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.
Back To Bakhmut: The Ukrainian Forces Trying To Trap Russian Troops In A Ruined City
"Our job is to…make a bad day for the Russians." Following a lull in the fighting, the Ukrainian Army is advancing on the northern and southern flanks of Bakhmut, hoping to surround the destroyed Donetsk region city to avoid getting involved in street fighting again and suffering losses. By Aleksander Palikot.
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Video: Ukrainian Troops Inch Forward Amid Heavy Fighting In The Donetsk Region
Unpacking The NATO-Turkey-Sweden Deal
On the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled that Ankara was ready to ratify Sweden's NATO bid. But what does the deal struck between Turkey and Sweden mean, and what further roadblocks could lie ahead? By Rikard Jowziak.
Also see:
Kuleba Says Ukraine's NATO Path Shorter Despite 'Mixed' Feelings Over Declaration
Video: Ukrainians On NATO Summit Results: 'We Expected Them To Invite Us'
Memory March: One Man's Three-Day Hike For Peace In Bosnia
Every year, Suljo Cakanovic takes part in the Peace March, a three-day hike across Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Potocari cemetery for the July 11 memorial to victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide. Cakanovic survived the mass killings of 8,000 Bosniak men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces.
Also see:
IN PHOTOS: The Pain Never Ends: Commemorating The Srebrenica Genocide As New Victims Are Buried
'You've Lived Enough Already': What Two Ukrainian Women Endured In Russian Captivity
Viktoria Andrusha, a 26-year-old schoolteacher, spent six months in Russian captivity, arrested by troops who found photos of Russian military equipment on her phone. She's one of many Ukrainian women who have endured horrific conditions in Russian detention. By Yulia Zhukova
Receding Ukrainian River Reveals Archaeological Secrets
Following the bursting of the Khakovka dam in Ukraine, the water level of the Dnieper River has receded to reveal archaeological finds such as a boat that may be as much as 500 years old. By Ray Furlong and Current Time
'Fear Only God': Ales Pushkin, The Nonconformist Artist Who Defied Belarusian Strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka
Ales Pushkin, a "talented and fearless" artist who once dumped a load of manure outside the office of Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka and depicted top officials as condemned sinners in a church mural of the Last Judgement, has died in prison under mysterious circumstances. By RFE/RL's Belarus Service
'Readiness For Service': Russia's Schools Continue Marching Toward Militarization
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government has long been developing “patriotic” education at all school levels. But over the next two years, that process will move decidedly in the direction of preparing children to serve in the military. By Current Time
Afghan Women Denounce Taliban Beauty Salon Ban
Afghan women who work in beauty salons in Kabul gathered on July 12 to protest a Taliban decree that would shut down their businesses by July 25. In interviews with RFE/RL, women said the closures would leave their families with no means of subsistence. Taliban officials say such services are forbidden under Shari'a law. By Omid Marzban, RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, and Ray Furlong
Revealed: Ukraine Approved Film Licenses For Moscow Movie Mogul's Firm Amid War With Russia
A Ukrainian film distributor co-owned by the producer of the patriotic Russian movies Stalingrad and Battalion secured licenses to distribute and show films in Ukraine during the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service has discovered. By Maksym Savchuk
Small Wonder: The Ukrainian Sculptor Having An Outsized Impact On Budapest
Budapest-based Mihaly Kolodko has won a cult following for his dozens of often illegally placed statuettes that reference Hungarian history and popular culture, as well as the Russian invasion of his home country of Ukraine. By Amos Chapple
