated.

Subsequently, the European Commission ended its cooperation with the interpreter and launched an internal investigation. The findings were passed on to the Belgian government, which is now responsible for determining whether she was carrying out espionage for Russia.

The interpreter's name has not been disclosed, but Le Monde refers to her as "Ms. I."

According to the news outlet, she was born into a Russian family, and her sister — also a translator — shares a similar background. One of the sisters was born in Russia, and both lived in Ukraine for a period of time.

For the past two decades, they have reportedly worked as freelance interpreters for NATO, the European Commission, and the French defense and foreign ministries.

"Ms. I" called the incident with the meeting between Zelensky and European leaders a misunderstanding.

For several years, Ukrainian embassies in France and Brussels have declined to hire the interpreter for Zelensky's visits, citing her alleged ties to Russian officials, Le Monde reported, citing a Ukrainian diplomat in Paris.

Despite the December incident, the interpreter remained listed as an accredited interpreter for NATO, the French Permanent Representation to the EU, and the French ministries, according to Le Monde.

Read also: US reportedly resumes some arms deliveries to Ukraine after pause

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The Atesh partisan group sabotaged the railways in the Russian city of Volgograd and in the Russian-occupied settlement of Uvarove in Crimea, the group claimed on Telegram on July 10.

The Atesh movement regularly commits sabotage attacks on Russian territory and in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

The partisans said they had disabled a relay panel that provides communication and control between trains at the railway hub at the Maxim Gorky locomotive depot in Volgograd.

The hub serves as a critical artery for moving equipment, fuel, personnel, and weapons to Russian forces in Ukraine's southern and eastern front lines, according to the statement.

Volgograd is a city in southwestern Russia, located about 390 kilometers (240 miles) from the eastern Ukrainian border.

0:00/1×Alleged footage of Atesh partisans setting fire to a Russian railway infrastructure. Video published on July 10, 2025. (Atesh/Telegram)

The partisan group's sabotage aimed to restrict artillery operations by limiting ammunition supplies and reducing the intensity of Russian assaults.

The group claimed that a failure in relay equipment triggered major disruptions in rail traffic, hampering military logistics, delaying troop redeployments, and interrupting the delivery of ammunition to front-line positions.

"We are precise, decisive, and uncompromising. Logistical strikes are strikes at the heart of the (Russian) war machine," the statement read.

In Crimea, the group also allegedly sabotaged a relay panel in the Lenin district near Uvarovo, damaging a stretch of railway connected to the Crimean Bridge — a key supply route linking the peninsula to mainland Russia.

The attack disrupted the flow of critical military supplies, according to the Atesh group.

Russia has occupied the Crimean peninsula since the start of its aggression against Ukraine in 2014.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.

Map of Ukraine's Crimea. (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent***)***

Read also: 2 killed, 16 injured as Kyiv slammed with drones, ballistic missiles in Russian mass attack against Ukraine for 2nd night in row

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