The Week's Best: 10 Stories And Videos You Shouldn't Miss

Here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL's vast team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.

'The Bakhmut Meat Grinder': Russian Troops Pummel Donbas City. It's Unclear Why.

The small Donbas city of Bakhmut is currently the focus of a ferocious Russian assault, and some of the most intense fighting of the entire 10-month invasion. Experts can’t really figure out why. By Mike Eckel

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The Grisly Job Of Exhuming The Dead In Ukraine

The Grisly Job Of Exhuming The Dead In Ukraine

In the woods of eastern Ukraine, a team of volunteers are scraping the dirt from a corpse and searching for anything that might identify who it was. One of them finds a cross -- a possible clue. He says it's always an honor for him if the team manages to return a body to its family. By Serhiy Horbatenko and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service

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Unborn Baby Saved By Prisoners' Scraps, Says Ukrainian Medic Held By Russians

Unborn Baby Saved By Prisoners' Scraps, Says Ukrainian Medic Held By Russians

A Ukrainian military medic who was pregnant when she was captured by Russian troops in Mariupol has spoken of her nearly six-month ordeal in captivity. Maryana Mamonova says she received little medical care and that her unborn baby only survived because other prisoners shared food with her. By Sofia Sereda, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, and Ray Furlong

Romania's Beekeepers Feel The Sting Of Banned Pesticides Still In Use

Romania, one of the EU's top honey producers, lacks the processing factories it needs to ensure its output stays pure, and a loophole in EU legislation enables the use of dangerous pesticides that beekeepers and NGOs say are killing the bee population. By Marian Pavalasc

'The Color Of Dreams': Museum Releases Photos Of A Vanished World

Stunning color images recently made available in high resolution by a French museum capture much of the world as it was transformed by technology and geopolitics 100 years ago. By Amos Chapple

'A Shameful Chapter': Despite Putin's Promises, More Than 1 Million Russians Still Living In 'Slums'

President Vladimir Putin has called for the liquidation of Russia's disastrously substandard housing at least seven times in the last 15 years. Yet more than 1 million Russians still live in dilapidated buildings, battling problems like leaks, mold, rats, and collapsing walls every day. By RFE/RL’s North.Realities

'Like Madness Itself': The Ukrainian Psychiatric Hospital That Endured Russian Occupation

The director of a hospital near Kyiv for people with mental and physical disabilities recalls what she, her staff, and patients endured through the Russian invasion. By Alena Grom

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The Cold, Shrinking Life In An Arctic Port Town In Russia's Northeast

The Cold, Shrinking Life In An Arctic Port Town In Russia's Northeast

A Russian Arctic sea port, Pevek, has a dwindling population and the world's northernmost nuclear power plant, housed on a huge barge. Residents here are nostalgic for the town's heyday, when the port was busy with mineral shipments, but they are making the most of life among reindeer farms, wild berries, and ghost settlements. By Current Time and Will Tizard

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Russians Avoiding War Have Flooded Into Uzbekistan

Russians Avoiding War Have Flooded Into Uzbekistan

Hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled their country since Moscow announced a "partial" mobilization on September 21. Many have traveled to Uzbekistan to seek refuge. The Russians say they are settling into their news lives and are unsure how long they'll be abroad. In the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, the arrival of tens of thousands of Russians has impacted the local economy, with rent prices surging across the city. By Current Time and Austin Malloy

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Afghan Man 'Milks' Scorpions For World's Most Expensive Liquid

Afghan Man 'Milks' Scorpions For World's Most Expensive Liquid

Thousands of scorpions swarm under the rocks of Mohammad Sherzad's "farm" north of Kabul. Scorpion venom can be used in various medical products and is the most expensive liquid in the world. But Sherzad says the closure of Western embassies since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has made exporting more difficult. By RFE/RL's Radio Azadi and Ray Furlong