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.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
Many Ukraine-based humanitarian projects are in limbo after Donald Trump ordered an immediate freeze on all US aid.
War-battered Ukraine has been providing for the humanitarian needs of millions through foreign aid, with the US contributing the largest chunk.
The aid freeze is impacting organisations supporting veterans, removing land mines, providing healthcare and aiding the recovery of injured soldiers. Maria Vorotylo, a soldier’s wife who had been receiving help from Veteran Hub, wrote on Facebook that its closure was “a very severe blow”.
On the battlefield, North Korean troops have withdrawn from the frontline in part of Russia’s Kursk region after suffering heavy losses, a Ukrainian commander said.
Another commander, codenamed “Puls”, told Sky News the North Koreans were likely either learning lessons from mistakes made during their first fierce clashes or waiting for reinforcements.
And Volodymyr Zelensky has defended the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fighting in the war against Russia, stating that if half his army is disbanded then Vladimir Putin “will kill us all”.
Tom Watling28 January 2025 07:51
At least four people have been injured after a Russian drone and missile attack hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa.
Oleh Kiper, the governor of the wider region, said four residential high-rise buildings and five summer houses were hit by fragments of downed Russian drones. A 91-year-old man was among the hospitalised.
Ukraine’s state emergency services said that one person was rescued from a blocked apartment on the 19th floor of one of the buildings.
They added that 15 people were receiving psychological assistance.
Tom Watling28 January 2025 07:27
An overnight Russian air attack injured four people, set a private business on fire and damaged several houses in Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said today.
A 62-year-old woman was hospitalised and a 66-year-old man was injured when debris from a destroyed Russian drone fell, damaging several houses in the Kharkiv district that includes and surrounds the city of Kharkiv, the regional governor said.
Emergency services were called soon after midnight to a private business that caught fire in Kharkiv in result of a Russian drone attack, mayor Ihor Terekhov said on his Telegram channel.
Ukraine’s state emergency service said the fire engulfed production facilities. At least two people suffered acute stress reactions, including a child, the emergency service said.
It was not immediately clear what facility was burning. Video footage showed massive flames coming from what looked like an industrial building.
Arpan Rai28 January 2025 06:44
Svitlana Rudokvas, 51, seen in the grocery store in the heavily damaged building in the village of Novopavlivka, Dnipropetrovsk region (Getty Images)
Svitlana Rudokvas shows a destroyed restaurant in the heavily damaged building in the village of Novopavlivka (Getty Images)
Svitlana Rudokvas stands next to a destroyed restaurant in the village of Novopavlivka (Getty Images)
A truck carries a pile of concrete obstacles, known as dragon’s teeth, on a road among fields in the Dnipropetrovsk region (Getty Images)
Arpan Rai28 January 2025 06:30
Arpan Rai28 January 2025 06:10
North Korean troops have withdrawn from the frontline in part of Russia’s Kursk region after suffering heavy losses, a Ukrainian commander said.
The North Korean troops, who have been fighting alongside Russia, have temporarily withdrawn from one of the axes of Kursk oblast where Ukraine’s 73rd Special Operation Forces (SOF) centre is deployed, colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, an SOF spokesperson, told the Kyiv Independent.
His comments came after another commander, with codename “Puls”, told Sky News that the North Korean troops were likely either learning lessons from mistakes made during their first fierce battlefield clashes with Ukrainian soldiers or waiting for reinforcements.
Arpan Rai28 January 2025 05:45
The North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Vladimir Putin’s military have shown ferocious commitment, brutality – and a determination to kill themselves rather than face capture, The Independent has been told.
A Ukrainian military source with direct knowledge of these troops has disclosed in brutal detail the extraordinary lengths to which they will go to prevent being caught.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports from Sumy:
Arpan Rai28 January 2025 05:45
The immediate freeze on US aid ordered by the Trump administration has hit many Ukraine-based humanitarian projects, leaving them with a struggle to find funding.
“Most of the projects have received an order to stop,” a source at the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) mission in Ukraine told AFP.
War-battered Ukraine has been providing for the humanitarian needs of millions through foreign aid, with the US contributing the largest chunk. Ukraine also faces the likely prospect of the Trump administration cutting economic aid worth billions.
The aid freezes is impacting organisations that support veterans, remove land mines, provide healthcare and aid the recovery of injured soldiers. Maria Vorotylo, a soldier’s wife who had been receiving help from Veteran Hub, wrote on Facebook that its closure was “a very severe blow”, AFP reported.
Local media organisations will also be hit and some announced on social media that they would have to close as a result. One humanitarian worker at an American NGO told AFP a project that was about to launch assisting Ukrainian aid groups has been “put on hold”.
“We don’t know if it will be completely cancelled or reduced,” they said on condition of anonymity.
Arpan Rai28 January 2025 05:29
The European Union has renewed its wide-ranging sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, after Hungary briefly held up the move in return for a declaration on energy security.
“Europe delivers: EU Foreign Ministers just agreed to extend again the sanctions on Russia,” Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, posted on social media.
“This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war,” she added. “Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing,” she said.
Officials from other EU countries had warned that failure to roll over the sanctions before a 31 January deadline would have consequences, such as the unfreezing of Russian assets in Europe that are being used to help Kyiv.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, who maintains close ties with Moscow, had first called for consultations with the Trump administration before a renewal decision. He also said it was time for a “sanctions-free” relationship with Russia.
But president Donald Trump has not backed the Hungarian position. He said last week he was ready to increase economic pressure on Russia to strike a peace deal. Budapest then cited its complaints about Ukraine ending a transit deal that brought Russian gas to Hungary.
Arpan Rai28 January 2025 05:11