Ukrainian troops trek nearly 20 kilometers to reach Bilozerske in the embattled Donetsk region. Russian drone and aerial attacks have laid waste to the city that used to house 15,000 inhabitants. Speaking with RFE/RL, one soldier said that "everything is bad" near Dobropillia.
Russia kept up its pattern of relentless attacks on Kyiv, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring seven other people in a drone strike on an apartment building in the capital on September 25, Ukrainian authorities said.
RFE/RL takes apart a Russian Geran-4 drone to uncover what makes the jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) faster, harder to intercept, and capable of operating deep inside Ukraine -- from its turbojet engine and advanced camera to foreign-made communications and navigation components.
Kyiv came under a massive daytime Russian drone attack on September 23, with strikes reported across several districts. At least two people were killed and 22 injured, local officials said. Several strikes were also reported near the capital’s central railway station.
In the wake of intelligence reports that Russia may be planning an attack on NATO, questions have arisen over whether European officials have contingency plans ready to deal with such an event.
An RFE/RL investigation links Russian sniper Artem Dementyev to killings and shootings of civilians during the 2022 occupation of Bucha. Ukrainian investigators say ballistic evidence, surveillance footage, and witness testimony point to his involvement in at least five killings and torture.
RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service correspondent Maryan Kushnir walked some 20 kilometers to reach the embattled city of Bilozerske, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which soldiers say has been effectively destroyed by Russian strikes over the past year.
There was no let up in fighting between Russia and Ukraine on September 20, as voters in Russia cast ballots on the final day of parliamentary elections from which a political party calling for peace was excluded.
Russia is racing to build Rassvet, its answer to Starlink, after losing access to the satellite network on the battlefield in Ukraine. But troubled satellites, tight deadlines, and a lack of ground terminals could leave Moscow waiting years.