Levko Stek

Levko Stek is a multimedia correspondent for Donbas.Realities of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. He joined RFE/RL in 2013, one week before the Maidan protests began, which he exhaustively documented, along with the shoot-down of MH17. He covered Russia's forcible annexation of Crimea and documented some of the most intense fighting during the height of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Also by Levko Stek

May 08, 2022
A City On Ukraine's Front Line: Sleeping In Basements, Cooking By Fire

Fighting continues to rage near Vuhledar, a city in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Because of the ongoing, unpredictable shelling by Russian forces, many people are living in basements. RFE/RL correspondent Levko Stek visited the city on May 6.
May 04, 2022
Evacuation Of Lyman Grows Urgent As Fighting Intensifies In Eastern Ukraine

On May 2, RFE/RL correspondent Levko Stek accompanied Ukrainian police officers who evacuated civilians from the Ukrainian town in the path of Russia's offensive.
April 06, 2022
Borodyanka's Survivors Tell Their Stories After Ukrainian Town's Liberation

The village of Borodyanka, 50 kilometers from Kyiv, was severely damaged by Russian air strikes. According to Prosecutor-General Iryna Venediktova, the worst situation with civilian casualties is in Borodyanka.
April 04, 2022
'They Killed People Systematically': Bucha Residents Allege War Crimes By Expelled Russian Forces

Images of dozens of bodies lying in the streets of the village of Bucha, near Kyiv, have been seen around the world, prompting accusations of war crimes against Russian forces. RFE/RL correspondent Levko Stek traveled there on April 3 shortly after its liberation by Ukrainian forces.
April 04, 2022
Bucha Residents Describe 'Systematic' Killings By Russian Troops

Residents of this suburb of Kyiv told RFE/RL they managed to survive the "systematic" killing of the town's population by Russian troops that until recently occupied the area.
April 03, 2022
Russian Tanks, Ukrainian Cargo Plane Found Among Wreckage At Hostomel Airport

Hostomel airport, which lies north of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, lies in ruins with dozens of destroyed Russian military vehicles littering the tarmac. It was the site of ferocious fighting and changed hands several times as Ukrainian troops battled to retake the airfield from Russian forces.
April 01, 2022
'People Are Being Torn To Pieces': Inside The Liberated Kyiv Suburb Of Irpin

RFE/RL reporter Levko Stek visited the recently liberated Kyiv suburb of Irpin on March 30-31. He saw dead bodies, shattered buildings, and burned-out Russian military vehicles in the streets as sounds of distant fighting still echoed in the background.
March 30, 2022
Russian Bombing Continues In Liberated Village Near Kyiv

Ukrainian forces have liberated the Russian-occupied village of Kukhari in the Vyshhorod district of the Kyiv region. But Russian forces have continued to bombard the village with artillery and aircraft. RFE/RL correspondent Levko Stek was on the ground during one of the attacks.
March 28, 2022
Ukrainians Seize Russian Tanks After Retaking Village

Ukrainian forces showed off three tanks they captured after retaking control of Lukyanivka, a village 60 kilometers east of Kyiv, from the Russian Army. RFE/RL journalists visited the village on March 27, three days after what a resident said was fierce fighting.
March 25, 2022
Ukrainian Forces Use Drones To Hunt For Russian Columns West Of Kyiv

As Russian invasion continues, Makariv may be small in size, but it has big strategic value as it blocks Russia's armed forces from encircling Kyiv. Ukrainian volunteer fighters use drones in the area for reconnaissance that can be used by Ukrainian artillery units to strike back.
March 17, 2022
Ukrainian Forces Destroy Russian Armored Column Іn Kyiv Region

Ukrainian forces say they launched a successful counterattack against a Russian armored column in the Kyiv region. On March 15, RFE/RL correspondent Levko Stek surveyed the aftermath of the battle.
March 01, 2022
Kyiv Residents, Including Foreigners, Line Up For Weapons To Defend Ukrainian Capital

Kyiv residents lined up on February 28 to receive weapons to help defend the Ukrainian capital from Russian troops. Among them were several foreigners living in Kyiv.
January 30, 2019
The French Connection: Donbas Fighters Don Yellow Vests

French citizens who joined Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have now resurfaced among the Yellow Vest protesters in Paris.
February 14, 2015
Fake Photos? Ukrainian Deputy Rejects U.S. Senator's Claims Of Misinformation

A U.S. senator has accused a Ukrainian parliamentary delegation of providing his staff with misleading photos of Russian tanks allegedly entering Ukraine. But the deputy said to have provided the photos denies the account.
June 13, 2014
In Focus: Ukraine's Refugee Crisis

The armed separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine is pushing thousands of civilians out of their homes. But amid the chaos and a bitter information war between Russia and Ukraine, the extent of the refugee crisis is difficult to gauge.
June 09, 2014
On The Road With Volunteers Supplying Ukrainian Troops

Ukrainian volunteers have been risking their lives to deliver supplies to troops fighting separatists in the country's restive east. RFE/RL correspondent Levko Stek traveled with one of these "war couriers" and files this report.
April 17, 2014
Kramatorsk Dispatch: Humiliating Capitulation Dampens Troops' Morale

The Ukrainian army is licking its wounds after a much-touted "anti-terrorist" operation to regain control of the country's east ended with pro-Russian separatists in Kramatorsk seizing six armored personnel carriers.
April 16, 2014
Horlivka Dispatch: Uneasy Calm Following Takeover

Horlivka, a sleepy industrial town in eastern Ukraine, is one of the latest cities to be gripped by separatist unrest in the country's Russian-leaning east.

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Levko Stek

Also by Levko Stek

A City On Ukraine's Front Line: Sleeping In Basements, Cooking By Fire

Evacuation Of Lyman Grows Urgent As Fighting Intensifies In Eastern Ukraine

Borodyanka's Survivors Tell Their Stories After Ukrainian Town's Liberation

'They Killed People Systematically': Bucha Residents Allege War Crimes By Expelled Russian Forces

Bucha Residents Describe 'Systematic' Killings By Russian Troops

Russian Tanks, Ukrainian Cargo Plane Found Among Wreckage At Hostomel Airport

'People Are Being Torn To Pieces': Inside The Liberated Kyiv Suburb Of Irpin

Russian Bombing Continues In Liberated Village Near Kyiv

Ukrainians Seize Russian Tanks After Retaking Village

Ukrainian Forces Use Drones To Hunt For Russian Columns West Of Kyiv

Ukrainian Forces Destroy Russian Armored Column Іn Kyiv Region

Kyiv Residents, Including Foreigners, Line Up For Weapons To Defend Ukrainian Capital

The French Connection: Donbas Fighters Don Yellow Vests

Fake Photos? Ukrainian Deputy Rejects U.S. Senator's Claims Of Misinformation

In Focus: Ukraine's Refugee Crisis

On The Road With Volunteers Supplying Ukrainian Troops

Kramatorsk Dispatch: Humiliating Capitulation Dampens Troops' Morale

Horlivka Dispatch: Uneasy Calm Following Takeover