The Kyiv Independent

2022-04-15 18:11:22 BBC: FSB asks Russian government for additional funding to bury Russian troops.

Russia’s Federal Security Service has asked the Russian government to increase by 17% the “funding for military burials and tombstones,” BBC reported. Ukraine’s General Staff says 20,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the all-out war. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 17:46:55 Russian forces again shell Ukrainian border guards in Chernihiv Oblast.

According to Ukraine’s Border Guard Service, no casualties have been reported yet. Earlier this morning, Russian troops shelled the village of Senkivka in Chernihiv Oblast near the Russian border. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 17:11:39 More than 900 civilians killed by Russia's war in Kyiv Oblast.

According to Kyiv Oblast Police Chief Andriy Nebytov, the biggest number of civilians killed by the Russian forces — over 350 people — was recorded in Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 16:55:25 CNN: US believes Russia’s war in Ukraine could last through end of 2022.

U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken shared the assessment with some European allies, CNN reports citing two anonymous European officials. According to CNN, “U.S. and European officials have increasingly assessed that there is no short-term end in sight to the conflict.” Open / Comment

2022-04-15 16:49:27 Russia threatens Sweden, Finland with 'negative consequences' of joining NATO.

Maria Zakharova, the official representative of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said that if Sweden and Finland become NATO members, the two countries will turn into a new “frontier” in Russia’s confrontation with NATO, and the “negative consequences for peace and stability in northern Europe are obvious.” Open / Comment

2022-04-15 16:10:02 Media: North Macedonia expells six Russian diplomats.

The Foreign Ministry of North Macedonia has declared six more Russian diplomats persona non grata for violating diplomatic norms, RFE/RL’s Balkan Service reported on April 15. They have five days to leave the country.

North Macedonia has already expelled five Russian diplomats earlier in March. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 15:48:28 Kyiv authorities: Up to 50,000 residents return to Kyiv every day.

Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Mykola Povoroznyk said that around 40,000-50,000 people come back to Kyiv every day.

Earlier, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that it was too early to return to Kyiv as there is still a threat of Russian missile strikes, while the demining of territories surrounding Kyiv is ongoing. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 15:34:05 Russian forces shell residential area in Mykolaiv.

Russian shelling of a residential neighborhood in Mykolaiv, a regional capital in southern Ukraine, injured multiple civilians on April 15, according to Hanna Zamazieieva, the head of the Mykolaiv Oblast Council. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 14:58:08 7 killed, 27 injured by Russian attack on evacuation buses in Kharkiv Oblast.

According to Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office, Russian forces fired at evacuation buses with civilians in Borova, a village in Kharkiv Oblast, on April 14. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 14:57:20 The world’s biggest and strongest cargo airplane, the legendary Mriya, did not survive the Russian onslaught on Kyiv.

We interviewed the aircraft's chief pilot Dmytro Antonov about why it wasn't protected and why Ukraine should complete the second Mriya. Open / Comment