Here are some of the most compelling photographs from the 20th week of 2023 from around RFE/RL's region. For more photo galleries, see our archive.
Photos Of The Week (May 15-21, 2023)
- By RFE/RL
![A boy wearing a "vyshyvanka," a traditional Ukrainian embroidered blouse, holds pigeons as he poses for his mother on Independence Square in Kyiv during Vyshyvanka Day on May 18.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-c280-08db582c233f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A boy wearing a "vyshyvanka," a traditional Ukrainian embroidered blouse, holds pigeons as he poses for his mother on Independence Square in Kyiv during Vyshyvanka Day on May 18.
![A woman has her picture taken in front of a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a book fair on the Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St. Petersburg.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-3ae5-08db58807df2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman has her picture taken in front of a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a book fair on the Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St. Petersburg.
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A rescue worker sits in front of a body of a local resident who was killed by Russian rocket attack in Tsyrkuny, Ukraine on May 18.
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A rescue worker sits in front of a body of a local resident who was killed by Russian rocket attack in Tsyrkuny, Ukraine on May 18.
A rescue worker sits in front of a body of a local resident who was killed by Russian rocket attack in Tsyrkuny, Ukraine on May 18.
![People walk past Kosovo's government headquarters lit with the colors of the LGBTQIA+ flag, marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, as a sign of solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community, in Pristina on May 17.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-386c-08db587fae8b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People walk past Kosovo's government headquarters lit with the colors of the LGBTQIA+ flag, marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, as a sign of solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community, in Pristina on May 17.
![A Ukrainian soldier of the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade smokes at his position near the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0aff-0242-6b66-08db5798b882_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Ukrainian soldier of the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade smokes at his position near the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
![A street vendor prepares watermelon juice for sale at a roadside stall during a heat wave in Karachi, Pakistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0aff-0242-dd64-08db57634d54_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A street vendor prepares watermelon juice for sale at a roadside stall during a heat wave in Karachi, Pakistan.
![Members of the Berezka State Academic Choreographic Ensemble perform during a concert to mark its 75th birthday at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-287f-08db56d1896e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Members of the Berezka State Academic Choreographic Ensemble perform during a concert to mark its 75th birthday at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow.
![A Ukrainian marine attends FPV-drone flight training in the Dnipropetrovsk region.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0aff-0242-d37c-08db56eae723_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Ukrainian marine attends FPV-drone flight training in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
![A child peers through a window during a polio vaccination campaign in Kabul.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-0bab-08db55f2b4d0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A child peers through a window during a polio vaccination campaign in Kabul.
![Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (left) inspects weapons collected as part of an amnesty near the city of Smederevo, Serbia.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-e5f2-08db55275e14_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (left) inspects weapons collected as part of an amnesty near the city of Smederevo, Serbia.
![A picture taken with a drone shows a stork's nest in front of a building that was previously damaged by Russian shelling in the Zolochiv settlement of Ukraine's Kharkiv region.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0aff-0242-ae42-08db552b5931_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A picture taken with a drone shows a stork's nest in front of a building that was previously damaged by Russian shelling in the Zolochiv settlement of Ukraine's Kharkiv region.
![Kyrgyz schoolchildren recite the Manas epic on Victory Square in Bishkek.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-d9e4-08db55f494a6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kyrgyz schoolchildren recite the Manas epic on Victory Square in Bishkek.
![A woman works on a roadside next to her children in Peshawar, Pakistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-086e-08db551a937f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman works on a roadside next to her children in Peshawar, Pakistan.
![Protesters wave Palestinian flags and banners during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at University Plaza in downtown Bucharest.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-f628-08db551b08df_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Protesters wave Palestinian flags and banners during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at University Plaza in downtown Bucharest.
![Civilians greet Ukrainian soldiers on a passing armored personnel carrier on a road in the Donetsk region, Ukraine.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-3704-08db552ab615_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Civilians greet Ukrainian soldiers on a passing armored personnel carrier on a road in the Donetsk region, Ukraine.
![Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, are covered with a white sheet as they arrive to appear at the High Court in Lahore, Pakistan, on May 15. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-3be5-08db5546f701_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, are covered with a white sheet as they arrive to appear at the High Court in Lahore, Pakistan, on May 15.
![Women visit the 34th Tehran International Book Fair at the Imam Khomeini Mosque in Tehran.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-a9ca-08db56027cee_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Women visit the 34th Tehran International Book Fair at the Imam Khomeini Mosque in Tehran.
![Laborers work at the Qush Tepa Canal construction project in northern Balkh Province, Afghanistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-52cd-08db56c71047_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Laborers work at the Qush Tepa Canal construction project in northern Balkh Province, Afghanistan.
![Afghan schoolgirls attend a class at an open-air primary school in the Khogyani district of Nangarhar Province. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0aff-0242-08d7-08db56c708d5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Afghan schoolgirls attend a class at an open-air primary school in the Khogyani district of Nangarhar Province.
![An Afghan girl carries a bundle of wheat for threshing at a field in the Kama district of Nangarhar Province.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-7aed-08db56c71001_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An Afghan girl carries a bundle of wheat for threshing at a field in the Kama district of Nangarhar Province.
![People attend the funeral of Ukrainian soldier Volodymyr Nestor, killed in combat with Russian troops, at a cemetery in Lviv.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-fc2f-08db56c9f13b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People attend the funeral of Ukrainian soldier Volodymyr Nestor, killed in combat with Russian troops, at a cemetery in Lviv.
![A Romanian military academy cadet holds a candle during a ceremony in front of the Unknown Hero Monument, in Carol I Park in Bucharest.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0aff-0242-9f18-08db56cc8fdb_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Romanian military academy cadet holds a candle during a ceremony in front of the Unknown Hero Monument, in Carol I Park in Bucharest.
![Japanese choreographer Hiroaki Umeda performs during his show titled Intentional Particle at the 25th International Contemporary Dance Festival in Veszprem, Hungary.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0aff-0242-7ab8-08db56d08bfa_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Japanese choreographer Hiroaki Umeda performs during his show titled Intentional Particle at the 25th International Contemporary Dance Festival in Veszprem, Hungary.
![A policeman patrols as people riding bicycles and scooters wait to cross an intersection near a sign reading "We stand with Ukraine" outside the Canadian Embassy in Beijing.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0aff-0242-56a0-08db56c9f13e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A policeman patrols as people riding bicycles and scooters wait to cross an intersection near a sign reading "We stand with Ukraine" outside the Canadian Embassy in Beijing.
![An exploding missile streaks across the sky over Kyiv during a Russian missile strike.](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-60ec-08db5790f432_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An exploding missile streaks across the sky over Kyiv during a Russian missile strike.