The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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Russia’s war against Ukraine
A person sleeps in a metro station in Kyiv during night mass Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine on Sept. 10, 2025. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP via Getty Images)
In first for NATO, Poland downs Russian drones amid mass attack on Ukraine as Putin tests Western resolve. Polish authorities temporarily closed Warsaw Chopin Airport and placed the country’s air defenses on high alert overnight on Sept. 10, following reports that Russian drones have entered Polish airspace.
Russian missile that hit government headquarters contained over 30 foreign-made parts, Ukraine says. “Compared to missiles from previous years, there are fewer components from Europe and the U.S., and more from Russia and Belarus,” presidential sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk said.
Putin told White House he plans to seize Donbas by end of 2025, Zelensky says. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow’s plans could cost “years and a million people,” or even “two or three million corpses” if Russia accelerates its offensive.
Ukraine strikes 2 Russian radar stations in occupied Crimea, intelligence says, shares footage. According to the agency, Ukrainian forces destroyed a 48Ya6-K1 Podlet low-altitude radar and an RLM-M module from the 55Zh6M Nebo-M air defense complex.
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Russian missile that hit government headquarters contained over 30 foreign-made parts, Ukraine says. “Compared to missiles from previous years, there are fewer components from Europe and the U.S., and more from Russia and Belarus,” presidential sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk said.
Russian military losses near 300,000 in 2025, Syrskyi says. “The Russian army’s losses since the beginning of the year have already reached almost 300 thousand (299,210) people,” Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported Sept. 9.
Explosions put 3 Russian pipelines out of service, intelligence source claims.
Three oil and gas pipelines in Russia were knocked out of service in a series of explosions on Sept. 8, a Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) source told the Kyiv Independent.
After Putin arrives in Sochi, alleged Ukrainian drone strike hits the city.
The attack may have coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s working visit to the city. According to the Kremlin, Putin joined the BRICS summit online from Sochi on Sept. 8.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: ‘Pure terrorism’ — Russian air strike kills 24 pensioners, postal service employees
At least 24 people were killed and 19 injured when Russian forces struck the frontline village of Yarova in Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 9. The bombing took place while local residents lined up to receive their pensions, local authorities reported.
Photo: Ukraine’s State Emergency Service/Telegram
As Russian influence wanes in South Caucasus, Azerbaijan emerges as regional hegemon
As Russia is obsessed with conquering Ukraine, there is one region that is rapidly slipping out of its grip: the South Caucasus. Russia’s influence in the region is decreasing, while Azerbaijan and its main ally, Turkey, are emerging as new regional leaders.
Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
How the right wing in US, Europe is weaponizing murders of Ukrainian refugees
The death of Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who fled to the United States, is being exploited by right-wing figures across the U.S. and Europe to stoke fear and push racist, xenophobic policies at home.
Photo: Wikimedia
Skyranger mobile air defense systems are heading to Ukraine — here’s what they can do
Rheinmetall will provide Ukraine with Skyranger mobile air defense systems designed to counter drones under a contract worth “hundreds of millions of euros,” CEO Armin Papperger told German broadcaster ZDF on Sept. 8.
Photo: Rheinmetall
From Crimea to Donbas, Russia’s “peace” has always meant more war. We’re here in Ukraine to give the world a reality check. Support independent journalism in this critical moment.
Human cost of Russia’s war
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,091,000 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 990 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
7 killed, 23 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 84 Shahed-type attack and decoy drones overnight, with air defenses downing 60.
International response
Russia’s ‘imperialist plan’ is only beginning, Merz says. “A new conflict between systems has broken out between liberal democracies and an axis of autocracies,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
UK to fund ‘thousands‘ of long-range attack drones for Ukraine, defense minister says. The drones will be manufactured in the United Kingdom and delivered to Ukraine within the next 12 months, U.K. Defense Minister John Healey said.
Poland to close Belarus border, Lithuania to boost security amid Russia-led military drills. The Zapad-2025 (meaning “west” in Russian) drills, set to begin on Sept. 12 in Belarus and western Russia, have heightened alarm in NATO member states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
Trump urges EU to impose harsh tariffs on China, India to pressure Russia, FT reports. U.S. President Donald Trump made the request while dialing into a high-level meeting between senior U.S. and EU officials in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9.
Romania, Czechia, and Hungary disband Belarusian espionage network in Europe. Romania, Czechia, and Hungary have jointly dismantled a Belarusian espionage network operating across Europe, the Czech Security and Information Service (BIS) announced on Sept. 8.
Hungary signs its biggest-ever Western gas deal with Shell, but refuses to quit Russian supply. Under the contract, Shell — the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) trader — will deliver around 200 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas annually to MVM starting in January 2026.
Boris Johnson urges Western troop presence in Ukraine as signal to Putin. “That’s the only conceivable way to move Putin from his current calculations… get him to compromise and to agree to a ceasefire,” former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Opinions and insights
What happens when war deniers see Ukraine for themselves
“As the Russian propaganda machine invests billions into shifting the global paradigm regarding Ukraine, politicians are becoming increasingly clueless,” Adam Sybera writes in his recent op-ed.
Photo: Stanislav Krupař / Punk Film
In other news
School in occupied Ukraine named after son of CIA official who fought for Russia. A school in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast has been named after Michael Gloss, the son of CIA official who was killed while fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine, independent Russian media outlet Mediazona reported on Sept. 9.
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