Olena Badyuk is a correspondent for RFE/RL’s Crimea.Realities and The News of Azov Region project.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is holding more than 150 Ukrainian prisoners of war in Grozny jails, Kyiv says, accusing him of using the prisoners as a human shield to protect strategic buildings against drone attacks, and leverage in negotiations.
Ukrainian officials from the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions say Russia is forcibly evacuating civilians from areas near the front line. The behavior of Russian troops resembles their conduct ahead of the Ukrainian counteroffensive that led to the liberation of the city of Kherson last fall.