Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Swipe for next article
Putin’s forces outnumber Ukrainian troops by eight to one in strategic hub of Pokrovsk, says Zelensky
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Poland has said its aircraft intercepted a Russian jet carrying out a mission over the Baltic Sea with its transponder turned off this morning.
“Polish fighters intercepted an Il-20 aircraft conducting a reconnaissance mission in international airspace, without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off. The aircraft did not violate Polish airspace,” the Polish Army said in a post on X.
This comes as Russian soldiers gained a foothold in the strategic eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, Volodymyr Zelensky says.
The Ukrainian president said Russia had devoted vast numbers of troops to capturing the town, which is a key part of Kyiv‘s defensive lines in Donetsk, but that it had so far failed to do so.
He said Vladimir Putin‘s forces outnumbered Ukrainians there by eight to one.
“Imagine how many Russian forces are there. But at the same time, they have not achieved the planned result,” he said.
Zelensky’s battlefield update came as Moscow was again targeted as part of a broader Ukrainian drone attack for the third night in a row.
The border crossings between Lithuania and Belarus will remain closed for most travellers until the end of November, the Baltic country’s government has said.
It comes in response to recent airspace disruptions from smugglers’ balloons containing cigarettes, sent into the Baltic country.
Nato countries have been on high alert in recent weeks after drone sightings and other air incursions, including at another Belgian military base , at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and in the Baltic region.
Our world affairs editor joins the Ukrainian infantry near Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine, as they bed down in a mud dugout for a night of lethal drone attacks against their Russian enemy – just a few kilometres away.
Russian lawmakers have endorsed a bill mandating year-round military conscription, rather than just in the spring and autumn.
It comes as authorities seek to fill the ranks as fighting in Ukraine grinds through a fourth year.
Once the bill is vetted by the upper house and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, it would allow conscription offices to summon draftees for medical exams and other procedures at any time of the year.
Read our full story below.
Ukrainian drones struck two oil depots in Russian-occupied Crimea, an official from Kyiv’s domestic security service said on Wednesday.
The attacks took place at a facility in the village of Hvardiyske and at the Komsomolska depot.
Europe’s biggest nuclear reactor has become a battlefield in Ukraine’s defence against Russian invaders as they risk a catastrophic meltdown in its efforts to connect it to Moscow’s national grid.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant , which has six reactors, was captured by Russian troops early in the full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It has remained a dangerous potential flashpoint for a nuclear disaster ever since.
Fighting and bombardments by both sides of the complex and the power station itself, which has been entirely occupied by Russian forces who base troops in its buildings, has forced the “cold shut down” of the reactors.
Read our full piece below.
Ukraine is rushing to strengthen its positions in the strategic eastern transport hub of Pokrovsk as about 200 Russian troops have infiltrated the city in small groups, Kyiv’s military said.
Last night, Volodymyr Zelensky said his troops have been outnumbered by Russian troops by eight to one in the region.
Russia has been aiming to occupy Pokrovsk, a key part of Kyiv’s defensive lines, for months, seeing it as a crucial point for its push to fully capture the Donetsk region.
It has also been described as a “fortress belt” by the Institute for the Study of War, given that Donetsk forms the main fortified defensive line along the eastern region, halting Russia in their tracks.
“Ukraine is holding a key defensive line across Donetsk,” says Elina Beketova, a fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, describing a “fortified zone buildup over years because the war began 11 years ago”.
“It’s not just trenches, it’s a deep, layered defence with bunkers, anti-tank ditches, minefields, and industrial areas built into the terrain. The area includes dominant heights, rivers, and urban zones that make it extremely hard to capture,” explains Beketova.
Relinquishing the territory would be “catastrophic” for Ukraine, especially if they are not given concrete security guarantees such as Article 5 protection from Nato.
A United Nations inquiry has concluded that Russian forces are systematically using drones to pursue and displace civilians near the front lines in Ukraine, a campaign described as a crime against humanity.
The report detailed how individuals were hounded from their homes, chased across significant distances by camera-equipped drones, and subsequently targeted with incendiary devices or explosives while attempting to find shelter.
This tactic has compelled thousands to abandon entire regions.
“These attacks were committed as part of a coordinated policy to drive out civilians from those territories and amount to the crime against humanity of forcible transfer of population,” said the 17-page report to be presented to the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Ukraine’s long-range strikes on refineries inside Russia have reduced Moscow’s oil refining capacity by 20 per cent, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said, citing intelligence from Western governments.
Over 90 per cent of those deep strikes on Russian soil were carried out by Ukrainian-made long-range weapons, according to Zelensky. He said Ukraine needs additional foreign financial help to produce more of them.
“We just need to work on this every day,” he said in comments to the media on Monday that were embargoed until Tuesday.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in