Story
‘This is our life’ — staff at Kyiv’s National Botanical Garden battle to keep plants alive amid war, sub-zero temperatures
Employees of the Kyiv National Botanical Garden bring wood to the greenhouse in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 30, 2026. (Oksana Parafeniuk / The Kyiv Independent)On a bitterly cold winter...
Coming of age during war, where mistakes can cost a life
Russia’s war has forced young Ukrainians to grow up too fast, confronting loss, danger, and responsibility instead of a carefree youth. (Albina Kolesnichenko /...
Bloom amid ruin: Ukraine’s struggle through the journey of one rose
A woman cuts roses in a greenhouse of Ascania-Flora, Ukraine's biggest producer of roses, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on Nov. 7, 2024. (Viacheslav Ratynskyi /...