Breaking News

Maryan Kushnir

Maryan Kushnir has worked as a correspondent for RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service in Kyiv since 2015. He has extensive experience covering breaking news, including the conflict in eastern Ukraine. His footage from the front lines has been picked up by many international TV outlets. He has also extensively covered the COVID-19 pandemic, including reporting from within the country's intensive care units.

Also by Maryan Kushnir

October 14, 2022
The Battle For Bakhmut: Ukrainian Troops Hold On Amid Hail Of Russian Artillery

Fighting continues on the outskirts of the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Russian forces have been trying for several months to capture Yakovlivka, a village near Bakhmut. The village is destroyed, but Ukrainian troops continue to push back enemy advances in the area.
September 16, 2022
Ukrainians Find Bodies With Hands Tied In Mass Burial Site Near Izyum

Ukrainian officials say they have discovered a large number of fresh graves in the newly liberated city of Izyum in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. Subsequent exhumations uncovered bodies with ropes tied around their hands.
August 19, 2022
Jokes And Anti-Tank Guns Mix As Ukrainian Troops Hit Russian Positions In The East

A mobile Ukrainian light-artillery unit jokingly calls itself the Tour de Donbas, as it races between various positions. The crew targets Russian units around Lysychansk and Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, seeking to prevent their advance and complement long-range artillery.
August 15, 2022
'We Strike Back Mightily': Ukrainian Troops Slug It Out With Big Guns

As Russian forces attempt to advance toward the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian troops have launched counterattacks to push them back. Ukrainian forces continue to fight back against a Russian Army that maintains a numerical advantage in heavy weaponry.
August 12, 2022
Ukrainian Mortar Unit Sets Sights On Russia's Plans To Take Bakhmut

Russian troops are continuing assaults in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Ukrainian forces say their goal is the key city of Bakhmut. RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir spent time with soldiers from a Ukrainian mortar unit trying to disrupt Russian plans.
August 10, 2022
Ukrainian Troops Dig Deep As Russian Fire Rains Down

Ukrainian soldiers are dug in and holding the line between the towns of Siversk and Soledar in the Donbas region, facing shelling "24/7." They spoke to RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir about the constant Russian shelling and air strikes. One man struck a defiant note, saying, "The truth is on our side."
August 07, 2022
Ukrainian Tanks, Artillery Defy Russian Forces Near Bakhmut

Russia has intensified attacks near the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Region in recent days. On August 4, RFE/RL correspondent Maryan Kushnir filmed Ukrainian tank and artillery units in the battlefield as they assisted the infantry with supporting fire.
August 03, 2022
'Our Motto Is Liberty Or Death': Cossacks Defend Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Region

Cossacks who are part of a territorial defense battalion are now defending against Russian attacks in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region. The soldiers talk about burned wheat fields, destroyed homes, and daily Russian artillery fire.
August 03, 2022
'Now It's Even Worse': Residents Hold Out In Ukraine's Frontline City Of Bakhmut

In the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, active fighting continues on the outskirts of the city as Russian forces try to capture the key area. The city itself is half-empty. RFE/RL correspondent Maryan Kushnir spoke to one of the few residents who refuse to leave despite the fighting.
June 27, 2022
Ukraine's Foreign Legion: Soldiers Speak Of Historic Fight For Democracy

Soldiers from around the world join Ukraine's foreign legion to help with "the most important conflict in the last 50 years," as one American volunteer said. Experienced Western soldiers are impressed with what their Ukrainian counterparts have done but say they want to achieve NATO-level standards.
June 13, 2022
Ukraine's Combat Medics Fight To Save Lives On The Front Lines

Helmet-camera footage reveals how Ukrainian combat medics risk their lives to treat the wounded and evacuate casualties from the battlefield.
June 09, 2022
Civilians Struggle To Survive In Besieged Town In Eastern Ukraine

In eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, residents of Novoluhanske live in basements, cook over open fires, and ask for evacuation and help. There is no gas, electricity, or regular water supply. Russian troops shell the town daily with artillery as around 2,000 people there fight to stay alive.
June 06, 2022
Ukrainian Troops Get Morale Boost As M777 Howitzers Make An Impact

The Ukrainian military has started to actively use the 155-millimeter M777 howitzer, delivered by the United States. The long-range artillery has already made an impact during the exchange of fire with Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
June 06, 2022
Ukraine's 'Foreign Legion' On The Syevyerodonetsk Front Line

Volunteers from Georgia, France, Australia, Brazil, and other countries are fighting on the front line in the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Syevyerodonetsk. RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir accompanied a unit of men who say they have come from abroad to help defend Ukraine.
June 01, 2022
Heavy Shelling Of 'Road Of Life' Continues In Eastern Ukraine

Over the past few days, the intensity of shelling on the main road connecting the Donetsk and Luhansk regions has increased significantly. RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir reports from the front line in eastern Ukraine.
May 12, 2022
Ukrainian Troops Wage Counterattacks On Russian Positions Near Kharkiv

Ukrainian forces continued counterattacks on Russian positions outside Kharkiv. RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir followed troops from the early hours of May 10, as they tried to divert Russian forces while other units attacked. The Ukrainians said two Russian tanks and a personnel carrier were destroyed.
May 03, 2022
Russian Attacks Around Kharkiv, Izyum Devastate Civilian Areas

Ukrainian troops southeast of Kharkiv survey heavy damage to a community cultural center, reflecting on the impact on locals, now all but gone. One soldier with experience fighting for both sides says he joined the Ukrainian defense forces after seeing what Russians did to noncombatants in Bucha.
May 02, 2022
In A Village Named New York, Ukrainian Soldiers Block Russian Attacks

Ukrainian soldiers defending the village of New York, near Donetsk, say they repelled several attacks as Russian forces tried to outflank their positions. RFE/RL correspondent Maryan Kushnir spent time with them on April 29 as the sound of explosions and small-arms fire echoed across the landscape.
April 29, 2022
Ukrainian Soldiers Say Russian Troops Look 'Desperate' In Battle For Donetsk Region

RFE/RL correspondent Maryan Kushnir met with Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russian forces in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. One of the soldiers called the Russian troops "cannon fodder," describing their tactics as "desperate" and without any coherent strategy.
April 28, 2022
Artillery Duels Dominate A Battlefront In Ukraine's Luhansk Region

As RFE/RL correspondent Maryan Kushnir filmed what he described as cluster bombs falling on the town of Popasna in the Luhansk region, a soldier examined a burned impact area and explained that both sides are mainly using artillery now, with little direct contact.

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