Here are some of the most compelling photographs from the 51st week of 2022 from around RFE/RL's region. For more photo galleries, see our photo gallery archive.
Photos Of The Week (December 19-25)
- By RFE/RL
![A man wearing a Santa Claus costume speaks to children at an aviation hangar during a Christmas event in Bucharest.](https://gdb.rferl.org/034d0000-0aff-0242-c31e-08dae2895785_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man wearing a Santa Claus costume speaks to children at an aviation hangar during a Christmas event in Bucharest.
![An Afghan tailor sews a burqa at his shop in Jalalabad.](https://gdb.rferl.org/058a0000-0aff-0242-373c-08dae29d453c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An Afghan tailor sews a burqa at his shop in Jalalabad.
![An energy facility in Kyiv burns following a Russian drone attack. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/034d0000-0aff-0242-eacd-08dae2b6bf3c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An energy facility in Kyiv burns following a Russian drone attack.
![A girl encounters a man dressed as St. Nicholas in Kherson, Ukraine.](https://gdb.rferl.org/058a0000-0aff-0242-2efa-08dae2514642_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A girl encounters a man dressed as St. Nicholas in Kherson, Ukraine.
![Soldiers place a floral tribute on the grave of a soldier who was killed in a suicide blast in Miran Shah, a town of the North Waziristan district of Pakistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/02490000-0aff-0242-1f8b-08dae2869ba5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Soldiers place a floral tribute on the grave of a soldier who was killed in a suicide blast in Miran Shah, a town of the North Waziristan district of Pakistan.
![A woman sweeps up broken glass at a hospital damaged by recent shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine.](https://gdb.rferl.org/058a0000-0aff-0242-5929-08dae284d1a1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman sweeps up broken glass at a hospital damaged by recent shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine.
![Сoncrete blocks previously used for building barricades are turned into Christmas decorations in central Kyiv.](https://gdb.rferl.org/034d0000-0aff-0242-630b-08dae28bdab4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Сoncrete blocks previously used for building barricades are turned into Christmas decorations in central Kyiv.
![A damaged apartment in the aftermath of Russian shelling in Kherson, Ukraine.](https://gdb.rferl.org/034d0000-0aff-0242-cc23-08dae2b6721e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A damaged apartment in the aftermath of Russian shelling in Kherson, Ukraine.
![Laborers ride a donkey cart while making their way amid foggy weather in Lahore, Pakistan. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/02490000-0aff-0242-11a3-08dae32a79d6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Laborers ride a donkey cart while making their way amid foggy weather in Lahore, Pakistan.
![Protesters wave flags and light flares during an anti-government protest in Podgorica, Montenegro. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/02490000-0aff-0242-2509-08dae3294aba_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Protesters wave flags and light flares during an anti-government protest in Podgorica, Montenegro.
![Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (left) hands out a state award to one of his country's soldiers who is defending the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut.](https://gdb.rferl.org/058a0000-0aff-0242-26b3-08dae2b6bf3f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (left) hands out a state award to one of his country's soldiers who is defending the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut.
![An Afghan horse rider competes during a Buzkashi tournament match in Kabul.](https://gdb.rferl.org/034d0000-0aff-0242-46a9-08dae2aea765_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An Afghan horse rider competes during a Buzkashi tournament match in Kabul.
![Male university students attend a class bifurcated by a curtain previously separating males and females at a university in Kandahar Province on December 21, the day the Taliban banned women from university education.](https://gdb.rferl.org/034d0000-0aff-0242-d7c6-08dae32a79e4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Male university students attend a class bifurcated by a curtain previously separating males and females at a university in Kandahar Province on December 21, the day the Taliban banned women from university education.
![A Soviet Army veteran stands next to the tomb of late Soviet leader Joseph Stalin during a memorial ceremony to mark the 143rd anniversary of his birth at Red Square in Moscow on December 21.](https://gdb.rferl.org/058a0000-0aff-0242-467c-08dae353e421_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Soviet Army veteran stands next to the tomb of late Soviet leader Joseph Stalin during a memorial ceremony to mark the 143rd anniversary of his birth at Red Square in Moscow on December 21.
![Cars drive past Christmas and New Year decorations in downtown Tbilisi on December 20.](https://gdb.rferl.org/058a0000-0aff-0242-f135-08dae3561d06_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Cars drive past Christmas and New Year decorations in downtown Tbilisi on December 20.
![Romanians commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the 1989 anti-Communist revolution on December 21 during which more than 1,100 people were killed across the country during clashes between demonstrators and forces loyal to then-dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/034d0000-0aff-0242-5b76-08dae36eacb0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Romanians commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the 1989 anti-Communist revolution on December 21 during which more than 1,100 people were killed across the country during clashes between demonstrators and forces loyal to then-dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
![Afghan female students leave Kabul University on December 21.](https://gdb.rferl.org/034d0000-0aff-0242-72ee-08dae374d087_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Afghan female students leave Kabul University on December 21.
![A woman guides her herd of goats amid the morning fog in Peshawar, Pakistan, on December 22. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/02490000-0aff-0242-8f35-08dae3feece7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman guides her herd of goats amid the morning fog in Peshawar, Pakistan, on December 22.
![The Kyrgyz military changes the guard in the center of Bishkek on December 20.](https://gdb.rferl.org/02490000-0aff-0242-131d-08dae403249b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The Kyrgyz military changes the guard in the center of Bishkek on December 20.
![Members of Pakistan's Christian minority attend a service ahead of Christmas in Lahore, Pakistan, on December 21.](https://gdb.rferl.org/02490000-0aff-0242-fb27-08dae403c11e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Members of Pakistan's Christian minority attend a service ahead of Christmas in Lahore, Pakistan, on December 21.