Notes and Essays -- John Brown

Notes and Essays -- John Brown Francis Farrell on life on the front lines April 23, 2026   Reporter Francis Farrell Dear Kyiv Independent readers, This is Francis Farrell, a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. You've probably seen my name at the top of articles and newsletters from the front lines in Ukraine's east and south. This time, I'm here to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about reporting from the battlefield. Hopefully, it can give you an insight into what it's like to be on the ground with Ukrainian troops. At a time when large Western media outlets have almost completely stopped traveling to the front lines, we here at the Kyiv Independent continue to do so, bearing witness to the battlefield from the ground when no one else will. To support our work, please consider becoming a member of the Kyiv Independent for as little as $5 a month. BECOME OUR MEMBER MAKE A DONATION Francis Farrell holds a “Chuyka” drone video signal detector in Kherson, U...

  April 23, 2026, 9:47 a.m. ET 5 hours ago Maria Varenikova Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine; https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/23/world/iran-war-trump-news Image President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that Ukraine had signed agreements to cooperate with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on technology to intercept attack drones. Credit... Yuriy Dyachyshyn/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made public on Thursday details of security agreements he has signed with three Middle Eastern nations as the United States’ Persian Gulf allies rush to bolster their defenses against Iranian drones and missiles. Ukraine is trying to leverage the expertise it has gained from its war with Russia by striking deals. Kyiv seeks to trade drone technology, training assistance and software updates for diplomatic backing, energy deals and advanced air-defense systems. Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine had signed agreements to cooperate with Saudi ...

The delayed funding, which was approved on Thursday, is heavily weighted toward military spending, unlike previous European packages. A firefighter working at the site of a recyclable materials warehouse hit by a Russian missile strike in Kyiv this month. Credit... Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters By Constant Méheut  Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine,  The New York Times   April 23, 2026 Updated 8:04 a.m. ET For weeks, Ukraine had been caught in a bind. A path to ending the war seemed increasingly illusory, as peace talks with Russia went from yielding no results to being put on hold. That meant Kyiv needed to prepare to fight indefinitely, even as vital financial support from the European Union remained frozen. On Thursday, a breakthrough finally arrived. After Hungary dropped its  opposition to a $106 billion E.U. loan to Ukraine the day before, European leaders unblocked the funds and adopted a new package of economic sanctions against Russia. The money, which had been held u...

April 23, 2026 A new law forces Ukrainians in the captured regions to get Russian title deeds or risk losing their homes. Recently built apartment buildings in Mariupol, a Russian-occupied Ukrainian city, last year. The Kremlin is trying to remake the city after its brutal siege, but many residents still lack homes. Credit... EPA, via Shutterstock  map from BBC By Nataliya Vasilyeva, The New York Times April 22, 2026  Original article contains links After Russia’s bloody 86-day siege of Mariupol, which damaged or destroyed up to 90 percent of the Ukrainian city’s residential buildings, residents who still had a home counted themselves lucky.  But their luck may be running out. Under a new Russian law, the authorities in Mariupol, which has been occupied by Russia for four years, are threatening to seize property from owners who do not obtain a Russian title deed. The requirement, human rights advocates say, is intended to cement Russian domination of the occupied territor...