Aleksander Palikot is a Kyiv-based journalist reporting on war and its impact on society, culture, and politics.
In 2020, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was caught up in the U.S. election campaign against his will. This week, he walked right into it on a visit just weeks before a vote that could have a massive influence on Kyiv’s defense against Russia.
As the story of a comic becoming president and wartime leader has been told again and again, little room remained for his former troupe. But Kvartal 95 continues to entertain and sometimes outrage Ukrainians amid the ongoing full-scale war.
Ryan Routh, who was known as an active supporter of Ukraine’s military in its defense against Russia’s invasion, has been arrested in connection with what the FBI said was an attempted assassination against former President Donald Trump.
Amid its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia held another illegitimate election in occupied Crimea. The voting, which was denounced by Ukraine and not recognized by most countries of the world, will most likely solidify the local elites’ grip on power.
As the full-scale war with Russia drags on large parts of Ukrainian society are struggling to fulfill their basic needs. Although the Ukrainian economy is partly recovering, new inequalities arise and gaps between different experiences of war are widening.
Religious freedom, the Russian invasion, and the U.S. election: All three are among the factors in disputes over a bill that would ban a major Ukrainian Orthodox church with long-standing ties to Moscow. Lawmakers in Kyiv may return to the issue next week after a summer recess.
Many of the children at a “patriotic-nationalistic” summer camp in central Ukraine have relatives fighting against the Russian invasion. The boys and girls, aged 10-13, assemble rifles, learn first aid, and go through rituals steeped in symbolism.
Two months after a controversial military call-up law took effect, Ukrainian authorities say that conscription has speeded up. As Russia’s invasion persists, the state is walking a tightrope between discontent about the draft and the dire need to replace weary troops and continue fighting.
Ten years after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, Russia’s war is raging across a wider swath of Ukraine, claiming new victims and further undermining international order. The fight for justice continues, but the pain of loss is “something one can never get over.”
With new bookstores blossoming and readership trends changing, readers and publishing industry insiders speak of a spike in demand for Ukrainian books. Some authors say the book boom is a response to Russia’s war on Ukraine and its culture.
Some Ukrainian soldiers are freezing their sperm to increase their chances of having children -- potentially, even after death. Meanwhile, Russia’s invasion is depleting a population still feeling the effects of the Soviet collapse.
Russian forces didn’t capture Chasiv Yar in time to use it as a trophy at World War II Victory Day ceremonies, but the fate of the strategic Donbas city remains uncertain. Outmanned and outgunned, Ukrainian troops are struggling to thwart Russia’s offensive amid relentless air and artillery attacks.
With 72 percent of Ukrainians using it to get news and with some state agencies relying on it, Telegram has become the key social-media platform in wartime Ukraine. Critics accuse it of facilitating Russia’s disinformation and military efforts, and Ukrainian authorities are mulling restrictions.
After long delays and heated debate, the Ukrainian parliament has passed a mobilization bill seeking to strengthen the army as invading Russian forces gain ground. There's plenty of doubt as to whether the watered-down, fragmented legislation can fix a recruitment system widely regarded as broken.
With Russia pushing forward and the flow of Western weapons for Ukraine’s defense under threat, many Ukrainians sense that their country can soon find itself under unbearable pressure. Two years into the full-scale invasion, three soldiers reflect on the state of the conflict and its future.
Russian troops are pressing on Ukrainian forces along much of the front, including in the Zaporizhzhya region, where Kyiv’s counteroffensive halted last year. Soldiers stationed in the area for over 17 months are fighting to hold the line amid mounting problems from morale to a shortage of shells.
Nearly two years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hundreds, possibly thousands, of Poles remain committed to finding ways -- big and small -- to help Ukrainians, civilians and soldiers alike.
From a “drone-pong” competition to a “revenge crowdfunding” drive, raising cash for the army has become a feature of wartime life for millions of Ukrainians, marrying patriotism with a sense of self-worth and community. But if Western financial support dwindles, these donations won’t fill the gap.
At a triage site near the deadly battle for Avdiyivka, the wounded come in waves -- sometimes dozens of soldiers in a single day. With Kyiv's counteroffensive stymied and U.S. aid drying up, Ukraine's fate is uncertain as another winter of full-scale war sets in.
Ukrainian combat medics recently performed the first blood transfusion in the trenches, the latest step in efforts to save lives amid Europe's biggest post-1945 war. The rapid evolution of combat medicine continues despite the daunting challenges.
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