Hey, you're busy! We know rferl.org isn't the only website you read. And that it's just possible you may have missed some of our most compelling journalism this week. To make sure you're up-to-date, here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL's team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.
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Black Sea Tensions Rise Amid NATO, Russian Exercises
Black Sea Tensions Rise Amid NATO, Russian Exercises
More than 30 vessels from 32 nations -- including NATO members -- are taking part in military drills co-hosted by Ukraine and the United States on the Black Sea. The two-week Sea Breeze exercise comes after an incident involving Russia and a British warship off the coast of Crimea. There's a risk of more tension, some security analysts warn, as Russia looks to secure its dominance in the region by holding military drills of its own off of Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. By Stuart Greer
From Scythians To Goths: 'Looting' Russia Strikes Gold Digging Up Crimean Antiquities
Russia wasted little time staking its claim to Crimea's archeological bounty after seizing control of the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014. After seven years of extensive excavations, Moscow has collected a treasure trove of new and disputed discoveries, while Kyiv has no window into what damage has been done. By Michael Scollon
As Siberia’s Permafrost Thaws, Scientists Marvel At The Mammoth Treasures Beneath
Climate change has accelerated the thawing of frozen earth that lies beneath much of Siberia. But for some of the scientists investigating the phenomenon, it’s the riches beneath -- including the cryogenically preserved carcasses of mammoths and other animals that lived tens of thousands of years ago -- that represent the biggest prize. By Matthew Luxmoore
RFE/RL Investigation: Why Is Hungary Funding Diaspora Communities In Western Ukraine?
Ethnic Hungarian communities and civic groups in western Ukraine have received at least 115 million euros from the Hungarian government over the past 10 years, a new RFE/RL investigation found. By Valeria Yehoshyna
In Photos: The Yeltsin Years
Three decades after Boris Yeltsin was inaugurated as Russia's first president, images made by his personal photographers offer a fascinating glimpse into the Yeltsin presidency -- and Russia -- through the 1990s. By Amos Chapple
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LUKoil Says It Cleaned Up Its Oil Spill. Russian Environmentalists Say The Contamination Continues.
LUKoil Says It Cleaned Up Its Oil Spill. Russian Environmentalists Say The Contamination Continues.
In May, a leaking pipeline spilled oil into a river and across a large area of the Komi region in northern Russia. Weeks later, local officials and the LUKoil energy company said the cleanup work was finished and the river habitat had been restored. But local environmentalists say the impact is greater than officials admit and are demanding that the company address the full extent of the damage. By Current Time and Margot Buff
'We Don't Allow Serbs': Kosovar City's First Serb Returnee Reopens Wartime Wounds
Dragica Gasic said her dream had come true after Kosovar authorities allowed her to return to her apartment in a western city whose mostly Muslim residents suffered hugely during ethnic fighting in the late 1990s. The elation didn't last long. By Bekim Bislimi, Sandra Cvetkovic, and Andy Heil
Bic Pics: Artist Draws Ukraine’s Dark Side With A Ballpoint Pen
Serhiy Kolyada’s unabashed drawings depict victimhood, vice, venality, and heroism in Ukraine. His brush is a ballpoint pen. By Mark Raczkiewycz
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Ukraine's Garbage Becomes Hungary's Problem
Ukraine's Garbage Becomes Hungary's Problem
The Tisza River, a major tributary of the Danube, flows from Ukraine into Hungary -- and brings with it thousands of tons of garbage each year. Hungary has urged Ukraine to deal with its trash before it becomes an international issue, but there's no easy solution in sight. By Harutyun Mansuryan, Current Time, and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Buying Babies In Turkmenistan: 'Rampant' Corruption Drives Couples To Illegal Adoptions
Some maternity wards in Turkmenistan offer abandoned babies for illegal adoption to parents willing to pay big money and skip official paperwork, multiple sources tell RFE/RL. They add that some registry office workers who are involved in the illegal adoptions provide false birth certificates. By RFE/RL's Turkmen Service