Taras Levchenko is a breaking news correspondent for RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
Thousands of Jewish pilgrims celebrated the Jewish New Year in Uman on September 15. The Ukrainian city is home to the grave of Rabbi Nachman, a key figure for the Hasidic movement in Judaism. Pilgrims from Israel and other countries have defied warnings about the risk of Russian air attacks.
Thousands of pilgrims from Israel and other countries arrived on September 14 in Uman, Ukraine, to mark the Jewish New Year. The city, south of Kyiv, is revered by the Hasidic movement in Judaism as the birthplace of its co-founder, Rabbi Nachman.
Artillery fire from both sides has been a central element of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The cost to soldiers in hearing loss is difficult to gauge -- but a surgeon who restores broken eardrums and treats inner-ear bones has had success with at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers.
Vladyslav Vashchuk played for Dynamo Kyiv and represented his country in international soccer before quitting the game in 2011. Now, he's joined the army.
Employees of the Chernobyl nuclear plant say Russian soldiers showed signs of radiation poisoning during their occupation. They say some developed huge blisters and were vomiting after ignoring warnings about digging trenches in radioactive soil.
A Ukrainian minister has expressed "disbelief" over the number of shut or unusable bomb shelters in Kyiv following an initial inspection across the capital. It came after the death of three civilians -- including a 9-year-old girl -- who were unable to access a closed shelter on June 1.
Former Swedish member of parliament Caroline Nordengrip, currently volunteering in the Ukrainian infantry, says she chose to join the fight against Russian aggression because Ukraine is "a wonderful country" whose freedom and peace is worth the risk.
A former Russian military and military intelligence officer tells RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service why he has volunteered to fight for Kyiv, saying "the enemies of my homeland are those who support" President Vladimir Putin.
Russian officials alleged that a group of Ukrainian saboteurs crossed into western Russia and fired on civilians in villages in the Bryansk region. A group calling itself the Russian Volunteer Crops claimed responsibility.
Since being liberated by Ukrainian forces in September, residents in frontline villages in Ukraine's Kharkiv region face daily shelling. RFE/RL's Taras Levchenko spoke with locals about the risks they face.
Two missiles fell in the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, early on February 5. Five people were reported wounded. According to Ukrainian authorities, the blasts were caused by S-300 missiles fired by Russian forces.
A Russian soldier says he is ready to testify about Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Signalman Nikita Chibrin was sent to Ukraine at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. After months in Ukraine, Chibrin eventually decided to desert and fled to Spain.
A farmer in the village of Shestakove in Ukraine's Kharkiv region says 2,000 cattle were killed on his farm by Russian air strikes on February 28, just days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine is not just taking a physical toll on soldiers on the battlefield but also a psychological one. RFE/RL correspondent Taras Levchenkov visited the Center for Mental Health and Rehabilitation of Veterans in Ukraine's Kyiv region and spoke with soldiers who are being treated there.
In Kyiv, rehabilitation centers offer treatment to Ukrainian amputees. Russia's war against Ukraine has created high numbers of disabled soldiers and civilians. Rehabilitation centers help the wounded return to normal life and, in some cases, amputee soldiers are even able to return to combat units.
The Ukrainian Army is expanding its fleet of drones, having raised some $20 million in donations from abroad for remote-controlled aircraft. Used for surveillance and airborne attacks, drones have been effective in combat. Ukraine wants around 1,200 more copters and miniature planes.
When pensioner Valentyn Didkovskiy saw a Russian column rolling past his house on February 27, he picked up a captured grenade launcher and blew up a fuel truck, sending the invasion into chaos and captured the destruction in a mobile-phone video.
Viktoriya Sluzhenko wanted to take up a rifle to defend the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, when Russian troops invaded her country in February. But she quickly realized the animals of the Kyiv Zoo needed her more.
U.S. Rep. Adam Smith told RFE/RL that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is a profound threat not just to Ukraine, but to world peace and stability." Smith made the comments on July 23 during a visit to Kyiv with several other members of Congress.
Oleksandr Kraskivskiy, head of the village of Zamhlay in Ukraine's Chernihiv region, says he tried to reason with occupying Russian troops but he ended up being bound, beaten, and held captive. Kraskivskiy believes he survived after explaining that he had served with the Soviet Army in Afghanistan.
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