Donbas.Realities is a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
Rights groups say Moscow is seeking to erase the Ukrainian identity and Russify the parts of Ukraine it holds. The Kremlin is set to take a step in that direction come September: Under a draft directive, the study of Ukrainian is to be removed from the curriculum at schools under Russian control.
A Ukrainian soldier named Yuriy and two of his comrades were caught in the city of Toretsk as Russian forces approached last winter, cutting them off from the rest of their unit. As weeks passed with no hope of rescue and minimal supplies, Yuriy recorded the ordeal on video.
A Ukrainian soldier recorded a video diary when his unit on the Donetsk front found itself pinned down and cut off during winter in the shattered city of Toretsk. Facing constant Russian attacks, Yuriy and two comrades endured freezing temperatures and minimal supplies dropped from drones.
Russia’s use of air-dropped bombs equipped with glide kits and precision-guidance systems has brought staggering destruction to civilian areas in Ukraine
Russia’s glide bombs and artillery have left a devastating mark on Ukraine, turning once-thriving towns into scenes of near-total destruction. Drone footage shows the damage inflicted on Ukrainian cities by Russian strikes once they came within the artillery range
Humanitarian workers in Ukraine’s Donetsk region continue risking their lives to evacuate civilians trapped near the front lines. Among them is Yevhen Tkachov, head of the Proliska Humanitarian Mission, who recently rescued an elderly man left alone after his wife was killed.
Hennadiy Shchipakin and his wife were the last people remaining in the village of Kalynove in Ukraine's Donetsk region next to the front line. When his wife died after being killed by an explosive device, he buried her in a shed, then walked to a nearby village to await evacuation.
Ukraine this week released a video of two North Korean fighters taken prisoner by its forces in Russia's Kursk region. In an interview with RFE/RL, soldiers involved in the North Koreans' capture described them as experienced fighters who feared repercussions against their families back home.
The Ukrainian military has relied on Western support to buoy its defensive efforts as Russian forces look to seize more of its territory. Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden is rushing to deliver more aid to Kyiv, but It's unclear how the incoming Trump administration will support Ukraine in 2025.
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service was given exclusive access to film one of Ukraine's long-range drone units as it prepared to strike a target in Russia. The soldiers say Ukraine's domestically built drones can strike up to 2,000 kilometers inside Russia.
Residents of the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk reacted to the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election. "Trump promised to help bring peace to Ukraine," one local told RFE/RL. "We want to believe him."
Journalists from RFE/RL came under Russian fire in eastern Ukraine on October 10 as they filmed battlefield action alongside Ukrainian troops.
Two Russian missiles struck a military training facility in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava on September 3, killing at least 51 people and injuring more than 200. Military observers questioned why a large number of people were gathered at the site, making them vulnerable to a single attack.
Several statues dating from the ninth to the 13th century have been evacuated by volunteers from the front lines amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The chief of aviation in Ukraine's Air Force says some of the dozens of advanced F-16 aircraft pledged to Kyiv by Western allies will be stored abroad to avoid them being hit in Russian attacks in Ukraine.
Seeking soldiers to replace those killed and wounded in its war against Ukraine, Russia targets young men in occupied regions of Ukraine, using incentives and pressure to entice university students and others to sign contracts.
A Russian air attack killed at least one person in Druzhkivka, a city in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, on May 4, the eve of Orthodox Easter. At least two people were wounded and 11 houses destroyed in the missile strike, officials said.
With exclusive frontline coverage, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Current Time journalists speak with Ukrainian soldiers as they struggle to defend against Russian advances amid shortages in weapons and manpower.
Kyiv charges that Moscow has formed a “great occupation corps” of professionals and skilled and unskilled labor from Russia to put down roots in the occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhya – and to ensure they remain Russian.
A blast damaged civilian buildings in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slovyansk early on January 27. Ukraine's military said it was a Russian Iskander ballistic missile. No casualties were reported. Locals rushed to cover smashed windows.
Load more
