Author: Reporter

With the war in Ukraine grinding through its 10th month, both sides are locked in a stalemated battle of attrition, which could set the stage for a new round of escalation. Many observers see the current deadlock as beneficial to Ukraine, allowing it to receive more state-of-the-art weapons from the West and prepare for new counteroffensives. In Russia, there is a growing sense of desperation among hard-liners about what they see as President Vladimir Putin’s hesitancy and lack of a clear strategy. Military analysts note the fighting is likely to intensify again shortly as the soil freezes. Many point...

When 25-year-old Anastasia Mokhina donned fatigues and rushed off with her husband to help Ukraine defend itself as Russia invaded on February 24, she quickly realized the military wasn’t well prepared for an influx of women volunteers. So her elder half-brother Andrii Kolesnyk, who was prevented from doing military service by a childhood disability, and his wife, Kseniia Drahaniuk, mobilized at home to ship her needed items. Word spread fast inside the ranks that amateur quartermasters were focusing on women’s particular needs, and a home-grown supply operation for female soldiers was born. Now, a volunteer group called “Zemliachky” —...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was making his way to Washington on December 21 for a summit with President Joe Biden and to address Congress in his first known trip outside the country since Russia’s invasion began in February. Zelenskyy said on his Twitter account that the visit was “to strengthen resilience and defense capabilities” of Ukraine and discuss cooperation between his country and the U.S with Biden. The highly sensitive trip is taking place after 10 months of a brutal war that has seen tens of thousands killed and wounded on both sides of the conflict, along with devastation...

Over the grinding wail of a chainsaw pruning trees, Oleh Braharnyk recalls how his crew sprang into action in Kyiv recently to repair power lines downed by Russian missiles and keep electricity flowing to his beleaguered fellow Ukrainians. Braharnyk, an electric company foreman, knows the stakes: Like many others in Ukraine, his family has dealt with daily power outages caused by Russian strikes. “We, too, sit in the dark,” he says, acknowledging that his home gets power for only about half of each day. In recent months, Russia has rained missiles on Ukraine to try to take out power...

From a dank Kyiv bomb shelter to the bright stage lights of Europe’s theaters, a Ukrainian youth choir’s hymns in praise of freedom offer a kind of healing balm to its war-scarred members. The Shchedryk ensemble, described as Kyiv’s oldest professional children’s choir, were in the Danish capital this week for a performance as part of an international tour that also took them to New York’s famed Carnegie Hall. It was supposed to be part of a busy year to celebrate the choir’s 50th anniversary. But Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine changed all that, with members scattering inside...