Two villagers in the Donetsk region escaped the Russian occupation of their village by walking across the front line in April. Ivan Vivsyanyk, 88, had no interest in the Russian passport he was told to accept, and Lidia Stepanivna, 98, felt the same. They walked 10-kilometers to freedom.
Lyudmila Menyuk, a veteran of Russia's war on Ukraine, helps military families through therapy. She offers them the understanding and support she would have wanted for her son, Stanislav Menuyk, who died in 2014 as a paramedic on a combat mission in the Donbas region.
A Kazakh refugee in Serbia who has waited nine years for official residence status has finally been given a new kind of document: a "refugee passport." Baha Sarsenov, who fled political persecution in Kazakhstan in 2015, will finally be able to travel again.
Sudden spring warming and rains are continuing to complicate flood recovery across Central Asia. Devastating mudslides in Kyrgyzstan and overflowing rivers in Kazakhstan and Russia follow weeks of floods and a burst dam in Orsk, Russia on April 6. av
Podgorica residents have been exposed to dangerous toxins for years, thanks people who burn worn-out tires to extract metal wire from the treads. That releases toxins into the air, putting neighbors at risk of serious health issues.
Heavy snowmelt and torrential rains have caused deadly floods around Pakistan's Peshawar and in Afghanistan's Farah Province. Dozens have died, crops were lost, and more than 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The flooding follows an unusually mild winter.
The Terekh family moved to Serbia from Russia in 2019, seeking a better life. They've found jobs, paid taxes, and say they never made trouble. But now Serbia is threatening to deport them. Officials refuse to explain why the family was labeled an "unacceptable security risk."
Peter Pellegrini's election win on April 6 gives Slovakia a Russian-friendly president whose views are in line with those of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. But that does not necessarily mean that the country will make a strong stand against NATO and EU policies supporting Ukraine.
Russia is using modified Soviet-era winged bombs, according to Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in the eastern Donetsk region. Massive craters in and around Adviyivka show that FAB bombs were heavily deployed by Russia in seizing the town.
As Russian troops grind past Avdiyivka, Ukrainian soldiers trying to hold the defensive line are suffering casualties and medics are scrambling to save their lives. At one emergency treatment center, crisis care is needed most often in the evenings.
A determined Ukrainian barista who survived a Russian air strike on her cafe on March 25 has inspired local residents with her courage. Hordes of coffee customers who saw her viral video are turning out to buy hot brews and express support.
Ukrainian drone operator "Riko" recalls dropping explosives on Russian units even as control of Avdiyivka was being lost to them in February. His goal in the fight for the strategic city in the Donetsk region was to "hurt the enemy as much as possible."
RFE/RL journalists in Romania found Chinese-made surveillance equipment installed at some 28 military sites in the country -- including the NATO base that is home to the Aegis Ashore missile-defense system. The cameras are also used by hundreds of other public institutions.
Throughout Iran, protesters called for change and chanted "Freedom" on March 12 during traditional bonfires for Chaharshanbe Suri. The annual fire festival, held ahead of Persian New Year, or Norouz, has become an outlet for protest.
Petro Konoplya, a celebrated Ukrainian stage and film actor, once just played soldiers onscreen. Now, after treating wounded fighters as a medic in scores of tense frontline situations, he confesses, "Today, I'd play it differently."
Demonstrators in Vilnius protested the treatment of political prisoners in Belarus, decrying at a March 8 rally the policy of holding them incommunicado for extended periods. Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya says brutal prison conditions are "not a political issue."
A missing monument to martial arts star Bruce Lee has residents of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, wondering: Who could have swiped the shiny tribute to this fighter for justice? The statue went up in a city park in 2005 in the spirit of uniting citizens on all sides of Balkan politics.
Archaeologists in Belgrade have unearthed new segments of an aqueduct -- part of a 2,000-year-old water supply system built by the Romans. The find in the city, known in ancient times as Singidunum, was made while digging out land for an underground parking garage.
Anton Smetskiy was a professional dancer in Kyiv before fighting against Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A mine took his right foot in combat, but he's determined to once again perform onstage.
Russian shelling has reduced the eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman to ruins, but a handful of residents are holding out, living in underground shelters. Some continue maintaining the local church as Ukrainian soldiers remain watchful. Lyman's location on key roads makes it an important prize.
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