Features

• March 09, 2026

  In Ukraine's Donbas, A Lovers' Kiss Becomes A Symbol Of War's Grim March

  Just months ago, weddings were celebrated around a statue to young lovers in Ukraine’s eastern city of Druzhkivka. Today the monument is surrounded by ever-increasing destruction as Russian forces use long-range first-person-view drones and aerial bombs on the industrial city.

• March 09, 2026

  Iran Sends Message Of 'Defiance' By Picking Mojtaba Khamenei As New Supreme Leader

  When Iran's Assembly of Experts convened under threat of US-Israeli air strikes to select a new supreme leader, it chose the one name guaranteed to be read as a provocation in the United States and Israel: another Khamenei.

• March 09, 2026

  Sleeping On A Subway Platform To Evade Iranian Missiles In Tel Aviv

  For Aviad Apirion, a 40-year-old teacher in a special needs school, the war with Iran has meant sleeping every night at an underground railway station to avoid the danger of incoming Iranian ballistic missiles.

• March 08, 2026

  Wladimir Van Wilgenburg: Kurdish Groups Need US 'Guarantees' Before Iran Offensive

  In an interview with RFE/RL, Wladimir van Wilgenburg said while there is significant noise about a Kurdish-led offensive into Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurdish groups themselves are being deeply cautious and are currently in an "exploration phase.”

• March 08, 2026

  Iranian Jews In Israel Speak Of Pain And Hope Amid Conflict

  There are an estimated 250,000 Iranian Jews in Israel, defined as Jews born in Iran plus second and third generations. RFE/RL's Ray Furlong speaks to several in Tel Aviv about their hopes and fears for change in Iran.

• March 08, 2026

  Magic Bullet? Sci-Fi Laser Weapons Are Now An Anti-Drone Reality

  Futuristic laser weapons are now deployed with some militaries and are being demonstrated by Ukrainian startups. Industry insiders say the technology can counter the threat of cheap kamikaze drones, but there are significant caveats.

• March 07, 2026

  A Russian Soldier Thought He'd Be Deployed To Africa. When They Ordered Him To Ukraine, He Fled.

  When Georgy Kochkin signed up with a Russian military unit called Africa Corps, he was expecting to be deployed to Africa, helping run information security operations. Instead, he was ordered to deploy to Ukraine. So he went AWOL and jumped a plane to Manila, where he told RFE/RL about his story.

• March 07, 2026

  With Top Brass Dead, Iran Deploys Decentralized 'Mosaic' Strategy To Boost Defenses

  Iran has activated a decentralized defense strategy after the United States and Israel launched an air campaign against Tehran and killed senior military leaders.

• March 07, 2026

  After A Week Of War, Israel Sees Progress But Long Road Ahead

  After a dramatic week of air strikes on Iran, what’s the view from Tel Aviv on the progress of the war and what happens next?

• March 07, 2026

  Israeli NGO Head Ksenia Svetlova: Iran Still 'Firing Like Crazy'

  Israel has made an impressive start to military operations against Iran, but may be not much closer to its goals than a week ago, former Knesset member Ksenia Svetlova told RFE/RL in an interview at her home in Tel Aviv.

• March 06, 2026

  Gold Bars, $80 Million Cash, Arrests, Orban’s Election: Hungarian-Ukrainian Bad Blood Boils Over

  When they were stopped in central Budapest this week, the two vans were carrying more than $80 million in cash and 9 kilograms of gold bars, along with seven Ukrainian citizens, who were en route from Austria to their home country.

• March 06, 2026

  Tears Of Joy And Sorrow: Mixed Emotions In Tehran As Toll Of War Mounts

  With Iran coming under daily attack from US and Israeli air strikes, the toll of the expanding war is adding up both physically and mentally for the country's 92 million people.

Load more