Features

• October 31, 2025

  A Violent Death Casts A Stark Spotlight On Ukraine's Military Manpower Problems

  The death of Roman Sopin has focused heightened attention on Ukraine’s manpower problems and the violence that recruiters sometimes use against men they are seeking to bring into the military.

• October 30, 2025

  Romanian Foreign Minister Says NATO Members To Fill Void Left By Departing US Forces

  Other NATO members will provide troops to fill the void created by the departure of US soldiers from Romania, the country's Foreign Minister Oana Toiu told RFE/RL, leaving the alliance with a “stronger" presence.

• October 30, 2025

  Pokrovsk Is In Danger Of Falling To Russia. Ukrainian Soldiers Are Fuming.

  Russian forces have gained a foothold inside the Ukrainian-controlled city of Pokrovsk. It’s fraying Ukrainian defenses, stoking frustrations, and worrying experts, who say if the city falls, it will imperil a swath of Ukraine’s frontline defenses. "The situation is on the verge of critical."

• October 30, 2025

  Trump Strikes A Trade Truce With Xi, But Superpower Competition Is Here To Stay

  The American and Chinese leaders have agreed to ease trade tensions, but many of the irritants driving their rivalry — from Taiwan to the war in Ukraine to nuclear doctrine — were largely untouched and poised to grow in the coming months.

• October 29, 2025

  Trump Seeks Trade Agreement With Xi As Ukraine, Taiwan Loom Large

  US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping say they have agreed to a “framework” ahead of an October 30 meeting as they meet for the first time in years to discuss trade, Beijing’s support for Russia amid the war in Ukraine, and tensions over the status of Taiwan.

• October 28, 2025

  Who's Behind A New Black Sea Luxury Resort Complex? Politically Connected Belarusians, That's Who.

  A nearly finished hillside complex in the southern Russian ski resort town of Krasnaya Polyana is backed by investors linked to Belarus’s strongman leader, a new investigation found.

• October 28, 2025

  Ukraine’s Western Front: Hunting Draft Dodgers On The Romanian Border

  Ukrainian men seeking to avoid military service pay up to the equivalent of $15,000 to smuggling gangs that hire children as guides to get them across the border to Romania. It’s one of the phenomena contributing to persistent manpower problems as Kyiv fights against the Russian invasion.

• October 28, 2025

  Russia’s War Dead In Ukraine Believed To Include Hundreds Of Central Asians

  Thousands of Central Asians are believed to have joined Russian forces in Ukraine. The Ukrainian state project I Want To Live recently released a list of Central Asian men who have either been killed or gone missing in Ukraine.

• October 27, 2025

  Why Are Russian Regions Cutting Signing Bonuses For Soldiers Heading To Ukraine? It’s Complicated.

  A growing number of Russian regions are slashing the extraordinarily high signing bonuses for men signing up to fight in Ukraine. The move reflects some of the crosscurrents the Kremlin faces as it wages its all-out war, while dealing with a sharply slowing economy.

• October 26, 2025

  EU Rearmament Revives Romania's 'Stalin Plant' Town

  The industrial town of Victoria was once home to the pride of Nicolae Ceausescu's heavy industry, now the factory stands mostly abandoned. But a massive spending program by Brussels to expand European weapons production is set to give the town a new lease of life.

• October 25, 2025

  In Ukraine, A Rare Moment Of Joy For Young Organ Recipients

  Ukrainian families recently gathered for a “Breakfast of Gratitude” with doctors who performed organ transplants on critically ill children. Some of the kids had endured life-saving surgeries just as air strikes were falling on Kyiv.

• October 24, 2025

  How Might China Respond To US Sanctions On Russia's Biggest Oil Companies?

  Major Chinese state oil companies have reportedly stopped imports of Russian crude oil in response to US sanctions. But Beijing has its own playbook to follow as it navigates the latest energy sanctions.

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