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The Week's Best

The Week's Best: 10 Stories And Videos You Shouldn't Miss

Photo: Serhiy Nuzhnenko (RFE/RL)
The Week's Best

The Week's Best: 10 Stories And Videos You Shouldn't Miss

We know you're busy and probably don't have the time to read all of our coverage each and every day. That's why we've put together The Week's Best. Here are some of the highlights produced in English by RFE/RL's vast team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.

If Bakhmut Falls: What The Battle For A City Of Little Military Significance Means For The Ukraine War

After months of intensifying onslaughts, the Donbas city of Bakhmut is now the site of the bloodiest fighting of the entire Ukraine war. It's an open question how much longer Ukraine can hold off the Russian assault and what will it mean if the city falls. By Mike Eckel

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West Tightens Sanctions Compliance As Russia's Economy Avoids Worst-Case Scenario

'We Have No Choice': Ukrainian Judge Turned Soldier Says Justice Is Impossible Without Victory

Ukrainian Frontline Medics Haunted By Lives Lost
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Ukrainian Frontline Medics Haunted By Lives Lost
by RFE/RL

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Ukrainian Frontline Medics Haunted By Lives Lost

A unit of Ukrainian medics treats up to 10 wounded soldiers a day in their small, improvised emergency center in the Donetsk region. Exhausted team members say they feel haunted by the lives they cannot save. By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Maryan Kushnir, and Will Tizard

Why The Georgian Government Climbed Down On The 'Foreign Agents' Law

The planned rollout of a "foreign influence" law went up in smoke and tear gas in part because the ruling Georgian Dream party underestimated domestic and international anger and mistrust. By Lela Kunchulia, RFE/RL's Georgian Service, and
Andy Heil

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Georgian Women Take To The Streets To Demand Change

'Angel Of The Fighters': Ukrainian Medic Killed Days After Being Photographed In Action

This hectic field hospital near Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, was captured by an AP photographer on February 26. In in the foreground, a medic with braids named Yana Rykhlitska treats a wounded man.  
1/10 This hectic field hospital near Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, was captured by an AP photographer on February 26. In in the foreground, a medic with braids named Yana Rykhlitska treats a wounded man.  
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
Rykhlitska, 29, photographed on February 22.<br /> <br /> On March 3, five days after the AP image was published around the world, the combat medic was killed, reportedly by a Russian shell that hit the vehicle she was traveling in as she helped transport wounded people from the battlefield around Bakhmut.
2/10 Rykhlitska, 29, photographed on February 22.

On March 3, five days after the AP image was published around the world, the combat medic was killed, reportedly by a Russian shell that hit the vehicle she was traveling in as she helped transport wounded people from the battlefield around Bakhmut.
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
A selfie posted by Rykhlitska in June 2022.<br /> <br /> Tributes to the medic have poured in across Facebook. One <strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/misskiwiua/posts/10218565027435400">friend recalled</a></strong>, &ldquo;Yana once said, &lsquo;While we sleep, someone dies for us.&rsquo; Yesterday, it was her.&rdquo; An acquaintance who had met her at the front lines <strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/vadim.pavlow/posts/2598903043585272">wrote that she had been dubbed</a> </strong>the &ldquo;angel of fighters.&rdquo;<br /> &nbsp;
3/10 A selfie posted by Rykhlitska in June 2022.

Tributes to the medic have poured in across Facebook. One friend recalled, “Yana once said, ‘While we sleep, someone dies for us.’ Yesterday, it was her.” An acquaintance who had met her at the front lines wrote that she had been dubbed the “angel of fighters.”
 
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
In November 2022, RFE/RL photographer Serhiy Nuzhnenko photographed the Bakhmut field hospital where Rykhlitska worked, helping a constant stream of injured Ukrainian soldiers.
4/10 In November 2022, RFE/RL photographer Serhiy Nuzhnenko photographed the Bakhmut field hospital where Rykhlitska worked, helping a constant stream of injured Ukrainian soldiers.
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
Rykhlitska <strong><a href="https://dev.ua/ru/news/yana-rykhlytska">reportedly worked</a></strong> for a Kharkiv IT company that could have provided her a relatively simple escape from the war in Ukraine.
5/10 Rykhlitska reportedly worked for a Kharkiv IT company that could have provided her a relatively simple escape from the war in Ukraine.
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
A friend <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ksenianar/posts/3488179934750544"><strong>wrote on March 4</strong></a>:&nbsp;&quot;She could have chosen the easy way and left the country. She could have continued to work quietly in the company, but she chose another way -- the way of a real hero.&quot;<br /> <br /> &nbsp;
6/10 A friend wrote on March 4: "She could have chosen the easy way and left the country. She could have continued to work quietly in the company, but she chose another way -- the way of a real hero."

 
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
The view from a vehicle in Bakhmut on March 3, the same day Rykhlitska was reportedly killed near the embattled city.<br /> <br /> Bakhmut has become the focal point of the war in Ukraine as Russian forces close in on the ruined eastern city, making it perhaps the most dangerous place in Ukraine.
7/10 The view from a vehicle in Bakhmut on March 3, the same day Rykhlitska was reportedly killed near the embattled city.

Bakhmut has become the focal point of the war in Ukraine as Russian forces close in on the ruined eastern city, making it perhaps the most dangerous place in Ukraine.
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
A photo of Rykhlitska posted on her Facebook page in May 2021.<br /> <br /> The IT worker had been active in raising money for Ukrainian fighters since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022. She reportedly left her IT role and&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://nv.ua/ukraine/events/pod-bahmutom-pogibla-boevoy-medik-yana-ryhlickaya-50308501.html">began volunteering as a medic</a></strong> in May 2022.<br /> &nbsp;
8/10 A photo of Rykhlitska posted on her Facebook page in May 2021.

The IT worker had been active in raising money for Ukrainian fighters since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022. She reportedly left her IT role and began volunteering as a medic in May 2022.
 
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
On March 16, 2022,&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/yana.rykhlitskaya/posts/1251958128545311">Rykhlitska shared a Facebook post</a></strong> listing women who had been killed since the Russian invasion, some of them in active combat. The post read, &ldquo;If you are looking for true female heroes, please remember these women,&rdquo; and declared that heroes are &quot;those women who sacrifice their energy and resources to save, defend, treat, protect, feed, and support.&quot;<br /> <br /> &nbsp;
9/10 On March 16, 2022, Rykhlitska shared a Facebook post listing women who had been killed since the Russian invasion, some of them in active combat. The post read, “If you are looking for true female heroes, please remember these women,” and declared that heroes are "those women who sacrifice their energy and resources to save, defend, treat, protect, feed, and support."

 
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
A selfie posted by Rykhlitska in November 2022.<br /> <br /> A funeral for the slain medic, who would have turned 30 on April 2, will be held in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsya on March 7.
10/10 A selfie posted by Rykhlitska in November 2022.

A funeral for the slain medic, who would have turned 30 on April 2, will be held in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsya on March 7.
Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire.
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'Angel Of The Fighters': Ukrainian Medic Killed Days After Being Photographed In Action

Combat medic Yana Rykhlitska worked under fire and intense pressure in Bakhmut, tending to wounded and dying Ukrainian soldiers. On March 3, she was killed, reportedly by Russian artillery fire. By RFE/RL

The Moment A Russian Tank Fired Straight At A Ukrainian Cameraman
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The Moment A Russian Tank Fired Straight At A Ukrainian Cameraman
by RFE/RL

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The Moment A Russian Tank Fired Straight At A Ukrainian Cameraman

Dramatic footage has emerged from the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago. TV cameraman Serhiy Kylymnyk was using amateur equipment to document how Russian troops were attacking his town when a tank opened fire on the window he was filming from. By Oleksiy Prodayvoda and Ray Furlong

Satellite Images Reveal How Russia's Invasion Has Devastated The Environment In Ukraine

From flooded villages to fire-ravaged farmland, satellite photos obtained by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, reveal the scope of the environmental damage from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – estimated at nearly $50 billion and counting. By Kyrylo Ovsyaniy

Vulnerable, Volatile Moldova Could Be The Kremlin's Next Target. It Could Also Be Just Another Distraction

From fresh anti-government protests to alleged coup plots, Moldova is on edge, as Russia wages war on its neighbor, Ukraine. The pro-Western president of Europe's poorest country, Maia Sandu, says the Kremlin is trying to destabilize the country or even planning to invade. By Tony Wesolowsky

Afghan Female Singer Attacks Taliban With Controversial 'Group Sex' Song
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Afghan Female Singer Attacks Taliban With Controversial 'Group Sex' Song
by RFE/RL

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Afghan Female Singer Attacks Taliban With Controversial 'Group Sex' Song

Afghan musician Farida Tarana's new song, Group Sex, in which she criticizes polygamy and Taliban restrictions on women, has caused an uproar in Afghanistan since it was released three months ago. She told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi she's only just getting started. By RFE/RL's Radio Azadi and Neil Bowdler

'Anxiety, Depression, Nightmares': Bringing Help, Justice To Survivors Of Wartime Sexualized Violence In Ukraine

Ukrainian prosecutors and numerous aid groups have documented evidence of hundreds of cases of alleged sexualized violence by Russian forces during the occupation of parts of Ukraine. They are reaching out to the survivors to bring them the help they need and to try to punish the perpetrators. By Kateryna Hatsenko and Kristina Zakurdaeva

'This Revolution Is Still Alive': Growing Number Of Iranian Women Defy Hijab Law After Monthslong Protests

Women played a major role in the antiestablishment protests that rocked Iran for months. Even as the demonstrations have subsided in recent weeks, a growing number of women are appearing in public without the mandatory hijab, in a direct challenge to the authorities. The brutal enforcement of the hijab law triggered the anti-regime protests in September. By Golnaz Esfandiari and Mohammad Zarghami

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