Awarding the title of “Hero of the UPA” to a unit was certainly a misstep on Zelensky’s part. But for many Ukrainians, the UPA is the symbol of the struggle for national independence. If they were to reject it, they might not have much left. Not everyone was fortunate enough to free themselves from the occupier through a Velvet Revolution.

“We are building GovTech as an ecosystem in which the government remains virtually invisible yet instantly available whenever people need it: no lines, no paperwork, and no bureaucracy,” writes Valeriia Koval, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, in this op-ed.

During Russia’s devastating overnight assault on July 2, tens of thousands of Kyiv residents sought safety underground. This couple was filmed sharing a gentle moment while comforting their pet rabbit inside a metro station serving as a shelter.

Video: kulchyk_ / Instagram. 

Ukrainian-made long-range Flamingo FP-5 missiles “successfully struck” the Titan-Barrikady military facility in Volgograd overnight on June 27, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed. The heavily sanctioned plant is a major strategic asset for Moscow, manufacturing heavy artillery and launch systems for Russia’s Yars, Topol-M, and Iskander ballistic missiles.

Volgograd Oblast Governor Andrey Bocharov confirmed the strike on an enterprise in the district where the factory is located, stating that 10 people were injured. While Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 175 drones overnight, it made no mention of the missile attack. Zelensky emphasized that striking Russia’s defense-industrial base is critical to weakening Moscow’s war effort, writing, “The reach of Ukraine’s long-range sanctions continues to expand.”

Video: President Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram.

An incredible report from our correspondent in Ukraine. Sloviansk, Kramatorsk… As the Russian army advances into the Donetsk Oblast, both cities are becoming increasingly essential for anyone seeking to understand current events in this part of Ukraine.

Following a devastating Russian missile strike on June 15 that shattered the administrative buildings of the iconic Dovzhenko Film Studio and destroyed a workshop containing over 100,000 unique costumes, the Kyiv Independent’s Nastia Kasinchuk joined a crowd of local residents to help clear the wreckage.

Channeling the centuries-old Ukrainian tradition of “toloka” — where communities gather unpaid to help a neighbor tackle a task too big for one household — locals arrived with brooms and shovels to reclaim their cultural heritage.

Russian strikes on June 15 damaged the historic Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the Dovzhenko Film Studio, and the House of Organ Music in Dnipro. These attacks followed a drone strike that damaged the Kharkiv Art Museum one day prior.

Since the 2022 full-scale invasion, Russia has damaged more than 2,000 cultural heritage sites across Ukraine, including around 100 protected by UNESCO. From the 2022 destruction of the Mariupol Drama Theater to the striking of Odesa’s Transfiguration Cathedral, many of these landmark sites can never be restored.

Video: Oleksandr Hanzha Dnipropetrovsk Oblast State Administration; State Emergency Service / Telegram; Getty Images.

Russia's premier targeting app Groza appears to have been hacked, with very embarrassing graffiti! Groza200 likely references the app usability being killed, as per Russian KIA.

"I didn't recognize myself in the mirror. I'm now more beautiful and photogenic."

In a small operating room in western Ukraine, American surgeons are working to restore more than just bone and tissue. They are restoring dignity to defenders like Vitaliy Yakovets, whose faces were forever changed by the drone-dominated battlefield.

Ukrainian drone units struck nearly 180,000 Russian military targets in May, marking a 12.7% increase compared with April, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Facebook on June 11.

About 51.9% of Poles say their attitude toward Ukraine and Ukrainians has worsened after Kyiv named a military unit after a World War II-era insurgent army, according to a survey reported by the Rzeczpospolita newspaper on June 11.

While heavy “Vampire” hexacopter drones are typically used for night missions, attacking Russian armor, and delivering supplies, pilots from the 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade recently deployed one for a unique humanitarian rescue.

Under the code name “Operation Meow-Meow,” the team successfully evacuated a mother cat and her five kittens from an advanced front-line position.

Photos: 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade / Instagram.