Yevhenia Rusetska has been a correspondent for RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service since 2023. She has spent seven years covering combat operations and their consequences.
Ukrainian troops are defending Chasiv Yar amid fierce Russian assaults on the strategically important city. If it falls, it could allow Russia to push deeper into the Donetsk region, but Ukrainian gunners vow to hold their ground.
In Chasiv Yar region, Russian troops are actively using first-person view drones, guided aerial bombs, artillery, and assault units. RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service visited the frontline positions of Ukrainian artillery forces.
The gunners of Ukraine's 25th Airborne Brigade are constantly fending off Russian advances near Pokrovsk. And they're operating a trophy weapon -- a Msta-S artillery piece left behind by the Russians. The unit is constantly on the move but holding their ground, they say.
Ukrainian gunners near Pokrovsk are fighting off Russian attacks with a seized Russian artillery piece. Outgunned but mobile, the 25th Airborne Brigade relies on drones, camouflage, and timing to stay ahead of the enemy.
Two Ukrainian servicemen were on a rescue mission to Chasiv Yar when their armored vehicle came under attack. They escaped from the flames and explosions along with the wounded soldiers they were transporting to safety.
Russian drones patrolling around Chasiv Yar in Ukraine’s Donetsk region have made travel to and from the frontline city incredibly dangerous. But a crew managed to help their wounded comrades evacuate even as their own armored vehicle was hit and caught fire in transit.
A unit of Ukrainian drone pilots stationed in Pokrovsk is working to defend the frontline city from a barrage of attacks. They're a key part of operations that have kept Pokrovsk from falling to a Russian offensive. But months of fierce fighting have devastated the city.
Over 7,000 former prisoners have joined Ukraine’s war effort. Among them are more than 100 women.
Just as male prisoners in Ukraine may get the option of military service to lessen their sentence, women convicts have been increasingly joining up. They're aware of the dangers but say having their pride and purpose restored is worth the hardships.
After three years of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine, RFE/RL frontline reporters Maryan Kushnir and Yevhenia Kytaiva-Rusetska share stories of civilians and soldiers they've met while covering the conflict. Kushnir says the "war is like watching your home burn and you can't do anything about it."
As Russian forces continue to bombard the city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region, Ukrainian police officers are rushing to help locals flee the war-torn city. RFE/RL accompanied some of them as they spent two hours convincing one family to leave.
The problems afflicting the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade illustrate the bigger issues that have plagued Ukraine's military and hampered its ability to fight a larger, better-equipped Russian force.
A 17-year-old orphan recently returned to Ukraine after spending 13 months in Russia, where she was taken against her will by Russian forces that occupied the orphanage she was living in. The story of Lydia Vlasenko has a happy ending, but thousands more Ukrainian orphans remain in captivity.
An RFE/RL film crew were recording dozens of kilometers from the front line in Ukraine's Donetsk region, when they were suddenly rocked by explosions. Journalists Yevheniia Kytaiva and Anna Kudriavtseva were unharmed and scrambled to provide first aid to wounded Ukrainian soldiers.
