Here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL's team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days, including content from Gandhara, the RFE/RL website focusing exclusively on developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Why The 'Failure' Of Russian Spies, Generals Is Leading To 'Apocalyptic' Thinking In The Kremlin
Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov discusses the blame game under way in the Kremlin and why the Russian military's setbacks in Ukraine are making the elite more “aggressively pro-war.” By Reid Standish
Eighteen-Year-Old Ukrainian To Raise Siblings After His Mother Was Killed In Shelling
Vyacheslav Yalov's mother, Maryna, 37, was killed in the Donbas by Russian shelling as they walked home together. He has now been evacuated to western Ukraine with his two younger brothers and two younger sisters, whom he plans to bring up alone. By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Halyna Tereshchuk, and Current Time
A City On Ukraine's Front Line: Sleeping In Basements, Cooking By Fire
Fighting continues to rage near Vuhledar, a city in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Because of the ongoing, unpredictable shelling by Russian forces, many people are living in basements. The buildings have been cut off from electricity, water, and gas. Civilian casualties are buried in an improvised cemetery. By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Levko Stek
Putin's Victory Day Speech: The Significance Of What Was Not Said
He did not declare a general mobilization for all-out war against Ukraine. He did not declare victory over Ukraine in the war that is now in its 75th day. He did not even make one of the Kremlin’s declared goals for the war – “de-Nazification” – a central trope of the speech. By Mike Eckel
Looted And Booby-Trapped: Irpin Residents Return To Ransacked Homes
Retired Ukrainian Navy Captain Andriy Ryzhenko has returned to his home in the shattered town of Irpin to discover it was ransacked and looted by Russian troops. Ryzhenko, who had trained with NATO forces, fled with his family on February 24, worried that he could be targeted by invading Russian forces. Explosive experts hunted for booby traps in Ryzhenko's house after grenades were found at a neighbor's. Ryzhenko says thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry were stolen, along with food, underwear, and footwear. By Stuart Greer
Despite Losing Dozens Of Soldiers, Many In Russia's Buryatia Region Support Invasion Of Ukraine
At least 112 soldiers from Russia's Buryatia region have been killed in Ukraine since February, according to the Free Buryatia Foundation. Current Time reports on some of those who have died and spoke to people in the region. (WARNING: Viewers may find the content of this video disturbing.) By Current Time and Timofei Rozhanskiy
All You Need To Know As Finland And Sweden Inch Closer To NATO
It looks more like "when" not "if" for Finnish and Swedish membership of NATO. RFE/RL maps out the next, crucial weeks of decision-making for the Nordic pair as the military alliance inches closer to expansion from 30 to 32 members following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. By Rikard Jozwiak
As Bread Costs Skyrocket In Iran, So Does The Risk Of Social Unrest
The Iranian government's decision to cut subsidies for imported wheat has led to high prices for food producers. And as the cost has been passed to consumers who are struggling to buy flour, bread, and other staples, lawmakers and regime loyalists are warning of social unrest. By Michael Scollon and RFE/RL's Radio Farda
IS-K Ramps Up War Against The Taliban By Attacking Central Asian Neighbors
Islamic State-Khorasan is provoking tensions between the Taliban and Afghanistan's weary neighbors by reportedly launching rocket attacks on Central Asian countries from Afghan soil and using fugitive militants to stir up trouble for the hard-line Islamists’ internationally isolated government. By Abubakar Siddique
