The Kyiv Independent media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give The Kyiv Independent one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. We have seen it on 72 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is The Kyiv Independent biased?
The rating organisations do not give The Kyiv Independent one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is The Kyiv Independent left or right?
The rating organisations do not give The Kyiv Independent one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Centre.
Is The Kyiv Independent reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for The Kyiv Independent are Ad Fontes Media: Very high factuality; Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What The Kyiv Independent has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with The Kyiv Independent’s own report linked underneath.
US Representative Gregory Meeks has placed a hold on a $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel, citing concerns about the use of 40,000 bombs in densely populated areas. The Trump administration is planning the sale, which could be bypassed from normal congressional review.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asUS approves possible $2.7 billion sale to support Ukraine's air defense (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Russia is increasingly using modified RM48U training missiles as ballistic weapons against Ukraine. These missiles, adapted from air defence systems, accounted for more than half of Russia's ballistic and hypersonic launches in July and early August, according to reports.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asRussia increasingly using repurposed S-400 training missiles to bombard Ukraine, Reuters reports (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Poland has joined an anti-ballistic missile coalition with Ukraine and other European allies, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced. The coalition aims to develop a common European ballistic missile defense system.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asRussia increasingly using repurposed S-400 training missiles to bombard Ukraine, Reuters reports (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Russian film director Andrei Zvyagintsev has been designated a 'foreign agent' by the Ministry of Justice. The designation subjects individuals to strict regulations and income limitations. Zvyagintsev's recent film 'Minotaur' won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asAward-winning director Andrey Zvyagintsev labeled 'foreign agent' by Kremlin (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Russian President Vladimir Putin told US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that Russian forces could occupy the entire Donbas region within months. Jared Kushner expressed doubt about Putin's claims, reminding him that similar statements were made a year prior. Both Kyiv and Moscow are reportedly frustrated with Witkoff.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asExclusive: Ukraine, Russia are done with Steve Witkoff. Trump sees no problem (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a televised address to the nation on September 16 at 6 p.m. Moscow time. The speech is in anticipation of the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place from September 18 to 20. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the president's speech.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asRussia begins 3-day legislative elections as Kremlin seeks to project support for war (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Russia has begun a three-day parliamentary election, the first since the start of the war in Ukraine. Polling stations opened in the Far East, with President Vladimir Putin's party widely expected to win the 450 seats in the State Duma. Voting is also taking place in occupied Ukrainian territories.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asRussia begins 3-day legislative elections as Kremlin seeks to project support for war (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Russia launched missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, injuring at least 19 people, including children. Ukrainian forces responded with overnight strikes targeting an oil refinery in Yaroslavl and a military airfield in Rostov.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asUkraine war latest: Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv injures at least 20 (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Russian airstrikes hit Kyiv and Odesa, injuring at least 13 people and damaging buildings including residential structures, warehouses, and a gas station. A child was among those wounded in Odesa.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asUkraine war latest: Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv injures at least 20 (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that could allow President Donald Trump to impose up to 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil. India's Ministry of External Affairs stated the nation will take necessary steps to protect its trade and economic interests.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asUS House approves Graham's Russia sanctions bill (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Russian Major General Anton Grunis has been killed in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces. Grunis commanded the 4th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and had reported to Vladimir Putin about the alleged capture of Konstantinovka.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asRussian general killed in occupied Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's drone forces say (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Russia's Yaroslavl region following a Ukrainian drone attack. The fire was extinguished, and regional officials reported that 65 drones were shot down over the area.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asUkraine's drone strikes force 3 of Russia's largest diesel refineries to halt or slash output, Reuters reports (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Federal authorities have unsealed an indictment charging five individuals linked to Russian intelligence services with plotting targeted killings in the United States and European nations supporting Ukraine. The FBI announced it disrupted the alleged plot.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asUS charges 5 suspects linked to alleged Russian assassination, sabotage network targeting Ukraine's allies (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Ursula von der Leyen plans to propose a European Security Council to coordinate responses to growing threats. The body would include EU member states alongside the UK, Canada, Norway, and Ukraine, and feature a consultation mechanism inspired by NATO's Article 4.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asWhat to expect on Ukraine in the EU's big yearly roundup (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
US envoy John Coale has arrived in Minsk to meet with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The talks are focused on negotiating the release of political prisoners. Coale's visit follows a trip to Lithuania and a previous successful negotiation that led to the release of 250 prisoners.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asUS envoy arrives in Belarus as US seeks prisoner releases, path to unfreeze assets (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Russian President Vladimir Putin told US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that Russian forces could occupy the entire Donbas region within months. Jared Kushner expressed doubt about Putin's claims, reminding him that similar statements were made a year prior. Both Kyiv and Moscow are reportedly frustrated with Witkoff.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asBREAKING: Trump claims Ukraine, Russia agree to halt strikes on energy targets (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries have significantly reduced the country's diesel production. Three of Russia's six largest diesel-producing refineries cut production or halted operations entirely in September due to damage from these strikes.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asZelensky to push energy, Black Sea ceasefire at possible Trump meeting in New York (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Russia's Yaroslavl region following a Ukrainian drone attack. The fire was extinguished, and regional officials reported that 65 drones were shot down over the area.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asTrump tells Zelensky to stop striking Russian diesel infrastructure (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukrainian-Polish border. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other European officials had travelled on a train that passed through the area shortly before the attack, according to reports. Poland's Prime Minister warned of intensified Russian attacks.
The Kyiv Independent reported it as'Putin's terror': Russian drone hits Kyiv-Warsaw train near Polish border as nationwide attacks kill 6, injure 43 (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries have significantly reduced the country's diesel production. Three of Russia's six largest diesel-producing refineries cut production or halted operations entirely in September due to damage from these strikes.
The Kyiv Independent reported it asRussia refuses to stop attacking Ukraine during peace negotiations, Lavrov says (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
Who says so
3 organisations have published a rating for this outlet, in their own words. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the useful part and it is left standing.
How reliably it reports fact
A rating of the newsroom in general, by others, and a different thing from the Trust score we publish on each story, which judges one piece of reporting.
Very high factuality
Who owns it
- The Kyiv IndependentIndependentdirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Kyiv, Kyiv City Municipality, Kyiv City Region, Ukraine
- Official site
- kyivindependent.com
- Seen publishing on
- kyivindependent.com
- Access
- Free to read
What we have seen ourselves
Counted across the stories this site has published, which is the only denominator a reader can check: every one of them has a page, and every page lists the reports it was written from.
- Stories
- 72
- Reports listed
- 77
- We could read
- 5
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
72 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 5 we could open, not on everything it published.
A blindspot is measured against one side of the spectrum. The Kyiv Independent is rated centre, so there is no side for it to be counted against and we publish no figure here.
Across the 72 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than The Kyiv Independent’s on 1 of them. Overall it filed a median of 18 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 20 September 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 20 September 2026. Ratings pulled 7 September 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as The Kyiv Independent, also publishing from Ukraine, ordered by how often we have seen them on a story. Sharing a rating is not the same as being alike.
Think this page is wrong?
The leanings above are published by AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check, and we republish them rather than make them. If you think one is misapplied, the strongest place to say so is with the organisation that made it, and every verdict here links to their page.
What we are responsible for is everything else: the ownership chain, where The Kyiv Independent publishes from, which of our stories we have listed it on, and whether we have the right publisher at all. Tell us what is wrong and an editor reads it.
Report something wrong on this page
Anything we correct is written up in the public corrections log. We do not publish reader votes as a rating, because an unattributed rating is the thing this site exists to argue against.
Every rating on this page is a named third party’s published work, republished with its author and, where one exists, a link to it. Our own coverage record is the section we measure ourselves. Neither is a judgement of any individual report: those are scored story by story, and the reasoning is on our methodology page.