Weekly Exclusives
Weekly Exclusives - a newsletter that contains author publications, interviews, exclusive comments, photos and videos.
Photos of the week
Romanivskyi Bridge over the Irpin River, which was destroyed in the first days of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, three years after the deoccupation of the Kyiv region, March 27, 2025.
Interview
Dmytro "Coyote" Polonchak, Ex-Commander, Reconnaissance Subunit, Border Guard Commandant's Office Storm
Dmytro "Coyote" Polonchak was serving as part of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine for over ten years. After February 22, 2024, he stood up for defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty and joined the ranks of a combat unit, which was the reconnaissance subunit of the border guard commandant's office Shkval (‘Storm’). As part of the unit, Coyote partook in combat operations in the Chornobyl exclusion zone, in the East of Ukraine and in the very center of Bakhmut. He and his comrades had endured enemy’s attack while being fully encircled and, despite everything, managed to come out alive. In this new Victory Commanders series interview, Ukrinform sat down with Dmytro Polonchak to talk about his role in the battles in the Chornobyl exclusion zone, amidst radiation hazards, the battles of Bakhmut fighting against Wagner forces, the exit from the encirclement, about work in his current position, where Coyote has to deal with draft evaders, both living and dead.
Martin Harris, UK Ambassador to Ukraine
The United Kingdom is Ukraine’s long-standing and reliable partner, with which an agreement was signed on January 16, 2025, consolidating these relations for at least the next 100 years. Against the backdrop of noticeable changes in the global geopolitical picture, the pace of development of security risks for Europe, and the lack of clear outlook regarding the resolution of the war, Ukrinform spoke with the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Ukraine, Martin Harris. How Britain sees the future of Ukraine, what does Russia’s position in negotiations look like, when will a peacekeeping mission be sent to Ukraine, what are the current trends regarding European defence and assistance to Ukraine, what connection do Britons feel with Ukrainians, what special role do displaced Ukrainians play, and what is the true power of culture – Ambassador Harris spoke about these and other things at our Ukrinform studio.
Publications
Humanitarian demining: challenges and priorities for 2025
Last year, Ukraine cleared more than 35,000 square kilometers of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), and returned it to production, with farmland given priority for clearance. That being said, after the first year of the full-scale Russian invasion, there were at least 174,000 square kilometers of potentially contaminated land in the country. The World Bank estimates that this will cost at least $367 billion to survey and clean it up. It goes without saying that this amount has only grown ever since. With that taken into account, in order to achieve the ambitious goal of returning at least 80 percent of potentially contaminated land to economic production within the next ten years, survey and demining work must be carried out continuously, despite the war ongoing. What has already been done and what needs to be done to give more momentum to the mine clearance effort in Ukraine?
Russia is bluffing when it threatens with a fresh large-scale offensive along the 1,000 km long frontline in 2025
The information space is occasionally shaken by reports that Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the summer-autumn months to maximize pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks. Western media, among them The Associated Press, say the Kremlin is eyeing a multi-pronged push across the 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front line and preparing offensive actions on the front that should last from six to nine months, almost all of 2025. But how true are these predictions?
This has already been much written about, and so we will consider this to be the final, generalizing chord. A careful analysis of the facts, the dynamics of hostilities, and the assessments from leading Ukrainian military experts give a completely different picture - a picture of a deep systemic crisis of Russia’s war machine, which is physically incapable of achieving a large-scale strategic breakthrough. Therefore, loud statements about a “major offensive” look more like a component to information warfare rather than a true reflection of the enemy’s capabilities.
Fact Checks
Russian propaganda spreads fake about boy's 'death at the hands' of Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk region
Russian propagandists have been spreading a Facebook post allegedly written by a Ukrainian soldier who apologizes for the "murder" of a minor in Sudzha, Kursk region, Russia, supposedly carried out by his comrades. The post is accompanied by what appears to be a photo of the child.
This is fake. The image of the child was AI-generated. According to the Hive Moderation fake detection program, the picture promoted by Russian propagandists has an 87.9% probability of being AI-generated.
The account of the so-called "soldier" who allegedly apologized to Russians is also fake. The profile was created in January 2025, and since then, only three posts have appeared on the page -- two of them just five days ago. It is impossible to verify the identity of the account owner since the only profile picture features a group of 13 people in military uniforms.
The account states that its owner is from Zhytomyr, but it also claims they studied at Escuela Parroquial Padre Arturo, a school in the Dominican Republic. This inconsistency suggests that the account belongs to a bot created for a Russian disinformation campaign against Ukraine.
Russian propaganda continues to spread false stories about the supposed "atrocities" of the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region. These efforts aim to discredit the Ukrainian military and justify Russia's war crimes against Ukrainian civilians.
Earlier, Ukrinform reported that Russian propagandists, using a "Finnish journalist," spread another fake news story about alleged Ukrainian war crimes in Sudzha.
Andriy Olenin
Video
New Guinness team record in Truck pull in Dnipro
In Dnipro, the heroes set a new Guinness team record in the Truck pull exercise, surpassing the previous result of the Welsh team. After the first attempt, when the result was 16.72 seconds, the team pulled an 18-ton truck 20 meters in 16.47 seconds on the second attempt
News:
War
Ukraine urges IAEA leadership not to side with Russia on Zaporizhzhia NPP issue
Russia intensifies assault operations in Zaporizhzhia sector – Voloshyn
Sumy region could become main priority of Russian offensive – Bratchuk
Politics
U.S. begins to realize that Russia always tries to rewrite negotiation outcomes – Zhovkva
Russians in Riyadh refused to discuss halting strikes on civilian infrastructure – Zhovkva
There must be accountability for ceasefire violations – UK Ambassador
Economy
ARMA signs 10 asset management agreements in 2024
NBU Governor comments on possible transition from Ukrainian kopiika to shah
Economy ministry: 343 Ukrainian women become truck, bus drivers in 2024
Kyiv Polytechnic Institute aims to create cogeneration plants to minimize energy costs
Society
Law enforcement confirms discovery of deputy Plakhotnik's body in Dnipropetrovsk region
Recruitment center, consular offices abroad do not send draft notices to join Ukrainian Legion - Consul General
See you next Friday!