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.
'We Realized That We Still Had To Fight': Life In Kherson One Year After The End Of Russia’s Occupation'
One year after Russian forces retreated from Kherson, the city is still grappling with the toll of the occupation and a grinding war that is not yet out of sight. By Andriy Kuzakov.
Bridgehead On The Dnieper: Russia Struggles To Contain A Ukrainian River Crossing
Amid a grinding five-month counteroffensive, Ukrainian marine infantry forces are trying to pull off a complicated and audacious river crossing that has tied up a chunk of Russian troops on the left bank of the Dnieper near Kherson. Here's why you should be paying attention. By Mike Eckel
The Ukrainian Woman Who Crossed Into Enemy Territory To Get Her Abducted Grandson Back
Polina Kindra spent almost three months in Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation trying to get her grandson back. Nine-year-old Mykyta Bilanchuk has health problems and was recuperating at a boarding school in Ukraine's Kherson region when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Nataliya Volosatska
After Winning Back Nagorno-Karabakh, What Will Azerbaijan's Authoritarian Leader Do Next?
For decades, Azerbaijan sought popular legitimacy through its conflict with Armenia. Now that is resolved, will it be able to find a new issue to mobilize the public? By Joshua Kucera
'They Killed One Of Us': How One Woman Joined Iran's Mass Protest Movement
The Iranian authorities continue to face protests over the treatment of women in the country. This animated account tells the story of one anonymous woman who joined the protest movement after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022. Amini died just days after her detention by the morality police in the Iranian capital, Tehran, for allegedly wearing her head scarf incorrectly. In another incident more than a year later, 17-year-old Armita Garavand died after she was allegedly attacked on the Tehran subway in October for not wearing a hijab. By RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Melina Khorshidian, Shabnam Miri, Hannah Kaviani, and Neil Bowdler
A Bulgarian Trans Woman Is On Hunger Strike And Says She Won't Stop Until Her Gender Is Recognized
Gabriela Bankova says she can't get her pneumonia treated because she can't get admitted to a Bulgarian hospital under the correct gender. She has vowed to get official recognition of gender reassignment -- which was prohibited by Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation early this year -- or die trying. By Katerina Vasileva
'Five Tiny Pieces Of Paper': St. Petersburg Artist Sasha Skochilenko’s Defiant Final Words In Court
Shortly before being sentenced to seven years in prison over a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, St. Petersburg artist Sasha Skochilenko addressed the court, telling the judge “I am freer than you.” By Robert Coalson
EU Takes Aim At More Central Asian Firms For Aiding Russian War Effort In Ukraine
A draft of the European Union’s latest sanctions package targeting companies aiding Russia’s war in Ukraine has added three Central Asian-based firms -- two Kazakh and one Uzbek -- but no new Chinese companies. By Reid Standish
'Her Wounds Are Severe': Iranian Grandmother Asks Tehran To Help Free Israeli Granddaughter Held By Hamas
An Iranian-born grandmother in Israel pleads for the release of her 23-year-old granddaughter, Romi Gonen, after she was kidnapped at a music festival on October 7 by the extremist group Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union. Aziza Khanum, whose Jewish name is Dvora Leshem, spoke to RFE/RL from Tel Aviv, where she made an emotional plea to Iranian leaders to help her granddaughter. By Parvaneh Vahidmanesh, RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Austin Malloy
Wedding Blessings On The Kyrgyz-Tajik Border
A wedding in a divided village on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border has highlighted the challenges caused by an ongoing dispute between the two Central Asian nations. The ceremony was held in Kyrgyzstan but the bride's relatives in Tajikistan did not attend and could only offer blessings from a distance. By Baktygul Chynybaeva and RFE/RL's Ferghana Valley Bureau
