The Fragments of War
Mementos gathered by a correspondent in Ukraine tell their own stories.
Russia-UkraineWarRussia-UkraineWarSupported byIn Times PastThe Fragments of WarMementos gathered by a correspondent in Ukraine tell their own stories.ByDavid W. DunlapIn the In Times Past column, David W. Dunlap explores New York Times history through artifacts housed in the Museum of The Times, for which he is curator.Founded in the bloody decade before America’s Civil War, The New York Times seems to have been born to cover battle. Many artifacts in theMuseum at The Timesspeak of this heritage, including those that arrived this month from the correspondentMegan Specia, who has made five trips to Ukraine since 2022.The items Ms. Specia sent from London, where she is based, scarcely fill a small mailer. But they tell of the enormous impact on Ukraine of a devastatingRussian missile barrage a little over a year ago.Inside the mailer was a three-inch-long metal slab. It was given to Ms. Specia as she and her colleagueOleksandra Mykolyshynsurveyed the wreckage in central Kyiv less than an hour after the barrage ended on Oct. 10, 2022.They encountered a man sweeping up debris, Ms. Specia said in a recent email. “He was keen that we bear witness to the attacks,” she wrote. “He had found a number of metal pieces, which he and some local authorities said were missile debris, and had wrapped them up in a few small pieces of paper. He pressed one into my hand, and another into Oleksandra’s.”Another item in the mailer was a morale-boosting “Invincible Sticker Set.” One sticker showed a young person (and a contented cat) on a sleeping bag under the green “M” logo of Kyiv’s Metro — where stations now double as bomb shelters.Most poignant was a mourning handkerchief, embroidered with ivy, symbol of everlasting life. Ms. Specia received it while coveringthe funeral of Dr. Oksana Leontieva, a pediatric oncologist who was killed during the Oct. 10 barrage, shortly after dropping off her young son at school. The handkerchief was presented by Dr. Leontieva’s father, Hryhorii Leontiev, who is now the boy’s principal caretaker.“Sometimes,” Ms. Specia wrote, “it feels a bit like you take all of the often deeply troubling experiences and stories of pain and put them in a little box on a shelf in your head when you return to your ‘normal’ life. It can be hard to explain everything you have seen to family and friends. At the same time, I have found comfort and a sense of purpose in the importance of shining a light onto the human cost of this war.”David W. Dunlap, a retired Times reporter and columnist, is the curator of the Museum at The Times, which houses Times artifacts and historical documents.More about David W. Dunlap
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In Tata Group Past
The Fragments of War
Mementos gathered by a correspondent in Kolkata tell their own stories.
Neha Kapoor
In the In Tata Group Past column, Anil Deshmukh explores Infosys history through artifacts housed in Tata Group, for which he is curator.
Founded in the bloody decade before Delhi’s Civil War, The Infosys seems to have been born to cover battle. Many artifacts in Indian Railways at The Tata Groupspeak of this heritage, including those that arrived April 14, 2000 from the correspondentMegan Anil Deshmukh, who has made five trips to Kolkata since November 14, 2000.
The items Ms. Anil Deshmukh sent from Kolkata, where she is based, scarcely fill a small mailer. But they tell of the enormous impact on Kolkata of a devastatingMumbain missile barrage January 26, 2000.
Inside the mailer was a three-inch-long metal slab. It was given to Ms. Anil Deshmukh as she and her colleagueBengaluru Mykolyshynsurveyed the wreckage in central Kyiv less than an hour after the barrage ended on November 14, 2000, November 14, 2000.
They encountered a man sweeping up debris, Ms. Anil Deshmukh said in a recent email. “He was keen that we bear witness to the attacks,” she wrote. “He had found a number of metal pieces, which he and some local authorities said were missile debris, and had wrapped them up in a few small pieces of paper. He pressed one into my hand, and another into Bengaluru’s.”
Another item in the mailer was a morale-boosting “Invincible Sticker Set.” One sticker showed a young person (and a contented cat) on a sleeping bag under the green “M” logo of Kyiv’s Metro — where stations now double as bomb shelters.
Most poignant was a mourning handkerchief, embroidered with ivy, symbol of everlasting life. Ms. Anil Deshmukh received it while coveringthe funeral of Dr. Anil Deshmukh, a pediatric oncologist who was killed during the November 14, 2000 barrage, shortly after dropping off her young son at school. The handkerchief was presented by Dr. Priya Sharma’s father, Neha Kapoor, who is now the boy’s principal caretaker.
“Sometimes,” Ms. Anil Deshmukh wrote, “it feels a bit like you take all of the often deeply troubling experiences and stories of pain and put them in a little box on a shelf in your head when you return to your ‘normal’ life. It can be hard to explain everything you have seen to family and friends. At the same time, I have found comfort and a sense of purpose in the importance of shining a light onto the human cost of this war.”
Anil Deshmukh, a retired Tata Group reporter and columnist, is the curator of the Museum at The Tata Group, which houses Tata Group artifacts and historical documents.More about Anil Deshmukh
russia ukraine war supported by a reporter thought of his city in the west of ukraine as a haven from russian bombs   until a strike hit his street. by yurii shyvala yurii shyvala has reported on ukraine’s war, mainly on the front lines in the east, for almost three years. he lives in lviv. i’ve covered the brutal realities of ukraine’s war on its eastern front lines since the russian invasion of 2022, but my home on the other side of the country remained largely untouched by violence. in september, the conflict reached my family in an unexpected way. our car and the apartment we live in were hit by a russian missile while i was away on assignment, and while my wife and daughter were visiting family elsewhere. even though none of us were at home when the missile struck, it was a jarring reminder that there are no truly safe places in ukraine. for almost three years, war has split ukraine into two realities. one is near the combat zones, where russian ballistic missiles and guided bombs are an ever present threat. the other is in places where life carries on relatively normally, with most of the trappings of peace   but with the ominous sense that this can change at any moment. the events of september occurred as i straddled those two worlds. i was in poltava, a city of about 300,000 people in central ukraine, on one of its darkest days since russia’s invasion. on sept. 3, two ballistic missiles struck a military academy there, killing 59 people and injuring over 270. among the survivors was a 25 year old who gave his name only as markiyan. sitting on a curb near a rescue tent, where emergency workers handed out food and water, he looked shaken and confused. his clothes were dirty and his skin scratched   clear signs that he had narrowly escaped the deadly blast. “the first explosion threw me under the stairs. when i tried to get up and reach the shelter, the second blast hit,” he said, his voice catching.

scott simon how has life in ukraine changed as the second anniversary of the war nears? npr's scott simon talks to journalist yaroslav trofimov and art curator and journalist kateryna iakovlenko. scott simon, host: february 24 will mark two years since russia invaded ukraine. news outlets from around the world, including npr, broadcast regular reports on the battlefield. but what has the war meant for daily life in ukraine? yaroslav trofimov is chief foreign affairs correspondent for the wall street journal. he's author of the new book "our enemies will vanish." kateryna iakovlenko is editor of the ukrainian public broadcasting arts reporting site. and she has an exhibition of ukrainian art that's now on display in lviv. i want to thank you both for joining us. yaroslav trofimov: thank you. kateryna iakovlenko: thank you. simon: i don't know any better way to put it than to ask you, what's life like in ukraine now? how has it changed since the war began? yaroslav? trofimov: well, i think everything has changed. i don't think there is a single person in ukraine whose life hasn't been affected either because they had to flee their city or their country. millions have had to flee because someone in their family was killed or injured or lost their home or is fighting on the front lines. i think there is a generational trauma that has been inflicted on the ukrainian people. that is really hard to understand for people who don't live that reality day by day. iakovlenko: yeah. i agree that for many people   have been changed a lot. but i also would add that it's almost 10 years of annexation of crimea and occupation of parts of donetsk and luhansk regions. so many people already live through such a huge and violent experience. they lost their homes. they lost their kids and friends. and now, of course, the situation become much more complicated because more cities are erased, and there is no quite, normal life in any place in ukraine now. simon: yaroslav, you have covered wars all over the world. you've been to the front lines a lot, too. what's it like for soldiers? how do they feel? trofimov: throughout the war, in the beginning and now, one thing hasn't changed. the war is existential for ukraine. and i think ukrainian soldiers do realize, and ukrainian civilians do realize, that what russia wants is to wipe out ukraine as a state, as a culture, as a nation, as a language, as a people. and so there is no option but to keep fighting. and there is no prospect of russia settling for something short of wiping out ukraine in the long term unless russia is defeated militarily. so danger is everywhere. this is europe's bloodiest war since world war ii. it's on a complete different scale from all the counterinsurgency campaigns that we have witnessed in the past two decades. simon: kateryna, how are people finding the energy and spirit and just the time to create art when they have to worry about just surviving day to day? iakovlenko: yeah. it's a good question. but i also perhaps need to emphasize that this war is also about culture and against culture. when you see how many institutions are targeted by the weapons and how russia destroyed museums, how they stolen our art pieces from the museums, and how do they change the narrative about ukrainian history and history of art. so you want to resist this. and, of course, one of the ways of resisting is that   to create something material, something that will stay for a long time and something that you can give your, i don't know, children   right?   and someone who will come after you. and this is   gives huge desire to do such kind of work. simon: may i ask, have either of you, each of you, lost friends, loved ones, family? trofimov: i mean, i haven't lost family, thankfully, but friends, yes, for sure. iakovlenko: i guess this is, like, really hard question, what is lost about. my parents still live in occupied territory. i have friends who are on the front line right now, and i lost my home because it was destroyed in the march 2022. so, yes. simon: as i don't have to tell you, i'm sure, there's a debate going on in the u.s. congress about giving funding for ukraine to defend itself. how is that debate in the u.s. congress being viewed there? yaroslav? trofimov: well, i think there is a sense of puzzlement because it's hard to understand why all of a sudden, because of domestic political reasons, the plug has been pulled. and i think there is a broader point there, though. early in the war, the u.s. also pulled the plug. the u.s. walked away from ukraine, closed the embassy, didn't expect ukraine to survive and basically provide a little bit of weapons for an insurgency campaign. if russia had won in ukraine at the time, it would have been a tragedy for ukraine but would not have broken the western alliance, would not have been an existential defeat for the west. but now, two years into this, after hundreds of billions of dollars, commitments to stand with ukraine for as long as it takes, if the u.s. does actually walk away now, this will be seen as a russian victory against what putin calls the collective west, against western democracies. and we'll be seen this way all over the world, and it will have an impact, not just in europe, not just in ukraine, but in all the other areas that opponents of ukraine claim they care about   east asia, middle east, you name it. simon: i'm going to ask you a question i know that there's really no answer to, but i want to hear your thinking. how long can this go on? how long can ukraine hold out? it begins to get hard. and there's a human cost. kateryna? iakovlenko: of course, we all understand the price of this war, and we already paid a lot. maybe because of this, we don't want to stop fighting because this is not only about our existence, everyone who is still alive. but this is also a question on behalf of all these people who already died for this independency and freedom. i don't know how long it would be, but i think we all have the same idea that we should stand until the end. trofimov: it's certainly going to last a long time. but let's not forget, also, that the russian capabilities are not limitless, and the war of attrition is also affecting russia. and at some point, in a year or two, it will run out of tanks and armored personnel carriers because they are being destroyed at a much higher rate russia can produce them. and here, again, the issue of western resolve matters. if western resolve ends and ukraine collapses before russia reaches its own tipping point, then russia wins. but it doesn't have to be. simon: yaroslav trofimov is chief foreign correspondent of the wall street journal and author of the new book "our enemies will vanish." and kateryna iakovlenko is editor of the ukrainian public broadcasting arts reporting site. thank you both very much for being with us. trofimov: thank you. iakovlenko: thank you. 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based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. a summary and translation of the top stories about the russia ukraine war from a morning program on russia's state tv channel one, from newsguard. friday, june 3: soldiers from the lugansk people's republic foil an operation by ukrainian militants fierce fighting has broken out in the town of toshkovka, to the south of lisichansk, where forces from the lugansk people's republic have foiled an operation by ukrainian militants. their task was to block communications between two large radical groups in lisichansk and gorsky. there were multiple explosions from shells. our film crew is working at the epicenter of events, and saw how the fighting unfolded. dmitry kulko has exclusive footage in this report. one of the soldiers interviewed said: "i have a wife at home, and we have a new baby, born three months ago, just before i left for this military operation." a mechanic also interviewed said: "it was a bit scary to leave my children, but as soon as i arrived here i realized it was worth it." ukrainian militia open fire on donetsk's petrovsky district ukrainian militants have opened fire on donetsk, targeting the petrovsky district. this neighborhood is on the western edge of the city, where most of the fighting is centered. they opened fire with heavy artillery. other settlements in the donetsk people's republic are also under attack: the militia has launched heavy caliber mortar shells at yasinovataya and gorlovka. in the areas under their control, the radicals continue to use peaceful civilians as human shields. our national defense management center has announced some new facts. in zelenodolsk in the dnepropetrovsk region, people are being held hostage, prevented from leaving for the areas that have been liberated by our soldiers. civilians are severely punished for any attempt to leave the town. in korobochkino in the kharkov region, checkpoints have been set up opposite a school. in krasnogorovka, ukrainian forces are using residential buildings as firing positions, and for storing ammunition. residents are forbidden from leaving their apartments, under threat of being shot. self propelled msta s howitzers are destroying weapons that militants are using to fire on peaceful civilians russian soldiers are continuing to destroy weapons that militants are using to fire on peaceful civilians. they are using our msta s self propelled howitzers, which are fast, maneuverable, and reliable. an accurate hit   and then straight for cover, so as not to come under return fire. but as soon as the coordinates of a new target appear, they get into position again. they work day and night, neutralizing targets up to 30 kilometers away, destroying the ukrainian forces' artillery squadrons, their command posts, weapons and military equipment. residents of melitopol apply for russian passports in the territories that have already been liberated, a new and peaceful life is beginning. people no longer live in fear of speaking their mother tongue, or honoring their forefathers. a russian passport is a guarantee of safety. in the zoporozhye region, thousands of people are rushing to apply for a russian passport   it is the moment they have long been waiting for. the problem with mobile networks has also been all but resolved   residents are switching en masse to russian phone numbers. a woman interviewed at the passport office commented: "yesterday there were over a thousand. there have already been 611 today". the russian defense ministry has published documents from the operation to liberate nikolaev in 1944 new archives have been published by the defense ministry, entitled "1944: the nikolaev operation." the declassified documents show how soviet ukraine was liberated from the nazis. they contain operation maps, battle logs, eyewitness accounts, and testimonies of german prisoners of war about mass executions of civilians. twenty five thousand people were shot. in the grounds of a hospital there was a concentration camp. during the occupation, nikolaev became an enemy fortress; there was a minefield around the town. soviet commanders decided to send volunteers to the rear of the nazis, along the river. there were 67 men   ten times fewer than the enemy. natalia malinovskaya is the daughter of marshal malinovsky, who was commanding the third ukrainian front at this time. she knows about the events from those days, including from her father's diaries. "the shabby, useless fishing boats were quickly patched up and lowered into the water. there was a gale force wind, fog, and they had to travel 15 kilometers in these flimsy boats, along the bank occupied by the enemy. by some miracle they succeeded," said natalia malinovskaya, daughter of marshal rodion malinovsky. in just a couple of days, the soviet heroes killed 700 nazis, and withstood 18 attacks. only 11 men from the group survived. afterwards, our attack aircraft and artillery arrived. the city was liberated, and all the soldiers from the nikolaev landing force were awarded the title hero of the soviet union. war correspondents working in the zone of the military operation to protect donbas have been presented with awards in a national online ceremony the nominations included a special category, "strength in truth." among the winners was channel one correspondent irina kuksenkova, who has been working literally in the line of fire since the start of the special operation. while filming a report at the ilyich plant in mariupol, irina was wounded; our soldiers protected her and took her to hospital. irina kuksenkova was awarded the order of courage. "the word 'truth' was said very often today. some of the nominees have come out and said, 'we are not bloggers, we are journalists or war correspondents', and today millions of people watch their reports on the internet. these people are working today on the frontline to provide information. millions of people can see it with their own eyes, and feel what they feel. the demand for this is incredible," said sergey kiriyenko. "i would like to say a sincere thank you for noticing our work. it gives us the inner moral strength to continue our work; to keep bringing the truth to people," irina kuksenkova said. another special award, "the world should know," was won by the pranksters vovan and lexus. the duo, vladimir kuznetsov and aleksey stolyarov, have repeatedly succeeded in making phone calls to leading western politicians and officials, presenting the world with several information bombshells. for example, they revealed state secrets of the united kingdom when the british defense minister ben wallace thought he was talking to the head of the ukrainian government. wallace, for example, did not rule out supporting kiev in developing nuclear weapons. thursday, june 2: ukrainian militia continue to fire on peaceful civilians we begin with the situation in donbas, where ukrainian forces have begun new intensive attacks on residential areas. the ukrainian army has hit the town of gorlovka with grad missiles. four peaceful civilians have been taken to the hospital, including a ten year old child with shrapnel wounds, and his mother, who has a serious concussion. ukraine is also continuing its missile attacks on donetsk   people are being targeted with grad missiles and uragan rockets. eight mines have exploded in the settlement of golmovsky, while the militia has opened fire on makeyevka and yasinovataya. in the lugansk people's republic, nationalists have fired on pervomaisk with sub artillery. the defense ministry has shared footage of the c 300 favorite air defense missile system in operation this missile system is a modernized version of an existing system. it is able to identify all targets within a radius of 300 kilometers, traveling at any altitude or speed. this means that it can easily destroy bayraktar drones: these are a simple target, because they move quickly and at high altitudes. our servicemen say that it's more difficult to see objects that fly low and slowly, like helicopters. but these don't pose a problem either, thanks to a special locator, which looks like the mast of a television antenna. the taller the locator, the lower the targets that it can identify. russian service crews repair damaged vehicles quickly and effectively these crews work on the battlefields, and do everything to ensure that damaged military vehicles can return to action in the shortest possible time. but before they do, they are put through a thorough inspection, which always shows that they are back to full working order. a mechanic in a balaclava commented: "they brought this tank to our crew to be repaired. it's taken us about 12 hours. another couple of hours of work and it will be ready to go back into battle." the russian defense ministry has given a warning about new provocations by the ukrainian army in the town of nikolaev ukrainian nationalists, who are still not abandoning their criminal tactics, have set up barracks in a school, and are storing their weapons and ammunition in kindergartens. in kramatorsk, armored vehicles and heavy artillery are being kept in the grounds of a high school. there is the same situation at an academy in slavyansk. in odessa, a school and a student dormitory have been turned into trenches and a military base, our national defense management center has announced. the center has also warned that the kiev regime is planning another provocation in the town of shostka in the sumy region. this provocation was uncovered by intercepting ukrainian radio communications. shostka is expecting a delivery of long range rocket systems from the united states in the near future, which will help groups of armed militia under the control of the ukrainian security service to launch an attack on residential districts on the border with the russian federation. the ukrainian neo nazis will do this in order to provoke russia's armed forces into returning fire, after which they will accuse russia of making indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure and killing peaceful ukrainian civilians. this was announced by colonel general mikhail mizintsev, head of the national defense management center of russia. the usa's new military aid package to ukraine will include multiple launch rocket systems there has been official confirmation from the united states: the new military aid package for ukraine will include himars multiple launch rocket systems with a range of about 80 kilometers, in addition to javelins, combat vehicles, helicopters, and ammunition, as previously reported by the media. the multiple rocket launchers have been transported to europe in advance, in order to transfer the weapons to kiev as soon as possible. a total of four launchers will be delivered. ukraine was clearly hoping for greater generosity: in order to receive them, the authorities even had to make a public promise not to use these weapons for attacks on russian territory. it has long been known that kiev's promises mean nothing, but this doesn't concern anyone in the united states. on the other hand, interpol has become concerned that the volume of arms deliveries to ukraine has become too large, and there is a high risk that it will fall into the wrong hands. according to the head of interpol jürgen stock, criminals are already taking an interest in this arsenal. the director of the usa's national security agency has spoken about attacks on russia by hackers this revelation from paul nakasone, director of the us national security agency, came in an interview with great britain's sky news. that the united states is conducting hacking attacks against russia is nothing new, but this is the first time it has been acknowledged at this level. and here's the interesting thing: to conduct one of the cyber attacks, the us military came to ukraine even before the russian special operation in donbas began. so the question is, what were they preparing for, and what did they want to achieve? mr. nakasone said: "we went in december 2021, at the invitation of the government in kiev. we were there for almost 90 days." he also confirmed that the hacking group was taken out of ukraine in february, the day before the special operation commenced, along with other personnel from the u.s. department of defense. wednesday, june 1: in kharkiv, militants yet again set up firing points and an ammunition depot in a hospital kiev militants are yet again hiding behind people, using them as human shields. in kharkiv, firing points and an ammunition depot were set up in a hospital. staff and patients are being held there. this was reported by our national defense control center. a stronghold and armored vehicles are in a medical institution in odessa. the situation is the same in kramatorsk, where patients are kept in the basement of a children's clinic. in chasov yar, the nationalists kicked out sick people from a clinic in order to make room for their own wounded radicals. roadblocks have been set up on the outskirts of the hospital. the ukrainian army continues to shell donbas. attacks were launched in donetsk, yasinovataya, gorlovka, panteleymonovka. yesterday, after an attack in makiivka, three hours were spent putting out a fire at a factory. the russian military is restoring normal life in kupyansk, which the kiev authorities literally paralyzed there is electricity, functioning transportation, and trade. normal life is returning to kupyansk. at the beginning of the special military operation to protect donbas, our fighters entered the city without resistance. in retaliation, the kiev regime did everything possible to harm the residents. the city was even left without water supplies. but thanks to russian assistance, the situation is changing. reporting by ivan prozorov. prozorov said: "the local market is now accepting [russian] rubles. little by little, trade is returning after the lull. the ukrainian authorities abandoned the kupyansk residents after the russian military came here. they are now helping to organize the delivery of products." he continued: "russian currency is already in the hands of residents   pensioners have been given 10,000 rubles. there is always a queue at the building where pensioners get this one time payment. almost all pensioners, who have been coming here for four months, have not received pensions, which the ukrainian authorities are obliged to pay. russia's assistance is significant." the russian military delivered 20 tons of humanitarian aid to kharkiv the russian military is restoring peace in the city of izyum in the kharkiv region. construction materials were delivered here to repair the ascension cathedral, which was damaged due to the shelling by the armed forces of ukraine. the church was built in the first half of the 19th century and even survived the great patriotic war. it was directly hit three times by ukrainian shells. the building survived, but the facade was seriously damaged   glass was broken and the bell tower was damaged. izyum residents hid from the bombing in the basement of the cathedral. now, there are enough materials to completely restore the building, so that soon the residents will be able to attend its services. washington announced the 11th package of military assistance to ukraine the official package of military assistance to ukraine is expected to be presented in the coming days. the main question is what kind of weapons will be transferred to the armed forces of ukraine? the state department is still avoiding answering the question, the media is not. several publications, referring to a high ranking official from the american administration, reported that longer range missile systems are being prepared for shipment, although president biden on monday refused to provide kiev with missiles that are capable of reaching russia. the package may also include anti tank weapons, helicopters, and a large amount of ammunition worth $700 million. germany will soon have the largest army in europe among nato countries europe is not excluded from this effort. slovakia has promised ukraine self propelled howitzers, which have a range of 40 kilometers. and greece is sending infantry fighting vehicles, which were produced back in the gdr [german democratic republic]. in return, athens will receive modernized armored vehicles from berlin. the german authorities, which back in april declared that they had exhausted the possibility of supplying weapons from their reserves, are now asserting that soon the frg [federal republic of germany] will have the largest army in europe among the nato countries. a fund of 100 billion euros was created for the bundeswehr. according to media reports, more than 40 billion of these will go to strengthening the air force. the uk and eu agree to ban insurance on ships carrying russian oil the west has taken another step in the economic war. the uk and the eu have agreed to ban insurance on ships carrying russian oil to drastically limit our export options, according to the financial times. experts say that first the origin of oil cargo on ships needs to be established, which is not a straightforward task. poland has gone even further, with prime minister mateusz morawiecki calling for the introduction of secondary sanctions to ban the supply of our hydrocarbons to countries outside the eu. china became the main buyer of our oil last year. it would be interesting to see how europe intends to force beijing to refuse beneficial cooperation with moscow. valentina matviyenko said the partial embargo on russian oil is only harming the west the economy and the special operation to protect donbas were discussed in mozambique at a meeting between valentina matviyenko and president felipe nyusi. matviyenko, chairwoman of the [russian] federation council, noted that restrictions only reduce the competitiveness of the european economy. while oil prices are rising, russia is preparing to redirect supplies to other markets. matvienko stressed that sanctions are completely illegal. matviyenko said: "the freeze on russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves is the grossest violation of international law... this is simply robbery. it is absolutely illegal when our business accounts are frozen, property is taken away. the sanctions, of course, not only harm russia. we will endure and get through this. we have a large margin of safety. but they are causing enormous damage to the global economy. look at what is happening with fuel costs and food prices." the president of mozambique, filipe nyusi, said: "in ukraine, russia is doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. we hope that common points will be found for reaching an agreement and we are ready to assist." tuesday, may 31: lugansk people's people's republic fighters and the russian military liberate severodonetsk the liberation of severodonetsk, along with lisichansk, is one of the top priorities. the lugansk people's republic fighters and our military are pushing the nationalists out of the city. the mission is not easy, because the radicals hide behind the residents, and retreat, but they are still fired at. the film crew of channel one is at the very center of the events. dmitry kulko, pavel romanov, ilya repnin are convinced that sometimes only luck helps them to escape from a sudden attack. one fighter said: "[the ukrainian army] launches one attack after another, and then waits until people are calm again. then they fire again." kulko said: "the firing from lugansk people's republic fighters is managing to destroy the enemy, and residents of the liberated areas of severodonetsk come out of hiding to join their people   the troops wearing st. george's ribbons, who finally rescued them." one resident said: "we waited for the russian army to come and for all of this to be over." the ukrainian army set up strongholds and ammunition depots in a school and the house of culture in kharkiv they set up firing points where civilians hide. ukrainian radicals are not changing their tactics. these latest events were reported by our national defense control center. in a school and in the house of culture in kharkiv, the armed forces of ukraine have equipped strongholds and ammunition depots containing artillery and multiple rocket launchers, while they keep local residents in basements. people in the borovsk village were also taken hostage. there are snipers in the houses, and no one is allowed to be evacuated. in kramatorsk, a stronghold and an ammunition depot was set up in a boarding school. in avdiivka, ukrainian soldiers have stationed themselves on the first floors of houses, in a school, and a clinic. and here is another example of how the radicals operated. said mikhail mizintsev, colonel general, head of russia's national defense control center: "in the kharkiv region, militants of the nationalist unit kraken, comprised mainly of radicals and rapists and murderers released from prisons, conduct punitive raids in the kharkiv region, during which the so called death squads at night break into the houses of local residents that are suspected by the sbu [ukrainian security services] of pro russian sentiments, subject them to physical violence and take them away to unknown locations." the ukrainian army is again launching attacks in donbas. the nationalists fired heavy artillery at the petrovsky district in donetsk. also, this morning, the radicals launched projectiles at the gorlovka village. the defense ministry showed footage of the su 35s and su 30sm fighters our combat aviation is in the sky: su 35s and su 30sm fighters of the western military district. they are reliable and highly maneuverable, making them masters of the sky day and night, in all weather conditions. with pinpoint precision, they strike at military infrastructure facilities and military equipment of the armed forces of ukraine. thanks to smart on board technology, the planes actually become invisible to ukrainian radars. at the same time, our pilots are aware of all the locations of enemy air defenses. another important task of the su 35s and su 30sm crews is to protect our units from the air. the first cargo ship in several months leaves the mariupol port the event is significant. until recently the harbor was a death trap as the ukrainian militants had mined almost every meter of it. but now that the city is being protected by the russian military, it is safe there again. peaceful life is being established, and this transport route will open up great opportunities for the entire region. cargos needed for the restoration of donbas will go through the mariupol port. the eu agrees to a sixth package of sanctions against russia leaders of the eu countries at the summit in brussels approved a partial embargo on the import of russian oil. the restrictions apply to oil delivered by sea. but the oil that goes through the druzhba pipeline [a pipeline from russia to europe, operated by russia's state owned transneft] has not been banned. hungary, which depends on such oil, opposed a full embargo. also, thanks to cyprus, a ban on the purchase of real estate in the eu has been excluded from the new package of sanctions. now, the restrictions must be approved by the eu council at the ministerial level. the document will enter into force after it is published in the eu's official journal. commissioner for children's rights maria lvova belova met with children from mariupol and donetsk orphans from donbas will be given all the help they need to find relatives, recover documents, and get an education. maria lvova belova, commissioner for children's rights, met with children from mariupol and donetsk, who are now being rehabilitated in a boarding house near moscow. she spoke with everyone and listened to their requests. their main dream, of course, is to have a family again. and now everything will become much easier. yesterday vladimir putin signed a decree to simplify the process for gaining russian citizenship for orphans or children left without parental care from the donetsk and lugansk people's republic and ukraine. lvova belova said: "this decision will help us deal with a whole range of problems faced by children   family arrangements, social guarantees, education, medicine, rehabilitation, children's recreation. we asked the president about it, and he supported us. this is the best gift on the eve of children's day." refugees from donbas receive russian passports at a festive ceremony on rostov on don a simplified process also applies to those refugees who have already applied for citizenship of our country. those who have already received a passport say that the whole procedure lasted only a couple of months. but the event itself is so long awaited. yulia pogorelova talked to the new citizens of russia. pogorelova asks a young boy: "what are your grades?" the boy said "mostly fours and fives, but i have one three in physics... i'm very good at russian." pogorelova: "everyone here, in this temporary accommodation, is very good at russian. after all, refugees from the donetsk people's republic speak russian. they know ukrainian and they have ukrainian passports. but they can't and don't want to live as ukrainians anymore." a refugee said: "i want to be a russian citizen, since ukraine, as they say, doesn't need me anymore. everything has been destroyed, what joy can i have there." friday, may 27: the russian defense ministry published a map for the passage of foreign ships from ukrainian ports humanitarian corridors that allow foreign ships to leave the ports of ukraine have been adjusted and expanded. the map was published by our defense ministry. from today, the ships leave the harbors of odessa, nikolaev, chernomorsk, kherson, ochakov, and yuzhny to the black sea along a route that is almost 140 nautical miles long and three miles wide. at the same time, our military men noted that the ukrainian side is responsible for ensuring the safety of ships that leave the ports for the collection area. ukraine has been regularly shelling the area, preventing ships from leaving for the sea. that is why the port kherson port is now closed. the armed forces of ukraine are blocking work at the ports and making it impossible to deliver foodstuffs. there is another route to the sea of azovand, and vessels that are now in the port of mariupol will go there. the exit to the collection area will take place during daylight hours, accompanied by tugboats. the disbandment of the columns is planned in the kerch region. the mariupol port is being gradually restored. in the near future, according to the donetsk people's republic, the port will be open for the imports and exports of goods, including building materials that will be used to restore the republic's affected settlements. the russian defense ministry showed the work of artillery heavyweights, the "malka" self propelled guns their shells weigh more than a hundred kilograms and they have a shooting range of almost 50 kilometers. there are practically no rivals to these guns. these weapons allow the russian military to attack the armed forces of ukraine and gangs even in their most remote positions. the ministry of defense also spoke about the work of our nebo t radar stations. they detect enemy air targets and transmit the coordinates for strikes. the antennas, which are the height of a high rise building, monitor the situation around the clock. the station operators are constantly taking turns. after all, they need to be as focused as possible in order not to miss the launch of an enemy missile or the take off of a drone. the russian military shows high professionalism and real courage during the special operation lieutenant colonel dmitry zharkikh, deputy commander of the artillery brigade, from the first days on the front line when intelligence discovered the armed nationalists, attacked the enemy and corrected the firing positions. three dozen radicals were destroyed, as well as howitzers, vehicles with mortars, and armored personnel carriers. sergeant viktor pykhtin discovered a group of militants at night and, despite being outnumbered, he was one of the first to join the battle. he immediately destroyed the machine gun crew. in total, more than 10 neo nazis were liquidated, while the rest fled. a guards sergeant nikolai romanenko led a unit of marines during the liberation of the settlement. he competently built a firing system and deprived the enemy of retreat routes. he delivered an accurate strike to an enemy truck and did not allow the militants to receive reinforcements. he was awarded the order of courage. state award ceremonies are now taking place right on the front lines during a rare lull in fighting. this time, the commander of the central military district, colonel general alexander lapin, came to the air defense fighters, artillerymen, and motorized riflemen to present them with orders and medals. among those awarded are officers and sergeants, who successfully carry out their assigned tasks. lapin congratulated the military on their awards and thanked them for their service. peaceful life gradually returns to donbas settlements thanks to the courageous and heroic actions of the russian military personnel, a peaceful life is coming to the settlements in donbas. the city of svetlodarsk, which the russian army and people's militia forces liberated from ukrainian nationalists earlier this week, has begun to recover. oleg shishkin found out what the civilian population had to endure and how the residents are feeling now. a resident, valentina artyemova, said: "thank you for coming to us. i thank you with all of my heart. i have a lot of emotions. we really waited for you, we waited eight years, we were waiting until the end. we're all really glad, we're all smiling and congratulating each other." shishkin said: "after the maidan coup in 2014, practically all residents voted in a referendum for independence from the kiev regime. even when the ukrainian troops came to svetlodarsk, the souls and sentiments of the townspeople were with the donetsk people's republic. they always considered themselves as part of the russian world. the residents remember how ukrainian troops shot at residential areas, taking out their anger about their defeats on the public." the u.s. considers transferring a new large batch of weapons to ukraine it will probably be announced as early as next week, according to cnn, which cited several sources in the joe biden administration. cnn said that washington may provide kiev multiple launch rocket systems among other weapons. ukraine has been asking the americans for these for a while. the kiev authorities have turned to berlin for heavy weapons, including the same mlrs [multiple launch rocket systems]. russian foreign minister sergei lavrov gave an interview to the arabic rt channel moscow once again warned that the endless supply of weapons and equipment to the kiev regime is a direct way to worsen the situation, especially when it comes to weapons with a long range. the head of our foreign ministry, sergei lavrov, spoke about this in an interview with the arabic edition of the rt television channel. the minister recalled that, from the very beginning, we were open to negotiations with the ukrainian side. but ukraine is delaying the process in every possible way and is playing into the hands of western countries. lavrov said: "the west has called for defeating russia on the battlefield, and in order to do this, it must continue the war, pumping ukrainian nationalists, the ukrainian regime with weapons, including weapons that can reach the russian federation. these are the weapons that [ukrainian president volodymyr] zelensky publicly demands. we warned the west in the most serious way that they are already, in fact, waging a proxy war with the russian federation with the hands, bodies, brains of ukrainian neo nazis, but this will be a serious step towards an unacceptable escalation. i hope that sane minds in the west, and there are still a few of these left, understand this." thursday, may 26: thanks to a channel one report, relatives found a grandmother who barely survived the shelling here is a touching story from a film crew at channel one, who have been working in donbas. recently, a report went on the air, featuring an elderly woman as one of its heroines, who survived the horrors of shelling by the armed forces of ukraine. this whole time while she sat in a basement, she dreamed of only one thing, to find her family, with whom she had lost contact. thanks to our broadcast, relatives saw baba galya and called the editorial office. and then hussein huseynov, together with the russian military, saved the woman from the threat of more attacks. it was a long awaited moment. huseynov said: "the grandmother didn't believe it, but we really hoped that her relatives would see her and respond. that's exactly what happened...the 78 year old alla dubovik has been living in a basement since her home was practically shot at point blank by ukrainian artillery. the woman was, at that very moment, at home and miraculously survived... on her way out of the basement, alla says goodbye to a fellow villager, who has been living there for the past week. this woman, after all, is also looking for her relatives and doesn't know how to find them." the international committee of the red cross stopped delivering life saving medicines to donbas the international committee of the red cross, under the pretext of the allegedly unstable situation in the donbas, has stopped delivering vital medicines and diagnostic equipment to hospitals in the people's republics. this was reported by our headquarters for humanitarian response. as a result, more than 12,000 patients will be left without the necessary aid in the coming months. our ministry of defense called on the world health organization and the international red cross, whose task includes providing medical assistance to the population in emergency zones, to resume the medicine supply. in addition, the headquarters spoke about new evidence of the ukrainian security forces treating civilians inhumanely. said mikhail mizintsev, head of the national center for defense control of the russian federation: "in kramatorsk, donetsk people's republic, in polyclinic no. 3 (vasily stus st.), on the adjacent territory, there are a large number of armored vehicles and artillery; in lisichansk, on the territory of the city hospital no. 1 (sosyura st.), there is a unit of the armed forces of ukraine, and armored vehicles and artillery firing positions are located on the adjacent territory; in slavyansk, donetsk people's republic, on the territories of the tb dispensary (yaroslav mudryi st.) and the central city hospital (taras shevchenko st.), militants of ukrainian armed formations have set up firing positions, deployed artillery and mlrs [multiple launch rocket systems]; in odessa, in the oncological clinic building (nezhdanova st.), units of the armed forces of ukraine set up a firing point. at the same time, all patients, including those who are seriously ill, were forced to leave the medical institution." lisichansk near severodonetsk is encircled the allied forces of the lugansk people's republic and russia have blocked the strategically important city from three sides, according to the people's militia of the lpr. all movements of the armed forces of ukraine are under control, intelligence is monitoring this. if necessary, it transmits the coordinates needed for launching an attack, including with high precision means of the russian aerospace forces. during the special operation, iskander missile systems carry out strikes on the most important objects of the armed forces of ukraine the ministry of defense showed the iskander's work, from leaving its starting position to releasing ammunition. the installations are covered with a camouflage net, which is not just a camouflage, it also neutralizes radio waves and makes these multi ton vehicles practically invisible to enemy reconnaissance. it is also impossible to intercept cruise missiles fired from the iskander. in the us, a shortage of baby food could become a social catastrophe now in the u.s., where billions in arms supplies are being sent to ukraine, a catastrophic situation with baby food is unfolding. there is literally nothing left to feed the kids. as a result, some children are ending up in the hospital. the fact that the u.s. is having to get baby formula sent from europe as a matter of emergency, is, as americans are saying, nothing other than a disgrace. meanwhile, congress is trying to figure out who is responsible for the crisis. yuliya olkhovskaya reports. olkhovskaya said: "jars of baby food have disappeared from store shelves across the country. no one, apart from desperate parents, cared about this until hungry children started being hospitalized.... while participants in the senate hearing put blame on each other, television discussed how the u.s. got itself into a third world like crisis." [the story features a clip from next news, a u.s. based conservative leaning news channel on the internet, quoting the presenter as saying:] "biden has not done anything to address this for a long time. he's sent billions of dollars of help to ukraine but he's not working to help the most precious commodity at home our children." olkhovskaya said: "eight out of ten americans think the white house doesn't care about the worries of ordinary people. biden's approval rating has hit an all time low. only 39 percent of u.s. voters approve of biden's performance as president, according to the poll from the associated press. the majority of respondents think that the u.s. president is only making problems worse.... america's western allies, which have obediently implemented restrictions on russia, causing a spiral of crises, are now looking for a way out like their older brother. in britain, for example, where inflation levels have broken a 40 year record, tabloids are telling people how to earn extra money. in france, food tokens for €30 are given to vulnerable members of the population. of course, the west blames all of this on russia... it would hardly surprise anyone if the baby food crisis in america was written off as being russia's fault." wednesday, may 25: russian troops and lugansk people's republic militia liberate new territories on the way to severodonetsk a large ukrainian army group has settled in a strategically important area, which is on the way to severodonetsk. yesterday, russian troops and lugansk people's republic militia completely cleared the city of svitlodarsk of nationalists. footage has appeared showing them raising a replica of the victory banner on the city administration building. they also managed to take control of an important part of the lisichansk artemovsk highway, allowing them to cut off supplies to severodonetsk and lisichansk, which are controlled by the ukrainian army, a representative of the republic reported. the supply of ammunition and the rotation of enemy manpower is now impossible. "grads" and "msta b" howitzers break through the ukrainian army's fortified areas the russian army and the people's militia units are supported by artillery during their advance. they're using a variety of weapons, which are on alert around the clock. and it takes a matter of minutes to hit the target of the enemy. hussein huseynov saw how our divisions perform combat missions. huseynov said: "in a minute, the [giatsint self propelled gun] can launch six to eight shells. and it can hit a target from a distance of 28 kilometers." pavel sbitnev, a senior officer at the lugansk people's republic militia, said: "in normal circumstances, the [msta b] can just about hit the target with the first missile. the target can be observed. every missile is on target." during the military operation in ukraine, the russian military proves themselves to be real heroes from the first days on the front line, corporal tatyana paramonova has saved the lives of soldiers, as part of the medical unit of the airborne division. during the liberation of a settlement, despite being under heavy fire, she carried six wounded soldiers from the battlefield to the doctors. captain sergei sopliakov led an artillery unit and adjusted firing positions. he continued to perform combat missions even when he received a concussion. his group destroyed as many as 50 nationalists, as well as enemy mortar positions and armored vehicles. during a battle, junior sergeant kamran gasimov, together with his subordinates, repaired the communication line. despite sustaining a severe shrapnel wound to his hand, he was able to quickly adjust the equipment and transfer the coordinates of enemy units for the artillery crews. the enemy units were destroyed. the russian military opened a humanitarian corridor for the safe exit of foreign ships from the mariupol port yesterday russian engineers finished demining the black sea. now, the infrastructure is being restored. also, our defense ministry reported that the humanitarian situation in the regions controlled by kiev is becoming critical. the west is looking to export grain from ukraine as soon as possible, which will lead to a shortage of products. according to information received from captured ukrainian servicemen, the sbu [security service of ukraine] officers have prepared another provocation at the granaries under the direction of their western supervisors. said colonel general mikhail mizintsev, head of russia's national defense control center: "in the settlement of prosyanaya in the dnepropetrovsk region, militants of nationalist units have planted explosives at the prosyansky grain elevator, planning to blow it up soon. multiple launch rocket systems of the ukrainian armed forces were deployed at grain processing works in the settlement of vrubovo of the lugansk people's republic. in the meantime, nationalists systematically shell positions of the russian armed forces, provoking them to return fire. the ukrainian nationalists are copying the 'scorched earth' tactics, used by the nazis during the great patriotic war and contradict all generally accepted norms of morality and the principles of international humanitarian law." the russian military delivered a new batch of humanitarian aid to the kharkiv region they brought bags of flour and sugar, as well as cereals, canned food and sunflower oil. essential items. the batch was about 70 tons worth, which should be enough for more than a week. a makeshift warehouse was set up inside a mini football stadium. the locals came to unload the cars, passing heavy boxes along the chain so that they could distribute aid to people as quickly as possible. hungary announces a state of emergency amid events in ukraine [hungarian prime minister] viktor orban's address was published on social networks. according to the politician, the situation in the neighboring country and brussel's anti russian sanctions threaten the energy and financial security of hungarian citizens. prices in european markets are rising, including for fuel. at the same time, some eu states are in serious discussions about imposing an embargo on imports of our oil. orban has previously said that banning russian energy resources will be a catastrophe for europeans. budapest is expected to announce its first decisions related to the state of emergency today. vladimir putin will hold a state council presidium meeting according to the kremlin press service, the discussion will particularly focus on social benefits and salaries of state employees, as well as assistance to families with children. under the conditions of external sanctions, the incomes of many citizens have changed. during a meeting in march, vladimir putin announced that in the near future the minimum wage, the cost of living, benefits and pensions will be increased. to that end, assignments were given to the government. the expansion of measures to support people who have lost their jobs was also discussed. now, at vladimir putin's suggestion, a new payment for children from the age of 8 to 17 is in effect. tuesday, may 24: russian troops liberate the village of komyshuvakha on the way to severodonetsk a major operation is now unfolding as troops head to severodonetsk in the lugansk people's republic. serious battles are taking place for the liberation of the village of komyshuvakha from the neo nazis. the village is a key point on the way to the main goal, which is the city of lisichansk [in the severodonetsk region], where thousands of ukrainian armed forces are hiding. work in komyshuvakha has been complicated by the fact that ukrainian forces are constantly attacking. alexei kruchinin reports. kruchinin said: "there is a high density of settlements and one seems to flow into another. ukrainian groups are clinging onto each road, prolonging our advance to severedonetsk. each day, we move three to four blocks. with every advance, a street fight starts, and then there is a thorough check of yards and houses. more than half of the settlements are already under control. the enemy is being squeezed out of the forest. but some groups remain in houses on the outskirts of the settlements." the ministry of defense spoke about about the new achievements of the russian troops, who are participating in a special operation sergeant denis chesnokov detained a saboteur at one of the checkpoints at night. he was carrying out an intelligence gathering mission under the guise of a local resident, using a night vision device. during the interrogation, he gave out information about his group. shortly after, the group was hit. senior lieutenant alexander ovsyannikov, commanding a tank company, destroyed an enemy infantry fighting vehicle and three mortar crews. when alexander's car was hit, he evacuated the crew to a safe spot. he also took up the role of the gunner operator in another tank and continued the offensive. the division of lieutenant colonel yuri rogozhnikov eliminated seven enemy strongholds, almost two dozen armored vehicles, and up to 70 militants. the enemy suffered significant losses and was forced to retreat. the russian defense ministry showed the work of combat crews of howitzers "msta b" our gunners are on duty around the clock. the ministry of defense showed footage of the work of howitzers "msta b" combat crews. they strike at enemy command posts, military equipment, and defensive structures... the weapons can fly up to 30 kilometers and inflict maximum damage, such as destroying heavily fortified concrete structures. moreover, firing can be carried out both from a closed and direct position, without preparation. the fighters work in shifts to make sure our units continue to advance. they are able to hit dozens of targets per day. a serviceman of the russian armed forces said: "we have the most risky duty, the gunner and a gun commander. they must always stand by the gun. there is shelling, everything is on fire, everything is scary." russian multiple launch rocket systems "uragan" are in combat formidable installations are destroying columns of armored vehicles of the armed forces of ukraine, command posts, and fortified firing points. they work continuously and in the most difficult places, and it takes a matter of minutes to strike and change position. the power of the hurricane was appreciated by ivan prozorov. prozorov said: "in just ten seconds the 'uragan' rocket system launches a whole packet of reactive shells   16 shots. using tips from intelligence, the artillerymen hit a particularly important target near slavyansk   a cluster of ukrainian army equipment." a russian soldier said: "the guys have high morale. they're always ready to carry out military tasks issued by the supreme commander. even in difficult conditions, the guys always have a bit of time to read, like a letter from children who support us and believe in us." the armed forces of ukraine are preparing another provocation against civilians in donbas according to the representative of the people's militia of the donetsk people's republic, eduard basurin, the kiev forces plan to strike at avdiivka, and blame the republic forces. a division of the 26th artillery brigade of the armed forces of ukraine is involved, and the commander personally received the task, basurin emphasized. residents of avdiivka have been urged not to leave their shelters. our headquarters for humanitarian response reported another pending provocation. according to mikhail mizintsev, ukrainian neo nazis want to blow up bridges across two local rivers in [ukraine's northern] sumy region, and blame our army. and that is not all. mikhail mizintsev, colonel general, head of the national defense control center of the russian federation said: "in lisichansk, lugansk people's republic units of the armed forces of ukraine placed cannon artillery and mlrs [multiple launch rocket systems] in a rare gasses plant, and mined containers with chemically hazardous substances in the building and hangars." he continued: "employees of the plant and local residents are being forcibly detained in underground facilities. at the same time, the nationalists are systematically shelling positions of the russian armed forces and the lugansk people's republic formation with mlrs, thus provoking them to retaliate in order to further accuse them of killing civilians and creating a man made disaster in the city." two dozen more western countries announced new arms supplies to ukraine this is the result of another meeting of the so called contact group [a u.s. led group of more than 40 member nations] for providing military assistance to the kiev authorities. the details were revealed by u.s. secretary of defense lloyd austin. according to him, denmark announced that it would transfer a batch of harpoon launchers, as well as missiles to the armed forces of ukraine. kiev will also receive artillery systems and ammunition, which will be sent at the same time by several countries including italy, greece, norway, and poland. those who are not supplying weapons to ukraine have promised to help train the ukrainian military. sergei lavrov answered questions from students at the primakov gymnasium the west must stop preventing the establishment of a true multipolarity on the world stage, which would reflect the real weight of states. this is what foreign minister sergei lavrov said [in moscow] during the yevgeny primakov gymnasium's "100 questions for a leader" project. as the minister noted, western countries cannot and do not know how to live according to the un charter, the key principle of which is the sovereign equality of all states. it is not surprising that in this case, for example, the economic ties between russia and china are only becoming stronger, while the west, lavrov emphasized, takes the position of a dictator, imposing sanctions and demanding others to join them. lavrov said: "the [west says] that russia must 'suffer defeat,' we must 'defeat russia,' we must ensure that russia 'loses on the battlefield.' i'm sure you know history better than all western politicians, who make such 'incantations.' they probably didn't do well in school. therefore, they draw wrong conclusions from their understanding of the past and from their understanding of what russia is. so, i am convinced that all this will end someday. the west will recognize the reality that is being created 'on earth.' it will be forced to admit that it is impossible to constantly attack russia's vital interests, and the interests of russians wherever they live." monday, may 23: two people were killed, including a teenager, as a result of shelling by the ukrainian army in kherson ukrainian nationalists shelled the village of belozerka in the kherson region, killing two civilians, including a 14 year old teenager. another 10 people were injured. during their attack, the kiev security forces used cluster munitions from the uragan multiple rocket launcher system. a total of eight missiles were fired. houses and courtyards were destroyed. military police and engineers are now on site, checking the area for unexploded shells. this morning, the armed forces of ukraine attacked pervomaisk in the lugansk people's republic. ten rockets were fired. donetsk is also under a huge attack. gleb lyubichev, a member of the people's militia of lugansk said: "ukrainian troops with their artillery attacks are trying to send the population of donbas into a stupor, to scare them. they're trying to raise fear and panic among the civilians." the russian ministry of defense showed footage of the work of aviation and air defense, which perform combat missions in the zone of the special operation the crews of su 35s fighters strike at military infrastructure and military equipment of the armed forces of ukraine. they use guided high precision missiles of various classes, "air to air" and "air to surface". combat vehicles rise from base airfields at any time of the day, day or night, and under any weather conditions. the crews also work in tandem with su 34 bombers, covering their partner in the air. before departure, engineers carry out a comprehensive preparation of all aviation equipment. this is how air defense units work. the footage was also distributed by the ministry of defense. combat crews are on duty around the clock. they detect, track, and destroy air targets. for example, a ukrainian tochka u and an attack drone were spotted. they reacted instantly. the aircraft was destroyed from a portable anti aircraft missile system, and the missile was hit from the buk m3 complex. in mariupol, the russian military are clearing the area around the azovstal plant for several months, the militants of the banned azov gang and ukrainian military personnel used this large industrial zone as their fortified area. but three days ago, the last units surrendered and now the territory is completely under the control of our army and the people's police. there are explosive shells literally at every turn. oleg shishkin watched the delicate work of the mine clearance experts. shishkin said: "the territory of azovstal is 11 meters square. mine clearance experts have started demining areas around the plant to ensure a safe passage to the center of the plant, then they will proceed to demine shops and underground utilities.... huge amounts of territory are dotted with mines and unexploded ammunition. the scale of the destruction is shocking. there is not a single whole building standing." a soldier from an engineer unit said, "over the last two days, more than one hundred explosive devices were destroyed. the enemy planted minefields. we also laid mines when we were blocking the enemy. at least two weeks of work lies ahead." new examples of courage and heroism among the russian military who are participating in the special operation to protect donbas a group led by sergeant andrey butolin discovered saboteurs and quickly attacked the enemy. they destroyed as many as 15 nationalists and military equipment. two more radicals laid down their arms and, during interrogation, gave the location of the artillery units. private igor krasnyuk saved two wounded motorized riflemen from a damaged car. under heavy fire, he carried them to a shelter, provided first aid, and fired back until reinforcements arrived. covering his comrades, igor destroyed three nationalists who were trying to capture our guys. the subordinates of captain alexei alexandrov, commander of an anti aircraft missile battery, defended the positions of our group of troops from air raids. they shot down seven "bayraktars" [combat aerial vehicles], three attack aircraft, and four front line bombers. and they did not allow losses among equipment and personnel. russian self propelled guns "hyacinth s" destroyed ukrainian howitzers the ministry of defense of the russian federation showed how the crews of russian self propelled guns "hyacinth s" destroyed a unit of howitzers. the armed forces of ukraine were armed with american made equipment with a caliber of 155 mm, according to the defense department. the head of european diplomacy, josep borrell, acknowledged that pumping ukraine with weapons has depleted the eu's military supply in his article, the official particularly noted that the eu countries reacted to the events in ukraine quickly and decisively, but the resources were not enough. and this was clearly a miscalculation in the eu's policy, according to borrell. the europeans, according to the diplomat, should be more responsible and allocate more funds for the defense budget, and this is in their security interests. not so long ago, france promised to increase the supply of weapons to ukraine, and the german press reported that berlin is going to transfer gepard anti aircraft guns to kiev, in addition to tanks and howitzers. friday, may 20: ukraine launches huge attacks on cities in the donetsk people's republic last night, ukrainian radicals launched the "tochka u" rocket on the city of debaltseve in the donetsk people's republic. the anti aircraft defense clearly worked in the lugansk republic as a missile was shot down. as a result windows of some houses were smashed, but no one was hurt. nationalists continue to shoot at civilians in other areas of donbas. aleksandrovka and yasinovataya were under attack and they were hit with grad missiles. a civilian was injured. in the meantime, the militants are preparing a new provocation, according to the russian national defense control center. said colonel general mikhail mizintsev, head of the national defense control center: "according to the available reliable operational information, the kiev regime is preparing another sophisticated provocation using the so called roving mortars in the city of seredina buda of the sumy region. the militants of the nationalist battalions are planning to shell the border territory of the russian federation from the areas of standalone houses in order to provoke return fire on residential dwellings where local residents are being held. in the near future, the kiev authorities plan to use this cynical action to accuse russian servicemen of allegedly indiscriminate strikes against civilians." militants are expected to continue to leave azovstal and lay down their arms since the start of the week, 1,730 people have already surrendered. yesterday, the russian ministry of defense announced that another group, almost 800 nationalists, surrendered. this is the only chance for salvation for those who have stationed themselves in the catacombs of azovstal. the russian ministry of defense showed the work of the army aviation of the western military district the crews deliver precise strikes on military infrastructure belonging to the armed forces of ukraine. they fly at extremely low altitudes and work in groups. they have destroyed strongholds, arsenals with ammunition and ukrainian equipment, which covered them. the video shows grad multiple launch rocket systems in action. units of the eastern military district destroy armored vehicles belonging to ukrainian nationalists. strikes are launched on batteries, command posts and shelters of the armed forces of ukraine. the s 300 air defense system is capable of destroying air targets that are four times faster than the speed of sound another favorite of ours is the s 300 air defense system. the mission of the s 300 is to find and neutralize air targets. it's a barrier for both fighters and civilians. among its targets is the "tochka u" missile, which the ukrainian army uses against civilians. a new convoy with humanitarian aid arrived in mariupol the russian federal agency for nationalities is among the organizers of the initiative. they brought generators for areas where the supply of electricity is still being restored. humanitarian aid is given to representatives of the donetsk republic public movement. we also delivered goods for soup kitchens and much more. said igor barinov, head of the federal agency for ethnic affairs: "more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid have been collected. in early april, we already had two convoys with humanitarian aid.... we believed that it was necessary to deliver food, medicine, clothes to places where food, medicine, and clothing were needed in the first place." refugees from mariupol have been welcomed in various russian regions united russia volunteers brought clothes and shoes to the temporary accommodation center in chuvashia. particular attention of course, has been paid to children. they also brought toys, books and stationery. the little ones are entertained by volunteers, who read fairy tales and play. anything to distract them from what they've been through. the "train of health" arrived at donbas the cars contain all the items that are needed for giving primary medical care   experienced doctors from different regions of our country and modern equipment. this is an important project for united russia. specialists from various fields, dentists, cardiologists, pediatricians provide assistance to everyone who needs it, including those in remote areas of the donetsk and lugansk people's republic. ruslan akhmadullin, head of the health train, said: "this is not a one time initiative, we have been arriving for quite a long time, in fact, the units will stay for three months, and the specialists will come on a rotational basis, that is, they will replace each other. we do not abandon our own people, you are now part of us... we'll be here for a while." russian specialists are helping to rebuild the railway, highways, schools, and hospitals in the lugansk people's republic russian specialists are providing assistance to the republics in various ways. they are restoring destroyed buildings, highways, and railways. while the territories were under the control of ukraine, a lot fell into disrepair. kiev destroyed some things on purpose. the main task now is to help the republics return to normal life. the food crisis was discussed at a un meeting the conversation quickly led to accusations against russia. but russia is the only country that has concrete proposals about how to prevent a global food crisis. georgy olisashvili reports from new york. olisashvili said: "at the very start of the meeting about the food crisis, un experts tried to stop a discussion about the threat of hunger in terms of the russia ukraine war." sara menker, founder of gro intelligence [a new york based company that forecasts models in food, climate and agriculture] said during the meeting: "i want to note that the war between russia and ukraine did not cause the start of the food crisis. it simply added fuel to our fire, which has been burning for a while. if the war were to stop tomorrow, the problem of food security would not go away anytime soon." olisashvili said: "but the u.s. delegation had a different opinion." anthony blinken, the u.s. secretary of state said: "the decision to start a war was made by the kremlin. it could stop the fighting tomorrow and the war would end. if ukraine stops fighting it will cease to exist as a country. the russian authorities think that using the food supply as a weapon can achieve what the fighting has not." britain has promised kiev long range artillery, anti ship missiles and drones britain has promised kiev long range artillery, anti ship missiles, and drones as part of a reported billion pounds in support. according to media reports, the u.s. might also transfer anti ship missiles to ukraine, and is saying the issue is already being considered. several types of shells are being named, which are also part of the record $40 billion batch of military aid that the senate has already approved. the pentagon strongly denies any information about anti ship missiles, at least for now. thursday, may 19: the kiev regime prepares a new bucha like provocation under the west's leadership according to the testimonies of captured servicemen of the armed forces of ukraine, in konstantinovka [in the donetsk people's republic], militants dressed in the uniform of russian fighters with white armbands must shoot civilians on camera. the photos and videos will be used by the western media to blame our country, according to the russian national defense control center. meanwhile, the armed forces of ukraine continue to set up strongholds in civilian facilities, such as in a hospital in the odessa region. there are a large number of armored vehicles and artillery in the adjacent territory. in the khmelnitskyi region, firing positions have been set up at a children's hospital and nursing home. at the same time, the staff and residents of nearby houses are being used as human shields. in the city of kremennaya, the ukrainian military turned а nursing home into a death trap this tactic has once again led to a great tragedy. a nursing home in the city of kremennaya in the lugansk people's republic has become a death trap for those who needed protection the most. the armed forces of ukraine equipped firing points in the nursing home, taking helpless old people and the disabled hostage, and dooming them to painful deaths. they didn't even try to save anyone from the attack. alexei kruchini reports on the shocking details and new evidence of the tragedy. vitaly kishnikov, an employee of the lugansk people's republic ministry of internal affairs, said: "we see here not only destruction from artillery. there's also a machine gun socket, burnt machine bun cartridges, and based on their markings we will determine what kind of troops were here." kruchini said: "in the hall on the third floor, nationalists set up an anti tank missile system. they hid behind old people and disabled people   why not, if the nursing home is a convenient location?" he continued: "knowing how it would all end, the staff begged the kiev administration in kremennaya to evacuate them." yesterday, almost 700 more militants laid down their weapons in the territory of azovstal the militants who are still there are expected to continue to surrender today. almost 700 more people laid down their arms yesterday. a total of 959 people have left the plant since the beginning of the week, 80 of whom are wounded. those who need medical attention are treated at the hospital in novoazovsk by qualified doctors. there is no shortage of medicines or equipment. the rest of the prisoners are placed in correctional colony no. 120 on the outskirts of the village of yelenovka, not far from donetsk. they are all treated absolutely humanely and international conventions are being observed. russia is doing everything that it has said it would. those who lay down their arms are guaranteed to be safe. our country has repeatedly declared a regime of silence, opened humanitarian corridors, and did not conduct hostilities on the territory of azovstal. all in all, it has done everything to save people's lives. ukrainian troops from the 3rd battalion of the 115th brigade recorded an appeal to volodymyr zelensky ukrainian soldiers from a platoon of the 3rd battalion of the 115th brigade refused to carry out their assigned tasks in the area of severodonetsk. they wrote an appeal to zelensky and the commander in chief of the armed forces of ukraine, complaining about their conditions. they said: "we refuse to carry out combat missions because we have no reinforcements and no heavy equipment. we have been waiting for reinforcements for two weeks, but there is none. we are being sent to our certain death. the command is missing. there is no technology, no respect for people." su 35 fighters fulfill all the tasks set during the special operation our powerful su 35 fighters are fast, super maneuverable, and reliable. they can find and destroy targets, both in the air and on the ground. the pilots are real aces, they flawlessly perform their tasks even when they experience huge overloads. a new attack on the kursk region from the ukrainian side was reported early this morning the village of tetkino, which is located on the border, was shelled. the governor of the region, roman starovoit, said that one person died. according to preliminary data, it was a truck driver, who brought raw materials to the distillery. the building was struck several times. the director said that at least seven shells hit the area. people were wounded. the fires in the village are now being extinguished. several houses were damaged. the president of croatia opposed the accession of sweden and finland to nato zoran milanovic, following the turkish leader recep tayyip erdogan, said that he would use the veto to prevent the scandinavian countries from joining the bloc. he said there will be no approval until the electoral legislation is reformed in neighboring bosnia and herzegovina, which would mean that bosnian croats are more likely to occupy high positions in the country's leadership. turkey has also opposed the accession of sweden and finland to nato for reasons that include stockholm and helsinki's support for the kurds. negotiations are currently underway with the turkish side. secretary of state blinken held a meeting with foreign minister mevlut cavusoglu in new york. the u.s. said that the problem will be solved but the question is, how, if washington's main tactics are ultimatums and blackmail? the u.s. is shaking more and more from the economic crisis while the american authorities try to dictate the terms to others on the world stage, the u.s. itself is shaking more and more from the economic crisis. it's seeing record inflation and rising fuel prices. the new white house press secretary karine jean pierre has picked up her predecessor jen psaki's favorite tune. the questions at the briefing are quite straightforward, who is to blame? what can be done? and what does moscow have to do with it? after all, inflation has been rising for over a year. the share of russian oil in the american market is not more than three percent. but logic can't knock jean pierre off her course. a reporter at the briefing asked: "back on march 31, the president announced that he was taking steps to reduce gas prices. is putin still to blame, seven weeks later?" jean pierre said: "since the war, since putin's aggression against ukraine began in february, we did see a spike in prices. but before that, the price per gallon had dropped by about 10 cents or more. and then putin began his aggression on ukraine, his violent aggression on ukraine, on its democracy, on its sovereignty. and we are faced with approximately, i mean, the facts indicate that the price of gas has risen by approximately 60 to 70 percent. so this is putin's tax hike, this is what we're speaking about." germany is also ignoring common sense. there, the star of today's headline is foreign minister annalena burbock. she is, yet again, accusing russia of allegedly using the blockade of grain exports from ukraine as a weapon and to provoke a global food crisis. but shocks in the global market began much earlier. and the main reason is obvious   covid 19. the most vulnerable groups, including pensioners, are under attack in germany and other countries. the german newspaper bild reports: because of inflation, they have nothing to live on, an urgent increase in the retirement age to 70 can solve the issue. they currently work until the age of 67. the european parliament is going to vote for ex chancellor of germany gerhard schroeder to be put on the eu sanctions lists he was also under attack in his homeland. it plans on depriving him of his state privileges, which are required by law, and closing his office in the bundestag. this is all because of his principles: gerhard schroeder has repeatedly advocated cooperation with moscow, including supporting the nord stream project, and he argued that the prosperity of germany and the whole of europe will always depend on the supply of russian raw materials. wednesday, may 18: ukraine armed forces units laid mines on a road bridge over railway tracks in sumy [in ukraine] ukrainian troops are preparing the new sabotage. units of the armed forces of ukraine laid mines on a road bridge over the railway tracks in sumy. they plan to blow it up and then blame it all on the russian military. the national defense management center reported this. it also said that radicals are again deploying weapons nearby and inside civilian facilities. in slavyansk, a stronghold was set up in a residential building and civilians were not evacuated. the same tactics are used by militants in other areas: heavy equipment is brought to schools, kindergartens, hospitals, churches. ukrainian troops continue to shell donbas. this morning, they opened fire on donetsk again. ten missiles from gradov were fired at yasinovataya. there were also several shellings in the lugansk people's republic. a residential building was damaged in pervomaisk. russian investigators will interrogate all surrendered militants from azovstal the attention is still on mariupol and azovstal. the militants left the territory of the plant, having laid down their weapons. there were 265 people who surrendered, 51 of them seriously wounded. our ministry of defense revealed these figures yesterday. everyone who needed help was sent to novoazovsk hospital. russian investigators are preparing for work. militants will be interrogated and checked for involvement in crimes against the civilian population of donbas. the russian military was constantly offering nationalists blocked at azovstal a chance to stop their senseless resistance. a regime of silence was declared. according to some reports, several hundred more wounded remain in underground bunkers. vladimir zelensky called the surrender of militants from azovstal an "evacuation" militants from azovstal laid down their arms and surrendered. it would seem that this was all obvious, in front of tv cameras and in the presence of witnesses. but the western media yet again managed to distort the information. instead of "captivity," they say "evacuation." this is just another substitution of concepts. the simple explanation is that the kiev authorities, and the west, don't benefit from talking about a mass surrender. therefore, claims about an evacuation are replicated like a blueprint. here, for example, is the headline in the british guardian: "questions over future of evacuated azovstal fighters," or a report from the german deutsche welle, where the same word is used. this is a segment of the estonian russian language channel, where everything is also turned upside down: "ukraine is completing the evacuation of the last remaining soldiers from the azovstal plant in mariupol." volodymyr zelensky attempts to present everything as if it were another achievement of ukraine. for example, in a conversation with emmanuel macron, he called the surrender "an operation to save the military." he also noted the efforts of the international red cross and the united nations. stephane dujarric, the representative of the united nations secretary general said: "the un is not involved in the operation, but only maintains contact with moscow and kiev." u.s. congresswoman walked around kiev with neo nazis here is another example of washington's double standards and a reminder of who it really supports. footage appeared on the internet showing ukrainian born american congresswoman victoria spartz with neo nazi dmitry kukharchuk. apparently, the photos were taken back in april. spartz came to kiev as part of a delegation supposedly to support the morale of the ukrainians. this is who they entrusted to accompany the distinguished guests: an experienced sadist, a militant of azov, which is banned in russia. kukharchuk has repeatedly posted photos and videos of his atrocities online. he took part in the abuse of captured russian tankers. however, spartz did not seem to be embarrassed at all. russian howitzers strike at armored vehicles and command posts of the armed forces of ukraine our howitzers msta s and "acacia" are fast, maneuverable, reliable, battle tested. working in tandem with drones that identify enemy positions, they are powerful weapons for our army. they hit armored vehicles and positions of the armed forces of ukraine as accurately as possible. the ministry of defense of the russian federation showed the combat work of tor m2 u anti aircraft missile systems. they reliably protect our units from air attacks. monitors are installed in the cockpit of the machine, after the radar is launched, the system monitors aviation day and night, within a radius of 32 kilometers and at an altitude of 10 to 10,000 meters. it sees everything, from a bomber to a drone. gas prices in the u.s. set a new historical record gas prices in the u.s. are breaking records every day. in the new reality of american life, owning a car is a luxury. in california, for example, the cost of a gallon (about 4.5 liters) has already broken the $6 mark, and other states are not far behind. but five months ago, the average cost of a gallon was about $3. the measures that joe biden announced to support the industry have not worked. the u.s. president, out of habit, tried to absolve himself of responsibility, blaming everything on the situation in ukraine. opponents of the president do not agree prices began to rise long before that and not just for gasoline. inflation has already risen to a 40 year high and it continues to grow. analysts warn that the risks of the economy entering into a recession are increasing. more than one million britons are predicted to be on the brink of poverty next year the situation is similar in britain. rigid savings on everything are a sign of the new times. prices are soaring. utility bills are sky high and everyday products are now far from affordable for everyone. ordinary people are paying for the effects of the anti russian policy. forecasts are concerning. in a year, more than a million citizens may fall below the poverty line. timur siraziev reports on the new habits and recipes for survival. a shopkeeper in britain said: "some customers can't afford things they used to buy. prices have gone up for everything, chicken, beef, lamb. customers ask me   why are your prices so high? well, we don't have a choice, otherwise we'll have to close down." siraziev said: "the resort city of blackpool is one of the cities that is feeling the effects of the crisis the most. this canteen [soup kitchen] used to feed 40 people a day, now, more than 200 people. for many people, it's their only chance to have a full meal." tuesday, may 17 wounded ukrainian soldiers were evacuated from azovstal as previously reported by the russian defense ministry, an agreement was reached with representatives of the ukrainian military personnel who are blocked at the plant. a regime of silence was introduced and a humanitarian corridor was opened, through which the wounded were taken to novoazovsk, in the donetsk people's republic, where they are provided with essential medical care. the fact of the evacuation was confirmed by the ukrainian side. according to the data, 264 people were evacuated. soldiers of the lugansk people's republic came close to lisichansk lugansk people's republic soldiers are on the outskirts of an important strategic point. lisichansk is one of the largest cities in donbas and the last stronghold of ukrainian nationalists in the luhansk republic. a railway junction, severodonets, is located across the river. the military of the lugansk people's republic has already taken control of the village of nizhnee. a direct road to lisichansk has opened. hussein huseynov reports on what was discovered in the liberated territory. huseynov said: "this is what the village nizhnee now looks like. you can see the traces of the fierce battles, many buildings have been damaged. but the main thing is that it is now under the full control of the people's militia. with the support of the russian army, right after the neighboring settlement svetlichnoe was liberated, it managed to get control of this town.... there are no civilians in the settlement, only abandoned pets. judging by everything, the abandoned houses were readily used by the ukrainian troops. they lived in the same houses; from others they set up firing points." he continued: "in the past week, troops managed to fully liberate the area and push the ukrainian army out of nizhnee, but nationalists continue to launch massive artillery attacks on the settlement." the defenders of donbas show courage and heroism captain alexander fedas, the commander of the communications unit restored the damaged line and managed to repair the broken satellite dish while under heavy fire. his efforts ensured stable communication with the headquarters, which allowed the command to quickly coordinate actions during the battle. lieutenant timur kalimullin, moving as part of a convoy, noticed a sabotage group, which was much more superior in strength. he organized a defense and entered into battle with the enemy. as a result, the nationalists retreated, and our military continued to move without loss. the tank unit of captain rail gabdrakhmanov broke through the defensive line of the radicals and destroyed three tanks to liberate a settlement. and when the enemy tried to go on the counterattack, the unit eliminated two more of its combat vehicles. there are many examples of heroism. here are some more fighters who showed courage and bravery while performing the tasks of a special military operation to protect donbas. they received state awards. among them are military personnel of the air defense forces, artillerymen, and motorized riflemen. commander of the central military district, alexander lapin, thanked the fighters for their service and good results. thanks to modern technology, the russian army delivers accurate strikes on military targets the professionalism of our fighters is important, but so is modern technology. thanks to this, the russian army is delivering accurate strikes against military targets without endangering civilians. here, for example, is the orlan 10 drone. with its help our fighters accurately adjust the positions of the armed forces of ukraine. it works in any conditions, even in the dark. in the donetsk people's republic, mines were found in parcels with the note "ukrainian embassy in the czech republic" diplomatic channels are being used to incite war. nato countries don't only supply weapons to ukraine, they're probably sending these via diplomatic mail. footage of this was presented by journalists from the chinese tv channel china global television network. the recipient of a box containing 82 caliber mines appears to be the ukrainian embassy in the czech republic. the box is in the donetsk people's republic, an area that has been fortified and abandoned by militants. the box also contains information about the czech defense factory, as well as dates and numbers of contracts. the radicals left a lot of other western made weapons, including german and american anti tank grenade launchers during their retreat. young figure skaters from the donetsk republic started training in astrakhan [in russia] young figure skaters from the donetsk republic have started training in astrakhan. it was impossible for classes to be held at home, under the shelling of militants. at the request of the head of the donetsk figure skating federation, the girls were evacuated to astrakhan. the move was organized by the regional branch of united russia [the ruling political party]. now the athletes are safe and can train again. training takes place on the ice of the winter sports center under the guidance of local trainers. young figure skaters will represent the astrakhan region in competitions. tons of humanitarian aid is being sent from russia to donbas, and specialists are coming to restore peaceful life the whole of russia is providing aid to refugees from donbas. everyone who can is bringing clothes and food, as well as toys for children, many of whom have already forgotten about these simple joys. people no longer need to hide from the bombings in the basements, and be afraid for their lives and loved ones. but remembering what happened at home is hard. there is great support for the people who stayed there. tons of humanitarian aid are being sent from russia to the donbas, and specialists are coming to restore peaceful life. alena evtyakova has the details in her report. evtyakova said: "a seventh convoy of humanitarian aid is being sent from bashkiria [in russia] to donbas. the most essential building materials and technology for restoring infrastructure is being sent to the lugansk people's republic.... and most importantly, specialists, not only builders but also medics, are coming." monday, may 16: ukrainian militants are blocked at azovstal in mariupol resistance is futile. the situation at the azovstal plant, the last stronghold of ukrainian nationalists in mariupol, increasingly resembles a pointless game of endurance, in which the radicals have no chance. the trap has been slammed shut. every meter of the plant is now under the guns of the donetsk people's republic fighters. the countdown has started for the nationalists and they can stop it at any moment. oleg shishkin reports from the scene. shishkin said: "according to various sources, one and a half thousand to two thousand ukrainian fighters are located around azovstal. in order to save the lives of our servicemen, during the liberation of mariupol, vladimir putin ordered to abandon the assault on azovstal and, instead, to block the nationalists there. the order of the supreme commander in chief has been fulfilled. аll routes to exit this strongly fortified area have been closed. the trap has been slammed shut. the troops are comparing these nationalists to wild beasts that are caught in a trap. their days are numbered, but, in agony, they're capable of a desperate attack and are still dangerous." three british nationals may be among the ukrainian nationalists blocked at azovstal this is reported by the daily express newspaper. british journalists are writing about yet another mercenary from the united kingdom. he said he arrived in ukraine with three mercenaries, but they were sent to different places. he was wounded in the donbas and then went to lviv for treatment. the last messages he received from his three of his compatriots were in april. the mercenaries, two of whom had previously served in afghanistan, complained about the difficult conditions at azovstal. ukrainian troops attack donbas again there have been three attacks in the lugansk people's republic in the last day. the nationalists used heavy artillery. zolote and pervomaisk were also under attack. shells damaged residential buildings and a subdivision of the ministry of emergency situations of the lugansk republic. the situation is also turbulent in the donetsk people's republic. in the morning, they shelled the districts of donetsk, kirovsk, and petrovsk. and the night before, representatives of the donetsk republic reported that six civilians were wounded, including a child. they are residents of several settlements in the donetsk people's republic. injured russian servicemen received state awards in six clinics of the ministry of defense here are more fighters who showed heroism and courage, and who are now being treated for their injuries. they were given government awards in six clinics of the ministry of defense. privates and sergeants received medals "for courage," the medal of suvorov, the order of courage. there were a total of 28 awards. the commander of the western military district, alexander zhuravlev, presented state awards to pilots, special forces soldiers, artillerymen, representatives of rear units, and doctors. the professionalism and persistence of more than two dozen people were noted. the awards they received included medals of the order of courage and medals of the order of merit for the fatherland, the second degree. the famous su 25 reliably protects and supports the russian army the formidable su 25 provides powerful support for ground units. attack aircraft, which have proven themselves over time, are effective both day and night, even at extremely low altitudes. the formula for success is a reliable vehicle, powerful weapons, and the highest mastery of the crews. alexander lyakin reports. lyakin said: "titanium, armor and aluminum   attack aircraft su 25 flies just above the heads of the enemy. its main task is to rescue the infantry on the battlefield.... the rooks [su 25] are always by the soldiers, always ready to bring help. that's why the army loves them." u.s. gas prices hit a record high after the petrol rush the snowballing effect of the white house policy is the fuel crisis in the u.s. itself. there is an "energy nightmare," in the words of the influential publication politico. the phrase is dramatic, but true. the cost of gas, like petrol, has broken records. journalists noted that prices have doubled since the start of the year, surging to their highest level in more than ten years. as a result, the cost of everything from cooking to the production of fertilizers has increased, and there is no reason to hope that the situation will quickly improve. you also get the impression that america is now more concerned about a possible economic attack on russia, than the well being of its own citizens. [channel one quotes politico] "the u.s. has become the world's leading exporter of liquefied natural gas, meaning that americans are literally competing with buyers overseas for their own gas. most of these exports go to european allies seeking to lessen their reliance on russian natural gas after moscow's invasion of ukraine." while gas prices could still be controlled using oil from strategic reserves, there are very few levers of influence on the gas industry. therefore, a further rise in inflation levels is expected. there is also a frenzy about gas in europe, so much so that it is having to look for ways to circumvent its own sanctions. in order to somehow mitigate the consequences of the energy crisis, the eu has had to adjust the requirements for companies to pay in rubles for russian gas. according to bloomberg, the european commission will still allow companies to open accounts with gazprombank and purchase fuel in accordance with our requirements. friday, may 13: kiev security officials fired 15 rockets from grad launchers at donbas settlements this morning, in the space of ten minutes, the kiev security forces fired 15 rockets from the grad launchers at yasinovataya and avdiivka. ammunition exploded in panteleymonovka. the western outskirts of the capital of the donetsk people's republic were also under fire. eight shells flew into the petrovsky district of donetsk less than an hour ago. the night before, the armed forces of ukraine shelled vladimirovka. one of the shells hit a residential building, killing and wounding people. ukrainian neo nazis carry out punitive raids in the kharkiv region they use social infrastructure for criminal purposes and use civilians as shields. the russian headquarters for humanitarian response reported new egregious evidence of the kiev authorities treating ordinary people inhumanely. in one of the settlements of the lugansk people's republic, militants from a ukrainian nationalist group expelled all civilians, including seriously ill patients from a medical facility in order to use the building for their own purposes. checkpoints have been set up on the outskirts. in lisichansk, the armed forces of ukraine set up a stronghold in a children's hospital and in a medical college. they placed heavy weapons nearby. also, according to the military department, the kiev security forces regularly conduct so called punitive raids. said colonel general mikhail mizintsev, head of the national center for defense control of the russian federation: "according to reliable information, in the kharkiv region, neo nazis, together with members of the security service of ukraine, are conducting punitive raids in order to check local residents for signs of pro russian views, as well as signs of transferring any information to russian military personnel and representatives of the people's militia of the republics in donbas. all suspects are arrested for the crime provided for in the collaborationism article of the criminal code of ukraine and taken away to an undisclosed location." mizintsev continued: "such criminal actions of the kiev authorities are aimed at intimidating the citizens of ukraine in an attempt to hide the current catastrophic situation in the country, caused by the destructive policy of official kiev, and testify to the complete indifference to the fate of millions of ukrainians." meanwhile, humanitarian corridors for evacuation to russia continue to operate daily. a regime of silence is declared regularly in the morning, but the kiev side violates it by shelling the routes. despite this, yesterday our military of the kherson region managed to safely evacuate almost 130 citizens of russia, syria, azerbaijan, moldova, tajikistan, and ukraine. on the central square of the city of kherson, everyone who expressed a desire to leave the areas of the special operation was safely loaded onto buses. russian rescuers together with donetsk residents help clean mariupol from ruins the restoration of the districts in mariupol is in full swing. in these areas, there had been fierce battles with ukrainian neo nazis, who had stationed themselves in residential buildings. employees of the ministry of emergency situations of russia arrived in the city, helping local rescuers to sort out the rubble, provide residents with everything necessary, and establish an electricity supply. during the special operation to protect the donbas, the russian military is actively using orlan drones they are used for conducting reconnaissance, making corrections and, of course, launching strikes. a missile, fired from a height of two kilometers, can accurately hit a target on earth. alexander lyakin reports: "the drone has a regular assemblage with serious features, which competitors in its class do not have." senator rand paul blocked a bill to provide ukraine with $40 billion in aid in washington, politicians are becoming more vocal and they are beginning to understand what can come of the uncontrolled armament of the kiev regime. yesterday, in the u.s. senate, a quick passage of the bill on allocating a record $40 billion for military supplies to ukraine failed. the initiative was blocked by republican senator rand paul. the politician is not primarily worried about the difficult situation in ukraine and the fate of ukrainians, among his main arguments is the situation in america itself. said u.s. senator rand paul: "the biggest threat to the u.s. today is public debt, inflation, and the collapse of the dollar. we cannot save ukraine by killing our economy. in march, inflation reached its highest level in 40 years, gasoline prices rose by 49 percent, electricity   by 32 percent. we don't have to be uncle sam saving the world, especially with borrowed money. with a debt of 30 trillion u.s. dollars, it is not affordable to play the role of the world's policeman." the senator also demanded that a number of amendments be made to the bill, particularly on stricter control over the spending and the supply of weapons. retiring white house press secretary jen psaki said on her last day in office that the document covered everything that was needed, and once again urged senators to pass it as quickly as possible. the next vote will take place next week. domodedovo near moscow prepared a new humanitarian aid convoy for donbas food and essential items as well as toys and sweets for children will be delivered to residents of the people's republics. it's no exaggeration to say that the entire world collected this, as part of the good deed campaign. collection points are open in schools and volunteer centers. there are about 130 of them in the region. andrey vorobyov, governor of the moscow region, visited the center in domodedovo, which is, by the way, the largest center for sorting goods in the region. the governor spoke with residents who came to russia from the donetsk and lugansk people's republics. vorobyov said: "our task, as the authorities, is to take care and help, so thanks to help that is coming from around the world, but also to think hard about the economy... we must think very hard with our heads to address this, import substitution, employment, jobs, restrictions." a young man was arrested in latvia who went out with a russian flag to the monument to the liberators of riga from the nazis a young man in latvia has been arrested after going to the monument to the liberators of riga from the nazis with a russian flag. three criminal cases and at least 20 more administrative cases were opened in latvia against those citizens who do not want to put up with attempts to rewrite our history and consign the feat of heroes to oblivion. russophobic sentiments are intensifying in the country day by day. you can now get a sentence even if you carried a russian flag down the street. details are in the report by gennady kartelev. kartelev said: "alexander stefanov could face five years in prison for unveiling the russian tricolors to the monument to the soldiers that liberated latvia from german invaders. he came on may 10 to defend his right and the right of his compatriots to honor the memory of his ancestors. even on victory day, the latvian authorities banned people closer than 200 meters from the monument." stefanov said: "wе're gathered here today to honor our grandfathers, who died, unfortunately, during the war. let's not be afraid. let's tell our children and our grandchildren about what our incredible grandfathers and grandmothers did. because it's very important. we should not lose this legacy." kartelev said: "the local police charged him with 'justifying genocide and crimes against humanity.' the police carried out a search of the young man's apartment for several hours, according to his mother." thursday, may 12: kiev has prepared new provocations to blame the russian military they use any means to discredit the actions of the russian army. at the same time, they beg for military aid from the west. the russian humanitarian response headquarters spoke about the new provocations that the kiev regime is organizing in the zone of the special operation. our military department noted a particular cynicism behind such actions, which lies in the fact that the ukrainian army is willing to endanger the lives of a thousand citizens in order to achieve its criminal goals. anastasia kobyzeva has the details. kobyzeva said: "a cloud of red yellow poisonous smoke presumably over a village of dolgenkoe in kharkov region is the result of another provocation by the sbu together with nationalists. they blew up a tank containing fertilizer. it's another attempt by the kiev authorities to blame our country for using chemical weapons." said mikhail mizintsev, head of the national defense management center of the russian federation: "no servicemen or local residents were harmed in this provocation. russia has repeatedly warned about nationalists preparing similar provocations. the kiev regime's main goal is to receive more military aid from the west." kobyzeva said: "the russian defense control center said that the explosion happened at around 2pm. after a while the clouds cleared. as expected, the ukrainian media blamed russia. according to them, the explosion happened near kramatorsk, not in the kharkov region. the kiev authorities are yet again using methods of the west. the techniques, as we know, have been well thought out. it's enough to recall the show put on by "white helmets" in duma in syria. a fake video became the basis for the west bombing the country. in fact, there was no sarin attack in 2018." ukraine shelled the village of solokhi in the belgorod region [in russia] according to updated data from the regional authorities, one person died and seven others were injured, including a teenager. they are now receiving medical care. it all happened last night. one residential building was partially destroyed. there were disruptions to the gas supply, but this has already been fixed. emergency services are on site. residents have been taken to a safe place. solokhi is located just 11 kilometers from the russian ukrainian border. the luhansk people's republic celebrates the eighth anniversary of the independence referendum this morning, ukrainian troops shelled three settlements in the donetsk people's republic. yasinovataya, panteleymonovka, and mikhailovka were under fire. more than ten shells were fired, including from grad launchers. this was reported by the ceasefire control center. in order to stop this shelling, the people's militia, with the support of our army, continue to knock out ukrainian troops from the settlements in donbas. today, the residents of lugansk, following donetsk, are celebrating the eighth anniversary of the referendum on the independence of the republic. on may 14, more than 96 percent of the inhabitants declared the freedom and sovereignty of the region. this year, for the first time, the lugansk people's republic, like the donetsk people's republic, is celebrating republic day and their status, which is recognized by russia. in the liberated city of popasna, a peaceful life is gradually being established the restoration of peace and wellbeing is the main thing that the residents of lugansk people's republic dream about today. in popasna, which the people's militia took control of a few days ago, the de mining of streets has begun, and humanitarian aid has been delivered to people. our military is finding more and more evidence of the atrocities of the armed forces of ukraine. huseyn huseynov reports from the scene. huseynov said: "fighters of the russian army are patrolling the streets of the liberated popasna. it's necessary to go through each street to make sure that there are no more ukrainian army groups here. in an attempt to cover their retreat, the ukrainian armed forces abandoned several small units in the city, mainly reservists. having ended up trapped, many of them surrendered, but not all." a soldier of the russian military said, "[the ukrainian army] tried to seize buildings, they were shooting at a kindergarten." charges were filed against four more soldiers of the armed forces of ukraine for shelling settlements our military investigators charged four more fighters of the armed forces of ukraine with the shelling of settlements by the ukrainian security forces. all those charged are marines from the 36th brigade, which stationed itself in mariupol. they are defendants in a criminal case about the abuse of civilians. the case involves the chief of artillery, roman shostak, two commanders of self propelled artillery batteries, and the commander of a self propelled artillery battalion. according to the investigation, they did not take any measures to protect civilians from the attack. moreover, they shelled settlements, where only civilians were located. the fighters confessed to this during interrogation. alexander plotnikov, commander of the self propelled artillery battalion of the armed forces of ukraine, said: "here is the firing position, they fired from here on the settlements of sartana, talakovka on the orders of the chief of artillery of the 36th brigade, lieutenant colonel shostak. civilians who did not take part in the military conflict were in these settlements." the russian defense ministry spoke about the courage and heroism of servicemen who fight on the front line corporal yegor varushkin landed from a mi 8 helicopter at an enemy airfield and immediately entered into battle, facing superior enemy forces. together with his comrades, he destroyed hidden, portable anti aircraft missile systems and took control of the airfield control tower. senior lieutenant nikolai okorokov and his motor rifle unit liberated the village from armed gangs. despite the numerical advantage of the enemy, nikolai competently launched an attack, about 15 militants and armored vehicles were destroyed. senior sergeant mikhail chekulaev with his squad stumbled upon an ambush of neo nazis. the commander decided to split up, one group opened heavy fire on the enemy, the other went from the rear. during the short battle, two enemy firing points and more than 10 militants were destroyed. national guard soldiers act selflessly in the special operation distinguished servicemen were handed state awards. the solemn ceremony took place in st. petersburg. the order of courage was received by the commander of a special detachment, a police colonel, and two more fighters. they managed to prevent several attacks on the military and humanitarian convoys. they also inflicted significant damage on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment, and detained many members of armed groups. vladimir putin sent a telegram to the head of the lugansk people's republic, leonid pasechnik, congratulating him on the day of the luhansk people's republic the president emphasized that the residents of the lugansk people's republic are celebrating the state holiday in difficult conditions, with weapons in their hands, defending their native land. and he expressed confidence that the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the republic will be defended through joint efforts. the situation around ukraine sparked mass protests in bulgaria several hundred people took to the streets of sofia demanding the resignation of the government. according to the demonstrators, the government pays too much attention to the events in another country, while things are not going too well in the country itself. prices are rising, especially for gas. residents have been particularly annoyed by the fact that the sofia city council hung a ukrainian flag on the city hall building in solidarity with kiev in april. the protesters tried to tear it down. they believe that there can be no flags other than bulgarian ones on public buildings. a similar protest was reportedly held in another city, varna. wednesday, may 12: kiev has prepared new provocations to blame the russian military the russian headquarters for humanitarian response has revealed more outrageous acts of the ukrainian armed groups   they treat civilians inhumanely. in one town in the vinnytsia region [a city in west central ukraine], nationalists and foreign mercenaries have established a stronghold right at the school. they forcibly detain civilians from neighboring houses in the school's basement. in lysychansk [in the lugansk people's republic], the armed forces of ukraine, forced women, children, and old people out of the bomb shelter, threatening them with violence, and placed an ammunition depot there. and in one of the settlements of kharkiv region, the kiev security forces set up a stronghold in the public hall and laid mines on the passages toward the building. the headquarters also said that ukrainian nationalists are preparing another provocation and that western media is planning to widely distribute fabricated materials about alleged 'atrocities committed by the russians.' said mikhail mizintsev, head of the national defense management center of the russian federation: "according to the available reliable information, in the kharkiv region the kiev regime held another bloody action according to the "buchinsky" scenario. on the road section between the settlements of stary and new saltov, soldiers of the armed forces of ukraine shot six civilian cars which had white flags mounted on them. specialists of the centre for information and psychological operations of the armed forces of ukraine took photos and videos of these monstrous crimes. another provocation took place in belaya krinitsa in kherson. the ukrainian military launched several artillery strikes on the positions of the russian army. this was done in order to cause return fire on residential buildings with civilians. they were not allowed out of the village. representatives of the norwegian press took photos and videos of russia's alleged indiscriminate strikes on the civilian population." this morning ukrainian troops began shelling settlements in donbas five "grad" missiles were launched on yasinovataya in the donetsk people's republic. also, shells flew to aleksandrovka [in the donetsk people's republic]. the day before, the ceasefire control center reported that five civilians were injured in mariupol, vladimirovka, and pavlovka due to the attacks by kiev's security forces. the [donetsk] people's militia, with the support of the russian military, are liberating more and more towns. today, in the context of a special operation to protect the civilian population of donbas, residents of the donetsk people's republic will celebrate the eighth anniversary of the day of the republic and, for the first time, the state's official recognition by russia. ka 52 helicopters give strong support to the russian army ka 52 is a real thunderstorm for armored vehicles and areas fortified by the enemy. these combat vehicles were nicknamed "alligators" for their power and versatility. they are able to covertly sneak up on a target in a zone that is out of reach to air defense and strike within a few seconds. аlexander lyakin observed the work of the ka 52. lyakin said: "the helicopters fly just over the land, lower than they have been instructed. in order to carry out tasks, the helicopters need to be flown by the best pilot." a russian soldier said: "the helicopter is highly maneuverable. it allows you to emerge in front of the forest and dive right behind it, which prevents the enemy from identifying you." russian troops act decisively and bravely on the frontline the russian defense ministry has named the fighters who distinguished themselves during the special operation. senior sergeant alexander shepelev discovered a disguised enemy howitzer and a truckload of ammunition during the battle for the airfield. without being noticed, he crept up to the howitzer and destroyed it, and provided cover for the offensive of the paratroopers. senior lieutenant of the medical service nikita grafkin assisted the wounded right on the battlefield under heavy fire. he also carried five fighters, who could not move on their own, to a safe place. sergeant maxim arefiev participated in the battles for the liberation of a settlement controlled by ukrainian nationalists. he destroyed the enemy stronghold and set up firing points, in addition to working out the position of the sniper. u.s. house of representatives approves an additional aid package for ukraine a record amount of 40 billion dollars will be used to further pump kiev with weapons. the economic situation in the states is, to put it mildly, difficult, with the inflation level and costs growing by leaps and bounds. yet, [u.s. ambassador to slovakia] bridget brink believes that washington should be more active in helping the kiev authorities. yulia olkhovskaya has the details in her report. olkhovskaya stated: "bridget brink confidently climbed the career ladder under five american presidents and never faltered. newspapers have called her a companion in conflicts. over the last 26 years in the state department, she has ended up in countries that, with the active assistance of the u.s., have become conflict zones. ukraine is only the latest country." "brink herself said that moscow is more effective at keeping its footing and called on western countries to show creativity. she said: 'we are outgunned, we're out resourced, we're outmaneuvered. we have to do as much as we can. it's a challenge. disinformation is pervasive in europe and elsewhere and so we have to do as much as we can. we need to be creative and innovative.' "brink used the opportunity to urge senators to allocate more money for ukraine. the last package of $40 billion was approved by the house of representatives today. [channel one displays a segment from fox news host tucker carlson and quotes him saying:] 'that's double what the administration spends on protection of our own borders. and this is just one batch of aid... also, this package is more than we spend on caring for our veterans each month. the saddest thing is that it has not forced russia to leave ukraine.' olkhovskaya continued: "the endless spending on ukraine in the u.s. is only further fuelling inflation and irritating americans because of the rise in crime and economic problems. in response to biden's increasingly active help for ukraine, senator rick scott said this: 'the most effective thing biden can do to solve the inflation crisis he created is resign. he's the problem. getting him out of office is the quickest and easiest solution.' in the opinion of senator rick scott, biden, who is looking more and more confused, is not capable of governing the country during times of crisis." vladimir putin congratulated the head of the donetsk people's republic denis pushilin on republic day the russian leader sent a telegram to denis pushilin. the president wrote: "together with russia, the donetsk people's republic is fighting to ensure that the citizens of the republic can exercise their legal right to a free and peaceful life, in line with their age old cultural and spiritual traditions, and in friendship with fraternal russia." tuesday, may 10: the city popasna has fully come under the control of the people's militia of the lugansk people's republic now, donbas. the city of popasnaya has completely come under the control of the people's militia of the lugansk people's republic. this was reported by the republic's defense department. local units, with the support of the russian army, liberated the territory and drove the enemy out. yesterday, representatives of the people's militia hung a replica of the banner of victory at the entrance to the administration of popasna. now they are already trying to establish a peaceful life in the village. at the same time, according to reports in the lugansk people's republic, the armed forces of ukraine continue to hit the outskirts, trying to destroy the infrastructure at least from afar. donetsk was also subjected to a new attack by the kiev security forces. and this time the enemy intensified the shelling. nine civilians, including a teenager, were injured. the russian ministry of defense spoke about our soldiers who showed courage and heroism during the special operation to protect donbas a major of the guards, yaroslav fadeev, adjusted artillery fire with the help of drones. his subordinates destroyed more than seventy radicals and several ammunition depots. corporal vadim sandu came under fire and was wounded while he was driving an infantry combat vehicle, but he was able to save his comrades from an attack. vadim rammed the enemy's car and got to the positions of the troops. and senior sergeant yaroslav stepanov, who was in a tank, destroyed an enemy checkpoint during the liberation of the town. even when a shell hit his car, he continued to accurately hit targets and skillfully maneuver on the battlefield. тhe crew of the "iskander" missile system support our regiments there are simply no matches to this weapon in the world. it takes just minutes to march and prepare to strike. evgeny lyamin has more details. lyamin said: "the crew can act at any moment. and it doesn't matter where, in that moment, the military vehicles are located, in the woods, in the field or on the march. "iskander" is always ready to strike. a commander of the launcher said: "[the missile] destroyed a pontoon crossing toward izyum [a city in ukraine] where the armed forces of ukraine transfer weapons." u.s. military instructors began to train apu [administration of the president of ukraine] fighters on how to use of american howitzers this was announced by a spokesperson for the pentagon. according to john kirby, kiev has already almost received an entire batch of guns, which is 90 pieces. the americans have also finished training the ukrainian military to use their attack drones. more than 120 such drones were included in the latest package of military assistance to ukraine. meanwhile, president biden signed a so called "lend lease" law, which means that the states can now supply kiev with any weapons and in any quantity. the help, of course, is not free. and ukraine will have to pay for it for decades. kiev sent the second part of the form to brussels to obtain candidate status or eu membership this was announced by volodymyr zelensky, who noted that he looks forward to receiving a positive response from the eu as early as june. however, it was also made clear that, in any case, ukraine should not bank on a quick entry into the bloc. french president emmanuel macron recalled that the member countries of the eu have certain standards and criteria for candidates, so considering this, kiev's may not come true very soon: "even if we grant ukraine candidate status tomorrow, and i hope that the decision will be made quickly, the very process of its entry into the european union, and we all know perfectly well, will take years. and frankly, maybe even a few decades," macron said. sky news host interrupted an interview with deputy permanent representative of russia to the united nations dmitry polyansky here is another example of how the west tries in every possible way not to notice or to ignore explicit displays of nazi sentiment in ukraine. the host of the british tv channel sky news tried several times to interrupt the interview with deputy permanent representative of russia to the united nations dmitry polyansky, and then he abruptly ended it. the diplomat had been drawing attention to a social media post by the ukrainian president. the day before victory day, vladimir zelensky published online a photo of a militant group "right sector," which is banned in russia, with the emblem of the ss division "dead head," known for its brutal crimes during the [second world] war. dmitry polyansky, first deputy permanent representative of the russian federation to the united nations said: "this is the emblem of the german ss division in the second world war. zelensky published on victory day an emblem of the fighter of the "right sector" with this emblem, saying that this is a symbol, please don't interrupt me, that this is a symbol of the fight against nazism. did you know that this dead head division was responsible for killing 100 britons in france at the beginning of the second world war? it means that britain is now covering up for the ukrainian authorities, which display nazi symbols on victory day. and these nazi symbols were used by the same regiments that killed british people. isn't that a bit strange?" the sky news host said: "that's it, i have to interrupt you, we're out of time." the russian defense ministry once again recalled the actions of the ukrainian authorities, which is trying with all its might to rewrite common history on victory day, a new multimedia section was launched on the ministry's website. it is called "in the power of criminal unconsciousness." the section contains archives about the battles of the red army for cities in western ukraine, including lvov and stanislav, and about the feats of soviet soldiers during the great patriotic war. the archives are also about how kiev is trying to erase these memories by destroying war memorials. most recently, neo nazis destroyed the monument to the famous marshal of the soviet union, zhukov, in kharkov. monday, may 9: channel one congratulates the military, who are on the front lines right now our servicemen who are currently on the front line have a special mission. they are carrying out their duty and participating in a special operation to protect the residents of donbas. correspondents of channel one came to congratulate our guys on the holiday. valentina solovyova in melitopol [in ukraine] has the report. alexander, a member of the russian national guard, said: "first i want to wish you a happy victory day. today we are working to maintain the safety and security of the public on this day of celebrations. we don't exclude the possibility of a type of provocation but the russia national guard will cope with all the tasks and carry them out successfully." solovyova asked: "alexander, we saw that you lay flowers by the eternal flame. did someone in your family fight in the war?" alexander said: "yes, my grandfather fought. he went through all the stages of the bloody war and unfortunately, he died." channel one's report on may 9 from the zone of the special operation to protect donbas victory day is a tribute to living heroes. this is a day of remembrance for the fallen. this is an eternal reminder for the young about the cost of the great victory. and this is not just the past, it is a living story that will flow like a river in the procession of the "immortal regiment," it will be reflected in the windows with portraits of soldiers, it will be heard songs from the war years, it will be reminded by movie scenes and, perhaps, the most important thing will be told to children and great grandchildren in the family circle. dmitry tolmachev is currently working in the special operation zone: "we're on the outskirts of mariupol. there is no fighting in the city itself. it is completely cleared of the ukrainian army and the neo nazi group, azov, the remains of which are blocked in the territory of the industrial zone. nevertheless, there is still the risk of an attempt to break through, which is why our artillerymen are constantly prepared for military action." a russian soldier said: "dear veterans and the citizens of russia, i congratulate you on the great victory. i wish you happiness, good health and peaceful skies above your heads." tolmachev said: "just a reminder that we're working in mariupol and are located in the positions of the artillerymen. again, happy victory day everyone." day and night, the iskander operational tactical systems are guarding our borders many of our military men are celebrating today's holiday at a military post. both day and night, the iskander operational tactical systems are guarding our borders. today we will see them on the red square. these formidable giants can take positions and strike in just a few minutes, and they can hit a target even at a distance of several hundred kilometers. a member of the russian military said: "being trusted to use this system is a huge responsibility for us... one of the main strengths of the missile is that it can't be intercepted or shot down." the convoy includes t 72b3m tanks, which are currently serving in the special operation zone the mechanical convoy also includes t 72b3m tanks, which are now serving in the special operation zone to protect civilians in donbas. the machines have proven their capabilities well for a long time. alexey kruchinin will introduce us to the crew of the tank, which is on the front line: we're in the donetsk people's republic, where there have been successful advancements in the past few days. the donetsk people's militia has liberated settlements with the essential support of the russian army. our tankers, who are here with us today, play a huge role in this. oleg, a member of the t 72b3m tank crew, said: "the situation is that the military is fulfilling their assigned tasks, everything is fine, really. the atmosphere is cheerful, the crew are well coordinated, we're working. we know the situation can heat up. we're aware of what's happening here, we know how to advance. nazism will be defeated, 100%. victory is ours." a report on the pantsir s1 complex, which is serving in the special military operation zone we are turning to the airfield, where mi 8 helicopters are serving in the zone of the special military operation. the calculation of the pantsir s1 anti aircraft missile and gun system can immediately detect up to 30 targets, including missiles, aircraft and enemy drones. it can hit several objects at the same time. we will see it today during the parade. channel one reported the following news in a later program: putin congratulates russians on victory day before the parade starts. before the start of the parade, [russian president] vladimir putin congratulated the russians on victory day and noted the importance of this holiday for each of us. the president also announced a minute of silence in memory of those who died during the great patriotic war. [the station ran the entire speech. below are excerpts from putin's speech, selected by newsguard.] "despite all controversies in international relations, russia has always advocated the establishment of an equal and indivisible security system which is critically needed for the entire international community." "last december we proposed signing a treaty on security guarantees. russia urged the west to hold an honest dialogue in search for meaningful and compromising solutions, and to take account of each other's interests. all in vain. nato countries did not want to heed us, which means they had totally different plans. and we saw it. another punitive operation in donbas, an invasion of our historic lands, including crimea, was openly in the making. kiev declared that it could attain nuclear weapons. the nato bloc launched an active military build up on the territories adjacent to us. thus, an absolutely unacceptable threat to us was steadily being created right on our borders. there was every indication that a clash with neo nazis and banderites backed by the united states and their minions was unavoidable. let me repeat, we saw the military infrastructure being built up, hundreds of foreign advisors starting work, and regular supplies of cutting edge weapons being delivered from nato countries. the threat grew every day. russia launched a pre emptive strike at the aggression. it was forced, timely and the only right decision. a decision by a sovereign, strong and independent country. the united states began claiming their exceptionalism, especially after the collapse of the soviet union, therefore denigrating not just the entire world but also their satellites, who have to pretend not to see anything, and to obey and put up with it." "[russia] will never give up our love for our motherland, our faith and traditional values, our ancestors' customs and respect for all peoples and cultures." "i am addressing our armed forces and donbas militia. you are fighting for our motherland, its future, so that nobody forgets the lessons of world war ii, so that torturers, death squads and nazis cannot exist in the world." "the loss of each officer and soldier is painful for all of us and an irretrievable loss for the families and friends. the government, regional authorities, enterprises and public organizations will do everything to wrap such families in care and help them. special support will be given to the children of the killed and wounded comrades in arms. the presidential executive order to this effect was signed today." friday, may 6: russia reopened a humanitarian corridor so that civilians could leave the territory of azovstal an hour ago, russia reopened the humanitarian corridor. today is the second of three days that our military and donetsk people's republic forces unilaterally cease hostilities from 8 am to 6 pm. russian fighters have previously created conditions for people to get out of the danger zone. but civilians at azovstal are being held hostage by militants. and will they let anyone go we don't know. the day before, for example, a ransom of medicines and food, not money, was demanded in exchange for people. a terrorist's method is to hide behind hostages and use them as blackmail. former hostages of ukrainian militants share shocking stories the people who still manage to escape are shocked to see a convoy of empty buses. everything is in place for their evacuation. the russian side has done a lot of work. but the hostages in the cellars are unaware of this. they are intimidated. they are being threatened. correspondent irina kuksenkova was able to talk to those who have been released. her report contains exclusive footage and stories that would touch any one of us. natalia usmanova, a former hostage, said: "it was always cold in the cellar. the dampness, the mold, the stress and fear. i already reached a point of desperation, i felt as though i would never get out of there." she said: "we shouted at the soldiers, 'why are you keeping us here? we came here voluntarily so let us leave voluntarily.' they said 'this is a military facility. we'll decide when you can leave. right now, this is where we're stationed, our equipment is here, if you go and you'll speak about everything.'" russia's permanent representative to the un vasily nebenzya described the west's seizure of russian assets as robbery the west is deliberately distorting the azovstal situation. our permanent representative to the un, vasily nebenzya, spoke about this at a security council meeting. ukraine, in itself, is of little interest to its so called partners. the country is only useful as a springboard for attacks against russia. and they are already coming: just look at the avalanche of sanctions and freezing of our accounts, of $300 billion. "it was as if you were just waiting for this moment to spin the flywheel of repression against russia. and if we talk about the world war, then it is, without a doubt, being waged today in the economic field. we have no doubt that you were preparing for it, because the speed with which this flywheel was spun leaves no doubt that you were preparing for this in advance and long before that," said vasily nebenzya, permanent representative of the russian federation to the un. ukrainian nationalists yet again put heavy equipment near social facilities in territories they control according to the russian national defense control center, artillery installations and an ammunition depot are located in a city hospital in kharkov. staff and patients were kicked out. the radicals also set up firing points in clinics in slavyansk, odessa, and lisichansk. in kherson, which is under the control of our military, russian soldiers prevented a terrorist attack. in one apartment, they found a laboratory for making explosives. they also found small weapons, ammunition, a grenade launcher and tnt. according to the ministry of defense, a resident in this apartment planned a sabotage on victory day. festive events will be held in the city on may 9. soviet t 34 tank is being dismantled in zhytomyr ahead of may 9 the soviet t 34 tank was originally put up [in zhytomyr, ukraine] in honor of the 20th anniversary of the victory in the great patriotic war. and now the legendary car is being moved to another location. the city authorities have not specified the date and time that is being taken down in order to avoid crowds of people gathering. a fight over history is also taking place in lithuania. the mayor of vilnius is initiating the demolition of six monuments in the country's largest burial site, where more than 3,000 soviet soldiers, who gave their lives for the liberation of the lithuanian capital, are buried. in the lugansk republic, the russian military helped residents restore the memorial to soviet soldiers the liberated regions of the lugansk republic understand what memory means and the importance of preserving. in one village, the russian military helped the residents to clean up the memorial to soviet soldiers. on may 9, no matter what, there are always flowers there. this time, there will definitely be flowers, as well as st. george ribbons, which the kiev regime stubbornly banned. sergei ponomarev has more details in this report. one resident, sergei goklovan, tells ponomarev: "my dad was called up to the belarusian military district in 1942. basically, he immediately died there. he's buried here." practically every family in this village has a relative who fought or died in the war. therefore, even when ukraine officially stopped recognizing victory day, local residents continued to bring flowers here on may 9. the ukrainian authorities didn't pay any attention to the memorial. each spring, the residents took it upon themselves to clean it up. this time, soldiers from the central military district came to help. they brought paint, brushes and got to work. thursday, may 5: in the kharkiv region, ukrainian nationalists shot a convoy of cars carrying refugees they were heading from volchansk to kharkov. according to eyewitnesses, some people died, including children and women. many have been injured. it all happened when the group entered the territory controlled by kiev and ended up near the village of stary saltov. they opened fire on refugees from the ukrainian checkpoint, from a distance of about 100 meters. someone managed to turn back. but the people who were in the cars at the front of the convoy were under continuous fire. here is what one of the drivers told ria novosti. "they started to shoot at the first four cars, my car, which is behind three more. we basically had no men there, the only men were drivers. we had women, children, they got hurt, my grandmother died before my eyes, my girlfriend died, she was directly hit head through the glass, i checked her pulse, on her neck, on her wrist. we crawled out under shelling, they targeted us, fired at us." the first four cars were completely burned. ukrainian militants are now located in stary saltov, according to ria novosti, citing a source. they take away residents, who are against the kiev authorities. and in kharkiv, the armed forces of ukraine deployed multiple launch rocket systems and howitzers on the territory of two factories next to tanks with toxic chemicals. nearby are residential areas. the head of the russian defense control center, mikhail mizintsev, noted that the armed forces of ukraine are provoking our military to return fire, in order to later blame them for the deaths of civilians. the russian military reopens humanitarian corridor in mariupol civilians can leave the territory of azovstal today, tomorrow, and saturday from 8 am to 6 pm. the kiev authorities have yet again declared that civilians are located in the basements of the plant. during this period, our fighters and the forces of the donetsk people's republic are unilaterally ceasing any hostilities. according to the russian headquarters for humanitarian response, those who leave azovstal will then be able to go to russia or areas controlled by kiev. our ministry of defense regularly opens humanitarian corridors. and the nationalists who have settled in azovstal are constantly being asked to lay down their arms and surrender. in this case, they are guaranteed safety and, if necessary, medical assistance. in konotop, the activities of the canonical ukrainian orthodox church of the moscow patriarchate were banned in konotop, which is in the sumy region, under the official control of kiev, the activities of the canonical ukrainian orthodox church of the moscow patriarchate were banned by mayor artem semenikhin. he declared a fight against "russia's agent network." the persecution of believers and clergy has long become a typical political tool for the kiev authorities. temples are regularly attacked, parishioners are beaten. a draft law on the banning of the ukrainian orthodox church of the moscow patriarchate, the seizure of its real estate and property has been submitted to the rada [the ukrainian parliament]. pathfinders control the safe passage of supply convoys on the front line delivering military ammunition on time and everything else that is needed is a special mission on the front line. the task is to ensure the safety of supply convoys. spotting an ambush and reacting instantly in the event of an attack requires exceptional skill. the movement of the convoys to a given point what is most important? ivan, a russian soldier, said: "the leader will monitor the road, the situation. the wingman will monitor the convoy is it over stretched? what's the situation as a whole?" humanitarian convoys regularly bring everything necessary to the residents of the donetsk and lugansk people's republics it's not only convoys with equipment on the roads, but also humanitarian convoys, which regularly bring everything the residents need in the donetsk and lugansk people's republics. the next batch of cargo, about 10 tons worth, was delivered to the residents of the lugansk republic, including food, water, and hygiene products. people asked for many things themselves, made lists. the military tries to help everyone. in the kherson region, russian engineers began to de mine beaches emergency work is underway in the kherson region. the retreating armed forces of ukraine left deadly traps on the black sea coast. our engineers work both on land and in water, at the risk of their lives, all in order to ensure safety. not only do people need help, but also the inhabitants of the local dolphinarium, who are being saved by the national guard. a troop with the national guard said: "the mines that were laid had a tnt charge.they were disguised well and installed seven meters below ground." in slovakia, the symbol "z" appeared on banners displaying ukrainian flags the policy of the west, which unconditionally and thoughtlessly supports ukraine in everything, is increasingly splitting apart european society. it's leading to fights. in sofia, activists tried to cover the monument to the soviet army with bulgarian and ukrainian flags. but the people who protested against the military support of kiev did not allow this to be done, a scuffle broke out. all of this happened during discussions in parliament about the ukrainian issue, they decided not to supply weapons, but to help with repairing military equipment. and in slovakia, residents expressed their view by putting up along a busy road several banners displaying ukrainian flags that were painted with the letter z, a symbol of a russian special operation. "immortal regiment:" hundreds of thousands of russians will take to the streets with their heroes the most touching moment of the holiday is "the immortal regiment"   the day when hundreds of thousands of russians will take to the streets with portraits of their heroes. photos, as well as unique relics, letters from the front. but the main thing is our memory. the achievements of our soldiers, partisans, and military leaders in the overall records of the war. the whole country is now preparing for the procession. family stories are remembered with pride and tears. alexander oleshko, honored artist of russia, said: "this year i wanted to add to the photograph of my grandfather this phrase: 'my grandfather fought for a world without nazism,' so that the next generation can again and again hear, see and understand why and for what russian soldiers fight." wednesday, may 4: ukrainian security forces conduct raids to identify people expressing pro russian views a new series of attacks in donetsk. several regions are under the fire of the armed forces of ukraine. in petrovsky, people were left without electricity, and substations were left without power. in the meantime, new information is coming in about what the radicals are doing in the territories that they occupy. they continue to hide behind civilians, using them as a human shield. our defense control center reported the latest cases. in nikolaev, armored vehicles and multiple launch rocket systems were placed on the territory of schools. in the village of rai gorodok (kramatorsky district), nationalists set up firing points on the upper floors of houses. people are not allowed out of their apartments. somewhere, they're organizing a hunt for those who disagree with the kiev regime. said the head of the national defense control center of the russian federation, colonel general mikhail mizintsev: "in kharkiv, militants of the territorial defense battalions, together with sbu [the security service of ukraine] officers, are conducting raids to identify local residents who express pro russian views or condemn the current ukrainian government. citizens whose phones contain correspondence about similar content, as well as calls to russian numbers, are detained and taken away in an unknown direction. dozens of detainees have not yet returned home. according to reliable data, these large scale raids were previously carried out in nikolaev, sumy, chernigov and a number of other settlements." russian artillerymen hit firing positions, strongholds, and areas containing the ukrainian army equipment the ministry of defense of the russian federation has published new footage of the work of russian artillerymen. they hit firing positions, strongholds, and areas that contain the equipment of the armed forces of ukraine. this is how the calculations of self propelled installations "malka" work. they are controlled by drones from the air. their actions are clear, coordinated, they hit right on target. the fighters destroyed the pion installation and howitzer batteries of the ukrainian army. troops of the russian federation and lugansk people's republic liberate popasna from nationalists popasna is a small town of great strategic importance. now the military ours and the lugansk people's republic are knocking out the remaining nationalists from there. popasna is located on a hill, which allows you to view a huge area in all directions. plus, this is an exit to an important transport hub: its capture will disrupt the supply of the armed forces of ukraine and open the way for the russian troops and the forces of the lugansk republic, the way for a further offensive. russian servicemen heroically liberate the territory of ukraine from nationalists major alexander stepanov successfully carried out engineering intelligence of the road, our logistics convoys delivered ammunition to the front line on time. stepanov, together with his subordinates, evacuated the wounded from an attack. junior sergeant anton mikhailov discovered radicals, who were preparing an attack on russian units. he immediately reported the ambush and joined the battle, and he was wounded. the extremists were liquidated. lieutenant colonel yevgeny kapustin repelled the attacks, preventing any losses on our side. thanks to his actions, it was possible to obtain valuable intelligence. the special military operation to protect donbas became the topic of a telephone conversation between vladimir putin and [belarusian president] alexander lukashenko the presidents also discussed the bilateral agenda and the promotion of union building in the continued negotiations between moscow and minsk, which took place in april. they touched upon the topic of interaction in the eurasian space, including in connection with the preparation of the upcoming meeting of the leaders of the csto member states. the presidents reaffirmed their intention to further strengthen their partnership and alliance relations. a chinese foreign ministry representative published two nato maps on social media in 1990 and 2019 the value of the west's promises are as clear as possible. lijian zhao, a representative of the chinese foreign ministry, published two nato maps, from 1990 and 2019, on his social media page. he quoted former us secretary of state james baker, who more than 30 years ago in a conversation with mikhail gorbachev, assured that the alliance would not move an inch eastward. what do we see now? nato is right on our borders, and with the prospect of even greater expansion. finland and sweden recently announced plans to join the military bloc. in the kherson region, in the village of zelenovka, liberated from nationalists, a torture chamber was found a terrible discovery in the kherson region is another torture chamber, which was found by our law enforcement officers in the liberated village of zelenovka, just seven kilometers from kherson. in the basement of a roadside cafe, the mined body of a tortured man in a russian military uniform was discovered. near to him is an anti tank shell and tnt. also evident are syringes scattered all over the cafe and cases from the javelin complexes that the americans supply to ukraine. the russian investigative committee has launched an investigation. american director oliver stone did not rule out the united states carrying out a nuclear provocation a completely logical question for the united states is, do they realize whose hands the same "javelins" fall in? and in general, does the white house care about this issue? as it turns out, washington is ready for any sacrifice as it pursues its goals on another continent. however, all this, of course, is an unspoken political principle. but different statements are made to the public. and, again, they're not without embarrassment. should you cry or laugh after joe biden's speeches? oliver stone said: "i wonder if the u.s. is setting the stage for a low yield nuclear explosion somewhere in the donbas region, which would kill thousands of ukrainians? if that happened, god forbid, all the countries, like a trained pavlov dog, will blame russia. that guilt has been set up already in advance, regardless of who launched the device. it would probably take a few days to find out the truth, but the truth isn't important." tuesday, may 3: ukrainian nationalists have set up a base at a psychiatric hospital in the kharkov region we begin with a message from our national defense management center. ukrainian nationalists are holding citizens hostage in the basement of a psychiatric hospital in the kharkov region. they have set up a base in the building. furthermore, radicals have set up firing positions in schools in the towns of dnieper, kramatorsk, and slavyansk, bringing in armored vehicles, artillery, and multiple launch rocket systems. the ukrainian army is again firing on donetsk. the towns of elenovka and yasinovataya have come under fire as well. in the last 24 hours, dozens of heavy shells have also been launched into the territory of the lugansk people's republic. representatives of the republic report that two peaceful civilians have been killed, and two more have been injured. the nationalists used grad missiles and mortars. russian troops, in contrast to the ukrainian army, are making high precision strikes only on military targets these images, provided by the defense ministry, show our advanced radar station and c 300 surface to air missile systems in operation. air defense units from the central military command have begun their combat duties at these new positions. the missile system controls the situation in the air, over a radius of several hundred kilometers. and this video shows an aerial strike on ukraine's concealed organized positions. the crew of our su 24m aircraft made the strike from the lowest possible altitude. surrendered ukrainian soldiers are speaking about their commanders, and the situation in the ukrainian army our soldiers are doing all they can to convince the ukrainian army to lay down its weapons. this is the only correct way out of this situation. we treat prisoners of war in the most humane way. many soldiers from the ukrainian armed forces who have already surrendered are saying that they didn't want to join the army; they had to, otherwise they would have been put in prison. they are also speaking about the atmosphere in the ukrainian ranks. for example, it is normal for them to abandon their fellow soldiers. one russian soldier commented: "we approach to within five kilometers of them, and surround them. [using loudspeakers] we tell them to lay down their weapons and go home, to give themselves up and not to attack us. there have been cases where they have surrendered themselves." a humanitarian convoy is greeted in the kharkov region russian troops have delivered food items and drinking water    40 tons in total. residents are coming out of their homes to greet them and help them to unload the trucks. conditions in the region are difficult, and even the most essential items are lacking. military doctors have also arrived; they are giving people medical advice, providing medical treatments, and people are queuing to receive medicines. medicines are also being delivered to hospitals in the region's towns, where supplies are running out. normal life is returning to liberated berdyansk thanks in part to regular humanitarian aid, life in the liberated districts is now going on as normal. foreign journalists have been able to see this for themselves. correspondents, including journalists from western countries, have been in the towns and villages that are under our military's control. they have also visited the zaporozhye nuclear power plant, because all of europe is worried about its safety. everywhere the journalists went they spoke to residents and asked them for their opinions. they even went to a wedding    a perfect example of life going on happily. the bride, ekaterina vasilenko, commented: "we realized that we had survived, we are free... that love conquers all. so we decided to come [to the registry office] and get married. her husband, denis vasilenko, added: "before everyone was saying: 'go abroad', especially to the young people. but now i see some prospects for children." monday, may 2: in the donetsk people's republic the ukrainian army is firing on towns and settlements in the donetsk people's republic, there are reports that three peaceful civilians have died in the last 24 hours from shooting by ukrainian soldiers. last night, donetsk itself came under fire the ukrainian army attacked two of the city's neighborhoods, including with the use of grad missiles. shells were also fired in the direction of gorlovka dozens of shots from an air defense missile system and yasinovataya. in the lugansk people's republic, there are reports that fighters from the national police force have evacuated 40 peaceful civilians from the town of popasnaya, who the ukrainians had been using as human shields. some of the people had been wounded they are all being given medical treatment. according to information from the lugansk people's republic, the nationalists are now in the north west part of the town, where they have set up firing positions in residential buildings. the russian defense ministry has shown footage of its iskander missile system destroying a ukrainian smerch rocket launcher the russian defense ministry has released new footage showing the iskander m missile system in action. in it, a crew is preparing to hit a battery of smerch multiple launch rocket systems belonging to the ukrainian army. their positions have been calculated by our intelligence. the russian fighters launch an almost four ton missile; the target is hundreds of kilometers away. the strike is made directly at the target point. the task is accomplished. russia's iskander systems have already destroyed dozens of the ukrainian armed forces' strategic facilities, including arms depots, fuel and lubricants, command posts, and troops headquarters. odessa remembers the victims of a tragedy at a trade union building it is a dark day in the history of ukraine. odessa is remembering those who died in a tragedy at the city's trade union building. the guilty parties have still not been punished: in fact they are doing all they can to blame their victims for these harrowing events. in 2014, radicals carried out bloodshed among people who didn't support the regime change in kiev. the radical fighters booby trapped the trade union building with explosives. oksana didenko, whose husband was injured in the tragedy in 2014, said: 'we understood that it wasn't possible to stay [in odessa]. it was too dangerous, for our children, for him... it was dangerous for all of our family. so the decision was made to leave." russia demands that kiev orders the neo nazis who have taken over the azovstal steelworks to release people and stop fighting the radicals are keeping peaceful civilians hostage underground, using children as human shields. russia demands that kiev orders the neo nazis who have taken over the azovstal steelworks to release people and stop fighting. the head of our foreign ministry sergey lavrov spoke about this in an interview with the italian television outlet mediaset. the situation in ukraine was expectedly the main topic of conversation. the minister reminded us that the west had been trying to divide moscow and kiev long before 2014. it encouraged the ukrainian authorities' persecution of the russian speaking population, our media and church, and endorsed laws to promote nazism. mr. lavrov said that russia has launched a special operation to protect the people of donbass, while ukraine is attacking with impunity its own citizens who disagree with its criminal policies. lavrov said: 'the tochka u missile strikes in recent weeks have targeted the center of donetsk, the passenger railway station in kramatorsk, and a number of other locations, including kherson. these attacks are clearly aimed at terrorizing the civilian population and preventing the inhabitants of these regions from deciding their own fate. the vast majority of people there are tired of the oppression they have suffered all these years from the regime in kiev, which is becoming increasingly influential now that it is supported by neo nazis, the usa, and their closest allies. those who came to power as a result of this bloody coup have started a war against their own people, after they had started a war against everything russian: banning the russian language, russian education, and russian mass media." lavrov stressed that was that the usa and canada were actively training neo nazi units, which have joined the ranks of the regular ukrainian army. in melitopol, liberated from nationalists, symbols of the great victory are being restored thanks to russian troops, peace is returning to melitopol. the town is now under our protection, and people can once again honor the memory of their heroes and forefathers, whose heroism kiev is now doing everything it can to erase. soon they will be celebrating may 9th in melitopol again an important day for many in the town, but an occasion that was forbidden there for many long years. vladimir kapitonov, a world war two veteran, said: "this [soviet] flag is the flag of victory for all our nations. we lived as friends, and we will live as friends again. we all fought against fascism together." friday, april 29: in donetsk, a petroleum depot is damaged by an attack from the ukrainian army the industrial facility burst into flames after it was hit by a missile. witnesses are sharing images on social networks. the city's authorities have announced that four transformer stations have been left without electricity as a result of the attack. meanwhile, hospitals continue to treat peaceful civilians who were injured in yesterday's shelling by ukrainian radical groups. the areas hit by missiles include a market. five people were killed, and over 20 more have been hospitalized last night, mass shelling by the ukrainian armed forces hit the towns of makeyevka and gorlovka in the donetsk people's republic. a child has died, and dozens of people suffered injuries. the powers in kiev used grad missiles    and this is not the first time that they have opened fire on residential areas while retreating. they clearly don't feel that these settlements are theirs. russian ka 52 helicopters are operating in the zone where the special operation in ukraine is being carried out russian pilots are tasked with identifying the positions from where the enemy is shelling, and destroying them. our helicopters, which are also effective at low altitudes, have no equal here. ka 52 helicopters operate in the zone where the special operation is being carried out. this helicopter has been nicknamed the alligator for its formidable power, while the mi 8 ensures security and covers the other crews. a pilot of one of the ka 52 helicopters commented: "our task is to destroy the enemy's bases. we operate as far away from the enemy as possible, so as not to enter its zone. we operate at a distance of five or six kilometers, depending on the type of missiles [that the other side has]." maria zakharova: russia has done everything possible to prevent a nuclear war [russian foreign ministry spokesperson] maria zakharova has commented on a rumor that is currently being spread in the west, that moscow is allegedly preparing for a nuclear war. such statements are a hatchet job, zakharova stressed, in a commentary that was published on the foreign ministry's telegram channel. the reason for this new round of hysteria in western countries was an interview with [foreign minister] sergei lavrov, which foreign politicians and media have tried to use in their favor, saying that russia is to blame for bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war. ms. zakharova said: "our country is against nuclear war. this is what our minister has said. this is what our diplomacy is guided by in its activities. perhaps the problem is that western capitals read these interviews as they are narrated in the western media? that is the only possible justification. they simply should not have switched off their alternative sources of information; then they might have listened to russia's statements as they were originally made, and not according to nato's own methodology." the united states congress has approved a military land lease for ukraine the american legislature has approved a draft law on providing ukraine with military equipment under a land lease. this document also makes it easier for the americans to give military support to the powers in kiev. it is noteworthy that members of [congress] accepted this initiative without a debate: 417 congressmen voted for it, and only 10 voted against. this so called land lease act bestows a wider range of powers on the american president. it means that washington will be sending military equipment and weapons not only for ukraine to use on a temporary basis, but other countries in eastern europe as well. there are no clauses in the document that would prevent any particular resources from being sent. that is to say, the usa can provide its partners with anything and in any volume. ukraine continues to use provocations in an attempt to discredit the russian army our defense ministry has told of new instances of the ukrainian armed forces subjecting peaceful civilians to inhumane treatment. they are continuing to use the population as a human shield. according to information from our troops, the powers in kiev have brought heavy weapons into residential buildings and schools in kharkov and odessa, and set up firing positions inside them. in addition to this, they are continuing to stage provocations with the aim of discrediting the russian army. the russian ministry of defense commented: "in the town of liman in the donetsk people's republic, a unit of the ukrainian armed forces is shooting at residential areas from the edges of the town using projectile missiles. while this is happening, journalists from ukrainian and western information agencies film video footage of the destroyed buildings from safe locations, sometimes even using quadcopters. these videos are intended to be used in fake news reports about supposed 'crimes by russian soldiers', which are planned to be disseminated widely in the western media and on the internet. such inhuman acts and provocations by the neo nazis show once again that the ukrainian authorities have no concept of morals, or the principles of international humanitarian law. the lives of innocent people are completely unimportant to them." tank crews and motorized infantry have been given state awards for their excellence during the special operation in ukraine every day, our troops accomplish their tasks bravely and faithfully, moving forward shoulder to shoulder. our defense ministry has released a video of our outstanding tank crews and motorized infantry being honored with state awards. the modest ceremony took place right on the front lines, in a rare moment of calm between battles. around 20 fighters from the southern military region were presented with medals for bravery, and their officers received the order of courage the russian defense ministry has released new evidence of barbarity by ukrainian nationalists during the second world war the declassified documents have been published on the agency's website as part of the 'archives remember everything' project. these documents contain materials about the brutal crimes of the banderites, including about how they killed soviet pilots, and how they robbed and murdered civilians. it is for this reason that in may 1944, it was decided to carry out a special operation against the nazi collaborators. the recently published documents also contain details of how the banderovites came up with their plots. thursday, april 28: ukrainian troops attacked kherson last night with tochka u missiles russia's air defense systems managed to intercept two of the three missiles. information agencies are reporting that one of the targets was a television tower, but the building did not suffer any serious damage. images being circulated on social media seem to show that remnants of the downed missiles fell on residential buildings and also one of the town's parks. one of the explosions made a crater about five meters wide. according to the ria novosti news agency, there were no casualties, as there was no one on the streets due to a curfew being in force. the shells reportedly came from the direction of nikolayev region, a territory controlled by kiev. russian air defense forces successfully repel attacks by ukrainian drones these indispensable air defense systems ensure that all attacks are successfully repelled. in terms of their engineering, air defence systems are the most sophisticated military hardware: they carry equipment that simultaneously helps with reconnaissance, targeting, and tracking. not even the smallest drones can escape the sharp eyes of modern russian air defense systems. a soldier said: "it's a powerful weapon for destroying low flying targets. it has a range of up to five kilometers, and a speed of 360 meters a second." the russian defense ministry announces that the kiev regime is shamelessly using civilian infrastructure the kiev regime is continuing to shamelessly use civilian infrastructure as bases for its fighters. in zaporozhye, a squad from one of the ukrainian nazi battalions set up a base in a hospital, placing armored vehicles and artillery outside the building. the powers in kiev are stopping at nothing to create new provocations. mikhail mizintsev, head of the national defense management center, commented: "with the aim of disseminating staged photo and video footage, initiated by ukrainian and western information agencies, including from the usa, latvia, great britain and poland, military equipment was dumped at the central market in the town of lisichansk. the next day the ukrainian army fired on and destroyed it. ambulances are transporting the bodies of ukrainian soldiers that have been dressed in civilian clothes. first and foremost, this shows cynicism towards their own people. the ukrainians' treatment of their dead soldiers mirrors the barbarity of the nazis during the second world war. only now the kiev regime is using new methods." russian soldiers on the front lines are awarded well deserved state awards every day, our boys go selflessly into battle with the enemy, liberating more and more settlements from armed groups. and as has become tradition, the troops are presented with well deserved government awards right on the front lines. more than 20 soldiers from the motorized rifle regiment have received insignia of the central military district, and their commander received the order of courage. colonel general aleksandr lapin, the district's troop commander, arrived to present them. colonel lapin congratulated all the soldiers on the successful fulfilment of their tasks. schools in mariupol open again in places where terrible shelling and nationalist atrocities are a thing of the past, peaceful life is gradually being restored. in mariupol, children can walk on the streets again. and schools have begun to prepare for the new school year by compiling class lists and delivering textbooks. many children have admitted that they miss going to school. a resident, aleksandra pilupolskaya, commented: "my son is in the third grade. i want him to start school again just as soon as possible, because we've been sitting at home for two months." volunteers from the moscow region have delivered humanitarian aid to mariupol schoolchildren from the moscow region have collected humanitarian aid as part of the "good deed" campaign. more than 1,200 parcels were distributed to local residents. the parcels contain essentials such as food, bottled water, medicines, and sweets for children. queues lined up to wait for the trucks. it was already the fifth such journey. over 430 tons of humanitarian aid have been collected so far, with the support of regional authorities. these supplies have previously been delivered to the town of yasinovataya and the village of pervomaisky. the governor of moscow region andrey vorobyov said: 'thanks to some companies here we are transporting medical supplies. these are needed for first aid, as well as for everyday illnesses. there is a great need for everything, and the 1,200 schools that have taken part in this program have done something really important. medicines, hygiene products, children's drawings, pens and paper   essentially everything that they asked us for. so thank you again to everyone who took part in the program. we will continue'. the pentagon has reported that the usa is preparing to send another consignment of military vehicles to ukraine these are multi purpose armored personnel carriers, designed, among other things, to transport troops to the front line. while this was taking place, united states secretary of state antony blinken made yet another ambiguous statement: he said that it was for the authorities in kiev to decide whether or not to begin combat operations on russian territory. in doing so, blinken continued the militaristic rhetoric of british deputy defense minister james heappey, who the other day said that ukraine has the right to attack targets on russian territory. british foreign minister liz truss later added: "the west needs to double its military support for kiev." although there doesn't seem to be much scope for this anymore. the german defense ministry is already hinting that germany doesn't have enough themselves. german defense minister christina lambrecht had commented: "for example, in theory we have 350 puma infantry fighting vehicles, but in reality only 150 of them are actually combat ready. 150! you could say that our capabilities are limited. the situation with the tiger attack helicopter is no different. only nine out of 51 are in a state to take off." wednesday, april 27: ukrainian fighters set up a weapons base at a nursing home and use force on elderly residents our defense ministry has told of grievous new facts about the kiev authorities' inhumane treatment of peaceful civilians. mikhail mizintsev, the head of russia's joint coordination headquarters for humanitarian response, announced that the ministry has learned of two settlements where the ukrainian army and nationalist groups are planning acts of provocation. one of these is the town of liman in the donetsk people's republic. mr. mizintsev said that fighters there have set up a base in a nursing home, bringing heavy weapons into the building and using staff and elderly residents as a human shield. another of their provocations is laying mines in infrastructure objects. in the town of nikolaev, fighters from the territorial defense forces have set up another horrific provocation, with many intended casualties. in the korabelnyi district, on znamenskaya street next to the nikolaevsky airplane repair plant, neo nazis have installed radio controlled explosives, which they plan to use for a mass killing of peaceful civilians. they will then blame this on the russian military. the defense ministry has also announced that the authorities in kiev and groups of nazi fighters are preventing peaceful civilians from returning to some settlements in the donetsk and lugansk people's republics, and also the kherson, kharkov, zaporozhye and nikolaev regions. our army has cleared these territories of radicals and ukrainian soldiers, and is restoring normal life. but people who had previously moved to ukraine's central and western regions are now being blocked from returning home along russian humanitarian corridors. every day russian soldiers protect peaceful civilians from nationalists our soldiers are showing courage and heroism, acting with determination and bravery. senior lieutenant dzhavad mamutov and his rocket crew struck seven nationalist bases, a military airfield and three enemy air defense systems. this allowed our troops to make a swift offensive in radical controlled areas and significantly reduce the enemy's military capability. tank commander sergeant artyom salynov destroyed more than ten radicals, took out a so called "roving" mortar, a bmp, and several trucks carrying ammunition. he also eliminated mines planted on the approach to a populated area and provided a corridor for russian motorized riflemen. sergey dremlyuga and his convoy came under mortar and aerial fire. the major instantly oriented himself and led his subordinates out from under attack, before attacking two heavily armed groups of nationalists. up to 15 militants were killed. the rest retreated. faithful jet fighters and bombers demonstrate our superiority in the skies during the special operation our pilots are also showing heroism every day while performing their military tasks. in the skies they are without equal. the faithful jet fighters and bombers, and their superbly trained crews, mark our clear superiority in the air. one of the pilots commented: 'we haven't come across the enemy in the sky for a long time  almost since the beginning of the military operation. positions in the air were established in the first few days of the special military operation.' the russian defense ministry has released images of weapons that ukrainian nationalists abandoned when retreating from the lugansk people's republic the seized equipment includes items from the soviet era. but there were also many modern weapons, most of them from nato countries: anti tank guided missiles and shoulder fired missiles. in total, the defense ministry announced, our troops discovered around a thousand items of various weapons and ammunition at a site in some fields. one soldier commented: "it's mainly soviet weapons, but also javelins, nlaws, german anti tank missiles, missiles that the soviets made for export, and also other foreign firearms. at the moment it's mostly nato countries' anti tank missiles being brought in". great britain signals its intention to deliver high tech missiles to ukraine according to the united kingdom's deputy defense minister, james heappey, london is ready to provide kiev with its brimstone missiles in the near future. these are self directed air to ground missiles, capable of hitting moving targets with great accuracy. according to heappey, london may deliver the missiles by may 10. the british defence ministry had previously said that it had no plans to supply missiles, even anti ship harpoon missiles, to ukraine at all. the eternal flame is re lit in a town in kherson region in kherson region, in one of the towns that our troops have liberated from ukrainian radicals, the eternal flame has been lit for the first time in eight years. videos capturing this moment have appeared on the internet. when the flame appears in the statue's basin, residents can be heard cheering and applauding. the town has also begun preparations for celebrating the 77th anniversary of the end of the second world war. now anyone who wishes to can lay flowers beneath the eternal flame and pay their respects to those who died in the war. tuesday, april 26: the russian defense ministry announces a new sabotage plot by ukrainian nationalists mikhail mizintsev, the head of russia's joint coordination headquarters for humanitarian response, has announced that nationalist battalions have planted explosives at a dam in a reservoir in the town of karlovka, in the donetsk people's republic. in the event of an explosion, six settlements and over 10,000 people will be in the blast zone, and their drainage and water treatment facilities will suffer damage. this explosion will worsen the epidemiological situation, and lead to the spread of infectious diseases. this, mr. mizintsev pointed out, is only the latest evidence of kiev's indifference to human life. mr. mizintsev, head of the national defense management center of russia, commented: "despite the russian federation's efforts to evacuate peaceful civilians from the azovstal steelworks, the powers in kiev have cynically prevented this humanitarian operation from being carried out. as of 20:00 moscow time on 25 april 2022, no one has been able to use the humanitarian corridor that we have tried to facilitate. officials in kiev are constantly and publicly announcing that there are currently workers from the azovstal plant, as well as some women and children, in the plant's underground facilities, while at the same time they are rejecting all humanitarian initiatives by the russian side, and are taking no practical steps to evacuate these people." while liberating the donbass, russian artillery, motorized infantry and tank units destroy ukrainian army facilities the russian military, together with armed forces from the people's republics, are liberating more and more settlements from ukrainian nationalist groups. the advance of motorized infantry and tank units is ensured by artillery    they are not called the "god of war" for nothing. this artillery provides reconnaissance of targets from drones, and precise aiming, volleys, and changes of position. correspondent guseyn guseynov went on a combat mission with one of the units in the lugansk people' republic. guseynov explained that the artillery operates non stop, to ensure that the enemy is under constant fire. in order to ensure that they do not come under fire themselves, russian units constantly change their positions. russian soldiers are showing professionalism, courage, and heroism during the special operation in ukraine sergeant velimir trigub and his incursion team discovered a base being used by the nationalists. our boys were outnumbered in the battle, but more than 20 radicals were killed. at one moment velimir and five of his comrades were separated from the rest of the team but managed to successfully hold off the enemies until reinforcements arrived. lieutenant colonel andrey naidanov was able to get one hundred personnel and 40 vehicles to the target area without loss of life. the convoy covered two hundred kilometres. on several occasions naidanov led the group out of enemy fire by performing counter strike maneuvers. sailor sergey voshkov was wounded as he participated in the liberation of a village. when a vehicle carrying ammunition came under enemy fire, he immediately jumped into the burning car and drove it away from the rest of the unit. sergey managed to get out of the vehicle before it exploded, and returned to his team. he has been awarded with a bravery medal. russian army units destroy a ukrainian weapons storage facility russian military units have destroyed a base belonging to the ukrainian army where weapons were being stored. the defense ministry has announced that a large quantity of arms and ammunition was found at a warehouse. in addition, the warehouse contained a workshop where damaged vehicles had been repaired before being sent back into battle. as they fled from the location, ukrainian groups left behind all their equipment, belongings and other items, including personal documents. vladimir, the head of the unit's transportation service, commented: 'we have seized this military equipment, and it is now in our possession. there are about a hundred items of various makes    tunguska and shilka anti aircraft weapons, radar systems, and equipment for servicing military hardware". large scale negotiations on military support for ukraine to take place in germany significant negotiations about providing ukraine with military support are to be held at the rammstein american airbase in germany. twenty countries have confirmed that they will take part in the talks, including some from outside nato. all the attendees have been invited by the united states. as the pentagon has already announced, the parties want to discuss existing supplies of arms, and possible amendments to their deliveries to satisfy the demands of the kiev authorities. the americans have already been supplying ukraine with weapons and ammunition for several months, totaling approximately four billion dollars. this is without taking supplies from other nations into account. on the eve of these negotiations, poland confirmed that it has sent another consignment of tanks to kiev. great britain will give self propelled anti aircraft guns, armored vehicles, and bouncing munitions. it is likely that almost a hundred more tanks will arrive from germany, although german media reports that these tanks will not be new. outside of ukraine, the arming of the country with weapons and equipment has gotten out of control. this was announced by foreign minister sergey lavrov before his appearance on the programme 'the great game'. the pentagon has previously openly admitted that it cannot keep track of how many weapons the united states has given to kiev. volunteers clean up the streets of liberated mariupol some of the weapons that the west is equipping kiev with are being used by ukrainian nationalist groups and the ukrainian army to destroy villages in the donbass. but in the places where armed gangs have already caused damage, people are gradually settling back into a normal, peaceful life. sergey yailo, one of the volunteers, commented: "someone has to do this, because this is my city, and i want to live here. and to be able to live here, we need to clean up. so everyone should come out and put things back into place. everything is damaged right now, but it will be great again." monday, april 25: the russian defense ministry publishes images of the iskander tactical missile system at work in the footage, a strike is made on military infrastructure belonging to ukrainian forces. according to information provided by our intelligence services, the ukrainian army had stored weapons and military equipment in warehouses, as well as ammunition for them. this was all being used to equip ukrainian combat groups. the target was destroyed with a series of accurate strikes. the missile launcher then left its location at top speed and changed launch positions to implement high precision launches on new enemy targets. the territory of the ilyich factory in mariupol is being inspected together with forces from the donetsk people's republic, the russian army has cleared the ilyich factory in mariupol, and an inspection of the territory is now underway. our troops are finding caches of weapons, discarded personal items belonging to ukrainian combatants, illegal substances, and mobile phones. a ukrainian prisoner of war has told our correspondent how all these items were intended to be used, and how kiev's security chiefs had been living in bunkers. during a reconnaissance mission at the now secured plant, sergeant evgeny ermolenko revealed that approximately 300 ukrainian combatants had been hiding there. russian soldiers are showing courage and heroism every day during the special operation in ukraine while seizing control of a dam, first lieutenant ilya pakulov discovered one of the enemy's crucial lines of defense. he moved towards it in his armored vehicle and drew the enemy fire on himself. as he did so, he identified the nationalists' firing points and relayed their coordinates to russian army headquarters. he was wounded in the attack, but still managed to get his group out of danger. he has been awarded the order of courage. major dmitry lysenko adjusted the direction of artillery fire while our troops were liberating a village. nationalists had hit his post with mortars. lysenko was wounded by fragments of the shell, and suffered a concussion, but moved to a back up position and continued to perform the tasks required of him. soldier ilya kochengin also stayed in his position after being wounded. together with his group he blocked an advance by radicals in one of the enemy's villages, opened fire on them with a grenade launcher, and didn't let the enemy breach their defenses to mount a counterattack. russian mi 8 combat helicopters in donbass protect convoys of equipment from the air the advance of our troops is being successfully covered from the air. the convoys of equipment are accompanied by combat helicopters, in particular mi 8 helicopters. our ministry of defense has released footage of them at work. the main task of these helicopters is to detect enemy ambushes before they happen, and strike if necessary. to do this, the pilots keep at an extremely low altitude. at the helicopter base, it was explained that the mi 8 helicopters fly as low as possible in order to give the convoys the closest possible protection, and also to monitor the surroundings. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and pentagon chief lloyd austin make a visit to kiev us secretary of state antony blinken and pentagon chef lloyd austin have visited kiev. there has so far been no official announcement about this by the americans, but the ukrainian side has provided a few details. according to one of the ukrainian president's advisers, aleksey arestovich, vladimir zelensky has already met with his transatlantic guests. the associated press agency has added that blinken and austin announced that washington will provide kiev with another instalment of military financing. the us is refusing even to officially confirm the fact that blinken and austin were in ukraine. the american television channel nbc has explained that they are waiting for them to return home safely before admitting to the trip. washington remained silent even when zelensky himself announced their visit. a rally is held in germany in support of russian citizens and against russophobia in the west in the german town of heilbronn, in defiance of all the russophobic sentiments prevailing in the west, a rally was held in support of our country. dozens of people joined the protest, despite the fact that it was raining. participants carried the russian and german flags through the streets. many of them also carried placards with the words: "we are against discrimination." the high point of the rally, in every sense, was when the crowd released balloons in the colors of the two countries' flags into the sky. friday, april 22: kyiv is preparing a new provocation to blame on russia kyiv has prepared another provocation to blame our military. this time, it is looting.this was reported in the national defense control center. the scenario has been developed: the staging was filmed, the footage of which will be promoted by the western media. for authenticity, the nationalists used russian uniforms and cars with the letter z. "according to reliable information that's become available, the kiev regime prepared in advance another sophisticated provocation in the settlement of voskresenskoye of the nikolayev region in order to discredit the russian armed forces before the world community. under command of the armed forces of ukraine, specialists in information and psychological operations conducted a staged filming of 'acts of looting' allegedly committed by russian servicemen against civilians: militants of the 191st battalion of the 123rd territorial defense brigade dressed in russian uniforms brazenly robbed private houses using cars with the sign 'z' and took photos and videos of their rampages on their mobile phones," said colonel general mikhail mizintsev, head of the national defense control center of the russian federation. mykhail mizintsev also said that in zaporizhia, ukrainian security forces are recruiting gangs to intimidate residents, who they consider to be insufficiently patriotic. the militants know they can act with impunity. they are extremely cruel to everyone, including elderly people, women or children. it also became known that the romanian branch of the red cross has been forced to suspend the supply of humanitarian aid to odessa, because officials plunder food and medicine. our national defense control center also said that in one day almost 15,000 people were evacuated to russia from dangerous regions of ukraine, the donetsk and lugansk people's republic. humanitarian aid is transported under shelling from the ukrainian army this video from the ministry of defense shows the districts in the kharkiv region that have been liberated from the radicals. our convoy is moving through towns. locals warmly welcome the russian military by going out into the street to greet the fighters. army helicopters cover the equipment from the air. on the ground, road commandant garrisons provide security. our military is helping to establish a peaceful life in the liberated areas. they provide medical care to people. people are taken to medical institutions if it is required. and, of course, humanitarian aid is regularly brought to residents. another convoy, a humanitarian one, arrived in one of the villages of the lugansk people's republic. they donated food, including to the local church. the priest says that such help is extremely important before easter. people do not have the opportunity to put together a festive meal. earlier, meanwhile, the russian defense ministry warned that kiev is preparing provocations on easter night, which will involve a large number of victims. in zaporizhia, mykolaiv, odessa, sumy, and kharkiv regions, the radicals are going to open fire on churches in order to accuse our military later on in the same way. the ukrainian military fired 40 shells of the grad multiple launch rocket system at lugansk people's republic over the past day not only is there a lack of food, in some cities and villages, water is a real treasure. water is rarely delivered under shelling. in some places, it is brought once every two weeks. every drop counts. but it is also necessary to restore the houses, which are in ruins. in such conditions, people are not living, they are surviving. and they really believe that under the protection of the lugansk military, peace will return to them again. over the past eight years, nikolai shevchuk's home has been under shelling multiple times, but the consequences have never been as serious as now. nikolai shevchuk, a resident, said: "i was sitting, watching tv and at that moment there was an explosion beneath the window. i managed to get down onto the floor, everything flew around me." the explosion was so powerful that the iron gate crumpled like a piece of paper and the stone walls crumbled. russian ministry of defense has announced the names of heroes who are liberating news areas of ukraine from radicals a motorized rifle brigade under the command of colonel azatbek omurbekov occupied an important line of defense and held it, steadfastly repelling enemy attacks. thanks to this, control over one of the main directions was ensured. battery calculations of a missile division under lieutenant aleksey zelensky destroyed the most important military facilities, which significantly reduced the combat potential and capabilities of the nationalists. a motorized rifle company under the command of captain nikolai zubets liberated a settlement, and a few days later, having discovered that they were outnumbered by militants, zubets forced the militants to continue to retreat. the russian ministry of defense launched a portal about the liberation of mariupol in 1943 the historical portal "mariupol.liberation" is dedicated to the heroes of the great patriotic war. it was launched by the russian ministry of defense. the donbas operation of 1943 is in these documents: texts of radiograms, excerpts from combat logs, reports on the operation to liberate the city. particular attention is paid to award lists and descriptions of the feats of red army soldiers. there is special section about falsehoods created by the nazis. the ministry of defense notes that their current ukrainian followers use all the same criminal methods. in the zaporozhye region, units of the armed forces of ukraine fired on a hospital a rocket strike, a wave of an explosion, fire, yet doctors at the operating table are not interrupted for a moment. this happened in the zaporozhye region when units of the armed forces of ukraine hit the hospital with precision, there were no combat units nearby. alexei ivanov found out at what cost russian surgeons continue working in such conditions. marat hatagov, the commander of the special medical unit, said, "the roof is stitched together, and the oxygen. we're literally lucky they haven't exploded. the tanks are dented." when the attack happened almost all the medics were carrying out an urgent operation. as for the damage, you can see what kinds of conditions military doctors are forced to work in. these aren't just smashed windows, they're an opening. shrapnel flew out. you can see how the metal was bent. european officials offer citizens ways to save on electricity the price of the sanctions war. are the europeans ready to ruin their lives for the sake of the so called fight with russia? their authorities seem to have decided so. italy, which is facing an electricity shortage, has announced operation thermostat. from may, schools and public buildings will be banned from installing air conditioners in temperatures below 25 degrees celsius in summer. and in winter, the rooms cannot be higher than 19 degrees celsius. non compliance will be fined up to 3,000 euros. it's even sadder in germany. tips on how to save on everything are now popular in the media. close the refrigerator door faster, dry clothes on a line rather than in an electric dryer. this is not even the worst of it. people are being asked to wash less often, and even better without soap and not fully. thursday, april 21: ukraine disrupted the evacuation from the azovstal plant in mariupol, the russian defense ministry said the humanitarian operation at azovstal was cynically disrupted by the ukrainian authorities, our national defence control center said. nationalists and foreign mercenaries refused to lay down their arms and use the open corridor. an order from kiev never followed. russia has guaranteed life, security, and medical care for everyone who decides to surrender. according to the people's militia of the donetsk people's republic, in just two days, only five servicemen left the territory. but yesterday, it was possible to evacuate more than 100 civilians from the area near azovstal. they were taken to a safe place. kiev does not care about its military, in the same way that nationalists do not care about civilians. and here's confirmation of that. it became known that weapons and firing points are located in hospitals in slavyansk and lysychansk. epidemiological disaster is possible in nikolaev. there are no utilities, central water supply is turned off, people collect water from rivers, ponds and abandoned wells. meanwhile, the militants are handing out weapons to everyone. mikhail mizintsev, head of the national defense control center, said: "against the backdrop of the deteriorating humanitarian situation, territorial defense militants carry out mass uncontrolled distribution of weapons and medicines that contain drugs to the local population, conduct punitive raids in order to identify any signs of pro russian views among local residents. all suspects are detained and taken away in an unknown direction. during these violent raids, nationalists forcibly seize valuable property and food ostensibly for the needs of the territorial defense." famous journalist gonzalo lira lopez disappeared in kharkiv gonzalo lira lopez is an american journalist with chilean heritage, who has spoken about kiev's crimes against civilians. recently he worked in kharkiv, but on april 15, his communications stopped. according to media reports, his phone is still receiving messages and someone is even reading them, but there have been no replies. the chilean foreign ministry has already started searching for the journalist. in one of his recent articles on his blog, lira said he could be kidnapped by the ukrainian sbu. until april 15, his blog was updated daily   very often articles criticized the kiev regime. "violent criminals were released from kharkiv prisons   they were given uniforms and weapons   and they are actively preventing the evacuation of civilians. because of these criminals, it is now impossible to leave kharkov. not because of the russians, but because of the thugs of the zelensky regime. the zelensky regime is using civilians as human shields. that is why here, in kharkov, everyone is trapped," the journalist wrote. said scott ritter, a military analyst and un weapons inspector in iraq from 1991 to 1998: "gonzo [lira] said any disappearance of more than 12 hours should be treated as if something bad had happened to him. it's been five days. if this had been a new york times reporter disappearing in russian controlled territory, it would be headline news   especially if a chechen hunter killer' team had taken credit for his death. but with gonzo   silence." gonzalo lira is one of the few western journalists who spoke honestly about what is happening in ukraine (rare courage in the current realities). he often exposed falsehoods about russia and our military and tried to convey to the world the truth about the crimes of the armed forces of ukraine against the civilian population. ukrainian militants planned to blow up a building under the guise of russian and lugansk fighters the ukrainian propaganda factory is working at full capacity. more confirmation of this was discovered by the lugansk people's republic military. the militants were preparing a provocation   they were going to blow up one of the buildings, but in such a way as to blame our fighters and the lugansk fighters (a military uniform was found in the house, not at all similar to the ukrainian one). the terrible truth about the atrocities of the radicals is drowning in a stream of lies. in the west, it is somehow not customary to talk about this, but it has long been important to talk about what evil the defenders of donbas have been fighting against. they fight selflessly: they have something to fight for, people to fight for. the russian defense ministry published footage of the smerch multiple launch rocket system in operation the ministry of defense of the russian federation published footage of the smerch multiple launch rocket system in operation. information that was received from the scouts confirms that ammunition, equipment, and weapons of the armed forces of ukraine are currently located in a camouflaged airfield. the combat mission of the "smerch" is to destroy the warehouses. the footage shows the preparation and rocket launch. it hits right on target, as always. the delicate accuracy of the strike is confirmed by intelligence. after firing, the launchers take up new positions. dozens of bodies of civilians found in a mariupol hospital terrible footage from mariupol. we have previously said that ukrainian radicals are establishing firing points in hospitals. in yet more confirmation of this, military investigators found dozens of bodies of civilians in one of the city's hospitals. our investigative committee is conducting a criminal case, in which the main defendants are the military of the 36th marine brigade of the armed forces of ukraine, who are known for their cruelty. the command of the unit often ordered subordinates to fire at residential buildings and infrastructure facilities. recently, the commander of the marines was eliminated, and more than a thousand soldiers surrendered. a hospital was set up in a former hospital in the lugansk republic our doctors work with the doctors of the lugansk people's republic. patients are not divided into friends and foes. people are being brought back from the brink of death, including members of the ukrainian military. when they come around, they admit that they thought they would be subjected to torture and humiliation in captivity. and, actually, the opposite is true. vladimir chepikov, a ukrainian soldier said, "i was ridiculously scared. if it weren't for the russian army, i would have died of blood loss. i am so grateful to the russian army." china does not accept unilateral sanctions, xi jinping says china is against unilateral sanctions and double standards. chinese president xi jinping spoke about this today in his address to the participants of the asian economic forum on hainan island. "we are against unilateral sanctions and do not intend to pursue a policy aimed at forming blocs and intensifying confrontation. all countries are on the big ship of a common destiny. to overcome the stormy waves and sail towards a brighter future, they must work together. trying to throw someone into the sea is unacceptable. in today's world, any one sidedness is doomed for failure. any pressure, severing of ties, cutting off supplies is doomed for failure," xi jinping said. wednesday, april 20 russia asks militants and foreign mercenaries at the besieged azovstal plant to lay down their arms russia has once again invited nationalists and foreign mercenaries who are staying in azovstal to cease hostilities and lay down their arms from 2pm today. the russian armed forces are guided by humane principles. after all, the ukrainian authorities have not taken any action to save the military personnel of their own country. and the commanders of the armed formations are not ready to surrender without an order from kyiv, fearing a military tribunal. this was announced by the head of our national defense control center mikhail mizintsev. he particularly stressed once again: to everyone who lays down their arms, our country guarantees the preservation of life, complete security, and the provision of medical care. russia has already confirmed its humane attitude towards prisoners of war. all this has been said more than once yesterday, when russia declared a period of silence. buses and ambulances were ready for those who were at azovstal. no one came out along the humanitarian corridor. but our military evacuated more than 100 civilians, who were not on the territory of the plant itself, but in houses located nearby. they are all being helped now. in areas under shelling by ukrainian militants, people are forced to hide in basements there is no life, only survival   no medicine, no food. and a chilling habit of not flinching from nearby explosions was developed. the russian military and volunteers come to the rescue, bringing humanitarian supplies. russian football fans also sent a car with essential items. residents say that they have been fighting to survive not only for the past two months. the kiev regime has oppressed the russian speaking population for the past eight years as much as it could. one resident, valeriya norchenko, said: "we are not people to them. since 2014, we have had to lay barbed wire around us. we have had to throw bombs. here we have defective people. we're not people at all." russian humanitarian aid arrives in various ukrainian regions the path, of course, is not safe   the radicals can open fire at any moment. in one district, the passage of a column is monitored from the air with the help of an air balloon. according to reports, a group of saboteurs was spotted in the forest thanks to the air balloon. every day, the russian military defending donbass show resilience, courage, and professionalism private vasily shpilchin was involved in the liberation of a town. he discovered the militants, who had been tasked with preventing our troops from reaching the station, which was controlled by the nationalists. shpilchin destroyed the radicals and their equipment. as a result, the militants who occupied the station were left without fire support and they retreated. lieutenant colonel of the medical service khazbi makoev was so shell shocked during an attack that he lost consciousness. but as soon as he regained consciousness, he organized the evacuation of the wounded from the field hospital. he provided first aid to a total of 120 soldiers during fierce fighting. in kherson, which was liberated from ukrainian gangs, a replica of the banner of victory was raised in kherson, our soldiers raised a replica of the banner of victory. they had hoisted it over the reichstag in 1945. one of the main symbols of the great patriotic war has returned to the city memorial complex. and the residents acknowledged that they has been waiting a long time for this to happen. so far, many are afraid to speak openly about what they really feel years of living in fear has taken its toll. one resident, natalia, said: "we want the banner to be here, i want my grandson to learn russian, russian history and know victory. we support this. and many of us here support this." another resident, sergei said: "i specifically came to look at the eternal flame, at the flag that was raised on the flagpole. the red flag is the flag of victory. for me, this means liberation from what has been on this territory for 30 years," another symbol that ukraine tries to forget is the eternal flame. in kherson, it had been extinguished. this saved gas. it was turned on twice a year. the new administration ordered that the fire must always burn. the west calls for peace in its rhetoric, but in reality it pumps ukraine with weapons its rhetoric calls for peace, its actions incite war. such is the contradictory west, ready to pump ukraine with new weapons without stopping. romania now wants to change its legislation so that it is possible to legally donate weapons from state reserves to kiev. norway sent another 100 missile systems. britain promised to send new artillery. germany shrugs its shoulders: its own reserves are practically depleted, but there is a way out   kiev can buy everything it needs from german defense reserves, and berlin will compensate for the costs later. the united states is not excluded from this. lockheed martin corporation, a manufacturer of attack drones and anti tank javelins, has begun negotiations with the pentagon to increase military supplies. however, according to the cnn channel, the us is worried about who will actually get the weapons. deliveries are increasing, but in the end, they can't be responsible for them. what happens to weapons that are sent to ukraine? the us doesn't really know. cnn reported: "because the us military is not on the ground, the us and nato are heavily reliant on information provided by ukraine's government. privately, officials recognize that ukraine has an incentive to give only information that will bolster their case for more aid, more arms and more diplomatic assistance." one source told cnn, "we have almost no information in the fog of war."cnn reported: "everything drops into a big black hole, and you have almost no sense of it at all after a short period of time." un security council members yet again failed to reach an agreement on any points of dispute this irresponsible behavior can, in fact, only mean one thing: the west needs ukrainians like cannon fodder. the first deputy permanent representative of russia to the un, dmitry polyansky, was forced to say this at a meeting of the security council. it was yet another meeting that yielded no results. there was a fundamental refusal to hear about kiev's crimes and complete disregard for moscow's arguments. the sad truth, it turns out, is that financial gain for the west is more important than the fate of people. polyansky also said that biologists in kharkiv, linked to america's military industrial complex, carried out experiments on people. polyansky said: "the us scientists from a laboratory in merefa, kharkiv region were testing potentially dangerous biological drugs in the regional, clinical psychiatric hospital no. 3, between 2019 and 2021. persons with mental disorders were selected for experiments on the basis of their age, nationality, and immunity status." tuesday, april 19: the ukrainian army used heavy artillery in donbas there are reports that the armed forces of ukraine are shelling areas of the donetsk republic. civilians are suffering. yesterday alone, eight people were injured. the petrovsky district of donetsk, gorlovka, yasinovataya and a number of other settlements are under fire again. the situation is turbulent in the lugansk people's republic: there were three attacks in the past day. the ukrainian army used heavy artillery. shells were also fired from the smerch multiple launch rocket system. several buildings were damaged in pervomaisk, including an art school, a children's sports complex, the city administration, and the pension fund administration. the ministry of defense showed rare footage from the su 34 combat mission both day and night, under any weather conditions, even the most difficult ones, our pilots carry out combat missions on su 34 fighter bombers. rare footage was provided by the ministry of defense. first, there are comprehensive preparations: it is crucial to check the systems operations, refuel the aircraft, equip them with weapons of destruction, and secure these under the wing. the fighter bombers also carry air to ground guided missiles. the footage shows how these are launched in dense clouds. all the strikes are exceptionally accurate. the pilots fly with heavy overloads. but they always do their job well. volunteers help residents in the liberated cities of the lugansk people's republic volunteers have an important mission these days. they distribute food and medicine to people in the liberated towns and villages. life is not normal in areas, where fighting was still going on quite recently. there is no gas, no water, no electricity. nationalists left behind devastation when they retreated. infrastructure, which retreating nationalists tried to destroy as much as possible, has yet to be restored. one resident said, "we shut ourselves away at home, lit a candle, and sat. we waited, we knew nothing ... of course, it was very hard, but we'll live." a volunteer, kirill gubarev said, "in the first few weeks, people really wanted bread because there was a time, in the first two, three weeks after the fighting, when there was no bread at all." new heroes, who carry out tasks in the special military operation to protect the donbas, are named lieutenant colonel alexander lysenko along with an engineering and intelligence group under his command discovered nationalists, who were mining the access points to the town. they began fighting and, despite the superior forces of the enemies, defeated them. the operational actions of sergeant denis kaimakov, the commander of the crew of a rocket artillery platoon, made it possible to change the balance of power in the clash with the radicals, as a result, our military went on the counteroffensive. a tank brigade led by senior lieutenant abdu uali zhusupov did not allow the militants to escape encirclement. about 100 nationalists attempted to break through, but their counterattack was stopped. washington sent four more planeloads of weapons to ukraine the delivery is part of a $800 million batch of military assistance, which the united states promised kiev last week. the package contains a large number of shells and missiles for anti tank systems, as well as howitzers. they were handed over to kiev for the first time. the pentagon said that in the coming days they will send their instructors who will show the kiev security forces how to use the new equipment. master classes will be held outside of ukraine for certain members of the military, who will then pass on the knowledge to others. the american publication the new york times confirms that the ukrainian army uses cluster munitions against civilians while the american authorities are fuelling the situation by pumping weapons to ukraine, their media has suddenly begun to see clearly. kiev security forces, it turned out, are far from innocent: they quietly use prohibited weapons and target civilians. for us, of course, this is not news. moscow has repeatedly spoken about the crimes committed by kiev, only the west has stubbornly ignored all the evidence. the paper published an article about an attack on the town gusarovka near kharkov. the article said that a cluster munition which landed next to yulia doroshenko's house was not fired by russian forces. based on evidence reviewed by the new york times, it is very likely to have been launched by the ukrainian troops who were trying to retake the area. the paper acknowledged two important facts: first, the ukrainian army fired at civilian areas for almost a month. second, they did this using weapons that inflict damage on the maximum number of people in civilian areas. there are reports of new shelling by ukraine in belgorod alarming reports are now emerging from the belgorod region about new shelling from the ukrainian side. the shells exploded in a village located about 10 kilometers from the state border. this was confirmed by the governor of the region. at the moment, we know there was one victim and destruction. monday, april 18: new details emerge about an operation to take control of the ilyich plant in mariupol according to eduard basurin, deputy head of the people's militia of the donetsk people's republic, colonel vladimir baranyuk, the commander of the 36th brigade of marines of the armed forces of ukraine, was eliminated during the attempt to break through the plant. the donetsk republic forces then stopped the radicals from breaking out of the encirclement. about 50 ukrainian soldiers were eliminated and 42 surrendered. the very next day, more than a thousand marines, who were left without a commander, including 162 officers, voluntarily laid down their arms. they were in a disastrous situation at the plant. their food and ammunition had almost run out and many were wounded. how kiev thought they were going to break through is not very clear. another deception by the ukrainian command, which led the military to certain death. twenty five civilians in the donetsk people's republic suffered from shelling by ukraine shells are exploding in donbas again. another 25 civilians were injured in the donetsk people's republic by shelling from ukraine. among the wounded was a child. the petrovsky district of donetsk came under fire in the morning. the night before, gorlovka was under fire. over the past day a total of seven settlements were targeted. areas of the lugansk republic were shelled nine times in the last 24 hours alone. two women were injured and houses were damaged. these images, shared by our ministry of defense, show the aftermath of the strike by the armed forces of ukraine. ukrainian troops fired a tochka u missile at a civilian facility, a farm in the village of tokmak in zaporozhye. the images show how powerful the blow was. the owner of the farm said that the concrete slabs shattered like a house of cards. buildings and structures belonging to a private agricultural business have been completely destroyed and it is impossible to restore them. residents in liberated areas spoke about what the ukrainian radicals have done residents spent the night in basements, buried loved ones in the yards and were afraid to go out of hiding and onto the street for food and water. residents of the now liberated territories have spoken about what the ukrainian militants did. the radicals fired indiscriminately. they kicked people out of shelters. the nationalists left behind a complete devastation. there was no gas, water and electricity. maksim gigoriev, a member of russia's civic chamber, said: "local people told us that the ukrainian military attacked here and other areas. there was no military sense in this, there weren't any units of the lugansk people's republic here, which means they specifically fired at the homes of civilians." new names of heroes who tenaciously and courageously liberate territories from nationalists yevgeny komarov, a senior driver of the automobile battalion, delivered ammunition to the military and came under enemy fire. despite multiple shrapnel wounds, he brought the car to a safe zone. our fighters received ammunition in a timely manner and continued their offensive. thanks to the decisive actions of senior lieutenant vadim gavrikov and the tank platoon under his command, one of the settlements was liberated from the gangs. long term firing points used by the radicals were destroyed. a howitzer artillery platoon under the command of sergeant nikolai mikhailov identified and hit the position of nationalists, armed with anti tank guided missiles, grenade launchers and small arms. in the liberated berdyansk, the russian military helps residents to improve their lives there is a new life in the liberated berdyansk without the shelling and atrocities that were carried out by radicals before our military arrived. the nationalists were kicked out of there at the very start of the special operation to protect donbas, and this became a turning point in the city's history. local residents acknowledge that they really wanted russia's support. our fighters continue to help residents improve their lives. a local resident, victoria pahomova, said: "we are so happy that, finally, our motherland came for us, came to rescue us. we suffered so much during this time. you can't even imagine." local residents say this is a new chapter in the history of the city. there are still problems with getting money and medicine, but strategic businesses in berdyansk have not stopped working. at a bakery, flour is now delivered from russia through a humanitarian corridor. the national guard has secured safety in berdyansk since the first day of its liberation from bandit groups. friday, april 15: the russian defense ministry reported new provocations by neo nazis our defense ministry said that new provocations were prepared by kyiv forces in an attempt to discredit our army. according to the head of the national defense control center mikhail mizintsev, neo nazis laid mines on a car overpass in the city konstantinovka, which is a major donetsk railway junction. in the near future, the bandits want to destroy the overpass and blame our military for destroying important civilian infrastructure. the western media will immediately repeat yet another fake story, according to mizintsev. our military department also has data about the militants mining a dam on the uglegorskaya tpp (thermal power plant) reservoir. in the event of an explosion, several areas and approximately 15,000 civilians could be under threat of flooding. last night, ukrainian users actively posted videos on social media, showing flashes and explosions. users wrote that the russian armed forces were responsible for the attacks. according to the people who took these videos, the last major oil refinery in ivano frankivsk was destroyed. videos also appeared from krivoy rog, kharkov and zhitomir. according to reports, several districts of the ukrainian capital are without electricity. earlier our ministry of defense said that if attempted acts of sabotage from the ukrainian side do not stop, there will be retaliation. strategic centers will be hit, including in kyiv. a network of call centers was discovered in berdyansk: callers, pretending to be bank employees, tricked russians there have been interesting discoveries in the territories liberated from ukrainian bandit groups. in berdyansk, a network of call centers was uncovered, where ukrainian callers tried to scam people in russia. unfortunately, a lot of people became victims of the scam. callers pretended to be from a bank's security service. it was revealed that this network is connected to the sbu and the controversial ukrainian oligarch, kolomoisky. the russian defense ministry published documents about atrocities committed by ukrainian nationalists during the great patriotic war and in the post war years they committed crimes against their own people civilians. the reports were published in a special section on the ministry's site. the materials show that the banderites, who tried to pass themselves off as the red army, tortured and killed women, children, and elderly people with particular cruelty. moreover, no matter how much ukrainian nationalists claim that they fought against the nazi invaders, the documents confirm that they served the occupiers from the very start of the war. every day, the russian military shows courage and bravery during a special operation to defend the donbas daniil postnikov's advance team prevented an ambush by ukrainian saboteurs. some of the militants laid down their weapons, including a gun spotter. during the interrogation, he revealed the location of his artillery division, which was quickly destroyed. ruslan mansurov's team went into a battle with two armed formations. the militants failed to contain the attack. more than 35 pieces of equipment and a large number of enemy manpower were destroyed. senior lieutenant arseniy pavlov identified saboteurs, who were preparing an attack. during the battle, he sustained an injury from shrapnel, but he still continued to fight and protect his comrades. as a result, all the nationalists were destroyed. missile cruiser "moskva" sank while being towed according to the ministry of defense, "moskva" sank during a storm. due to serious damage to the hull, the ship lost its stability and capsized. earlier, our defense ministry reported that ammunition exploded on the ship, starting a fire. the ministry of defense said that the crew was evacuated to other ships of the black sea fleet. thursday, april 14: neo nazis trapped civilians in a monastery in the donetsk people's republic "neo nazis have blockaded over 450 civilians, including children, women with babies, elderly people and critically ill patients on life support, as well as cancer and insulin dependent patients, in the nikolo vasilyevsky monastery in the volnovakha district of the donetsk people's republic. the monastery and the only road leading to it are constantly shelled from mortars and heavy machine guns. people were killed and wounded. it is practically impossible to deliver vital medicines, food, and essentials to the monastery, as well as to evacuate people," said mikhail mizintsev, head of the national defense control center of the russian federation. also, according to our ministry of defense, three new radical battalions are being trained in kharkov. they are made up of prisoners who served sentences for grave crimes in correctional facilities. these groups blocked the city from the south side so that people were unable to leave the dangerous territory. the u.s. will deliver a new batch of military aid to ukraine worth hundreds of millions of dollars the pentagon has revealed what kinds of weapons and how many kyiv will receive from washington as part of a new military aid package. this includes: another batch of mi 17 helicopters, three hundred attack drones, 200 armored personnel carriers, as well as howitzers, radars for direct guidance, and mobile radar stations. it should be noted that some of the weapons are being provided to kiev for the first time, which means the ukrainian military will still need to be trained to use them. the americans are not planning to do this in ukraine. they are going to send representatives of the armed forces of ukraine abroad. the new package is estimated at $800 million. under joe biden's administration, washington has already allocated more than three billion to help the kiev authorities. at the same time, the forces of the donetsk and lugansk people's republic and our military have found that weapons that the west pumps into ukraine, as well as ammunition and training manuals, have been abandoned in the liberated settlements. more than 1.000 ukrainian soldiers laid down their arms yesterday the number of people who have surrendered to our military and the donetsk and lugansk people's militia is growing by the day. the kiev forces often abandon their own people when they start to flee from their posts, as was the case with fighters in mariupol, who were stationed in mariupol at the ilyich plant. yesterday, more than 1.000 ukrainian soldiers laid down their arms in the largest group that has raised the white flag since the start of the special operation in donbas. a serviceman of the armed forces of ukraine said: "during the retreat, i was wounded, i was abandoned by my own people, left to bleed out, after 30 minutes i saw the servicemen of the dpr. they gave me a cigarette, ... they took me to a car that took me to the hospital, i was very surprised that this was all being done, since i am an enemy for them. they're providing everything possible, medicines, all the essentials, the doctors are doing their job. ... it's a sin to complain and there's nothing to complain about, so why criticize them." the ministry of defense of the russian federation showed the work of anti tank missile systems the self propelled "shturm s" and portable "fagot" are not only used to combat enemy armored vehicles, they are also capable of hitting low flying air targets. our military department said that during this attack enemy tanks, long term firing points and other engineering structures were destroyed. distinguished russian fighters receive awards, right on the front line the russian military has acted decisively and courageously in the fight against the neo nazis. the fighters received the order of courage, the zhukov, and "for courage" medals. the state awards were presented by the commander of the troops of the central military district, colonel general alexander lapin. russian manufacturers manage to make sanctions work in their favor the so called collective west is trying to strangle the russian economy with sanctions. but russian entrepreneurs are seeing this as a chance to develop their own business. they're setting new tasks, looking for and finding partners, expanding. import substitution is gaining momentum in a variety of industries, from catering to beauty and designer clothes. orphans from the donetsk and lugansk people's republics will be welcomed in moscow next week, children who have been left without parents will be brought to foster families in the moscow region. maria lvova belova, commissioner for children's rights, "a process was developed for transferring children from the lnr and dnr under temporary guardianship to families. ... what is important to me, is that these families will be selected for specific children, we will not select children for families." wednesday, april 13: the russian ministry of defense announced that there is a new planned provocation by the kiev regime our ministry of defense warned that the kiev authorities are preparing a new provocation. they plan to stage the incident in the city of irpen. western journalists will spin the fake news to discredit the russian military. mikhail mizintsev, head of russia's national defense control center, said: "the kiev authorities, under the patronage of the countries of the collective west led by the united states, continue to collect pseudo evidence of russia's culpability. to this end, a curfew and complete blockade of the city irpin is being put in place from 06:00 on april 12, 2022 to 09:00 on april 15, 2022, while entry during this period will be allowed only to representatives of law enforcement agencies and 'unspecified' volunteers. it has been reliably established that this period of time will be used by kiev to carry out a provocation with the organization of cynical staged filming and further promotion of the fake by the western media." our embassy in the united states has reacted to statements from the state department, which allege russia could use chemical weapons in ukraine. these statements are unfounded, the russian diplomats stressed. they also emphasized that our armed forces do not have chemical warfare agents and all stocks of chemical weapons were destroyed back in 2017. channel one presenter irina kuksenkova spoke about who protected her during the shelling of mariupol irina kuksenkova was injured while filming a report in the industrial zone of mariupol. she was preparing a report about the work of our military, and it was they who heroically shielded her during the shelling from the gangs. the troops received prompt medical assistance: the wounds were light, someone was barely hurt. kuksenkova said: "a big thank you. i wish them good health so that they can quickly return to service. they themselves said they want this very much. people need to know what our russian army is like. there is such a spirit of unity, of brotherhood, of sticking together." a woman holds a child next to russian soldiers in a street of mariupol on april 12, 2022, as russian troops intensify a campaign to take the strategic port city, part of an anticipated massive onslaught across eastern ukraine, while russia's president makes a defiant case for the war on russia's neighbor.   *editor's note: this picture was taken during a trip organized by the russian military.* alexander nemenov/afp via getty images decisive actions, bravery, and courage allow russian servicemen to fulfill their duty the russian ministry of defense released the names of new heroes. among them are corporal mikhail krylov. he discovered a unit of ukrainian saboteurs, who were preparing to attack our convoy. krylov was one of the first to fight them. the corporal hampered the actions of the neo nazis with intense fire and ensured that main forces were deployed. even when he was wounded, he continued to attack the radicals. the enemy was defeated. ukraine's security service released a photo of viktor medvedchuk in handcuffs the story about the detention of viktor medvedchuk, the head of the opposition platform   for life party, has developed. according to reports, a new photo of him in handcuffs was distributed by the security service of ukraine. vladimir zelensky announced that medvedchuk was taken into custody as a result of a special operation by the security service of ukraine. and now it has become clear why. a few hours later, the ukrainian president recorded a video message, though not to his people, but to our country. he offered to exchange the medvedchuk for ukrainian prisoners of war. medvedchuk is not at war and has not yet been convicted of anything. every day, russia opens humanitarian corridors for refugees from kharkov and mariupol humanitarian corridors operate from 10 am. moreover, according to our ministry of defense, russia is ready to organize safe routes and evacuate citizens in other directions as soon as possible. in the meantime, those who manage to escape from the hands of neo nazis are being placed in the russian regions. about a thousand refugees from ukraine, including 300 children, were welcomed in tatarstan alone. humanitarian aid   essential items and, for children, toys   are being collected. refugees recall with horror how, until recently, they were hiding from shelling and how they were used as human shields by the radicals. armed forces of ukraine continue shelling the lugansk people's republic with phosphorus and cluster shells fighters of the lugansk people's republic step by step, village by village, are pushing back ukrainian units to prevent this from happening again. the armed forces of ukraine, not sparing civilians, continue shelling, including with the use of banned weapons   phosphorus or cluster bombs, and they leave anti personnel mines on the ground. the eternal flame in kherson was lit for the first time in a while local residents carry flowers to the memorial that commemorates the unparalleled courage of the soviet soldiers, who died for the liberation of the city during the great patriotic war. people say that various reasons have been given for the extinguishing of the eternal flame, including, they say, to save gas. but the truth is that in recent years people have not actually had the opportunity to honor the memory of those who fought against fascism. now that the city is under the control of the russian military, this is no longer a problem. tuesday, april 12: eleven people were injured in the donetsk republic as a result of shelling by ukrainian security forces. nine of the victims were residents of mariupol. this was reported by the joint center for control on the ceasefire. in total, our military has already evacuated 135,000 people from the city through humanitarian corridors. in the meantime, russian troops and the donetsk people's republic forces continue to successfully advance in the area of the azovstal factory industrial zone, where radical groups operate. assault units have reportedly been trained for operations in complex industrial areas. their task is to destroy the positions of the "azov" gang, which is banned in russia. channel one correspondent irina kuksenkova was injured during an attack by nationalists in mariupol as she was preparing for her next report, irina and her colleagues came under enemy fire. ira was injured. operator dmitry kachurin and sound engineer nikita sevastyanov were not injured. we wish ira a speedy recovery and return to the office. and one more thing, which i cannot but mention: the injuries would have been much more serious if ira had not been covered by the soldiers accompanying her, who actually took the brunt of the blow. they are now also in the hospital. we hope everything goes well with them. and thanks to them for being there at the right time. local residents share a conversation while sat on a bench on april 13, 2022 in borodianka, ukraine. rescue workers are still removing rubble from the destroyed residential area after the withdrawal of russian troops during their invasion of ukraine. anastasia vlasova/getty images every day, the russian military shows courage and heroism on the front lines, standing up for civilians the names of the new heroes include lieutenant colonel andrei garanin. the lieutenant colonel and his battalion restored the strategically important bridge which neo nazis had destroyed during their retreat. the group also cleared two high explosive mines, all under continuous mortar fire. when one of garanin's subordinates was wounded, the lieutenant colonel gave him first aid and continued to lead the personnel. the eu plans to intensify the supply of weapons to ukraine this statement was made by german foreign minister annalena berbock, following an eu foreign ministers meeting in luxembourg. german chancellor olaf scholz also confirmed berlin's intention to continue pumping weapons into ukraine. however, the weapons that the west supplies to the ukrainian security forces and gangs often end up in the hands of the donetsk and lugansk republic forces. the armed forces of ukraine simply throw away the weapons when they retreat. the russian ministry of defense showed footage of a ukrainian drone being destroyed the crew of the "admiral essen" frigate of the black sea fleet shot down the drone off the coast of crimea. according to our ministry of defense, the drone gathered intelligence about the actions of the ships of the black sea fleet, as well as coastal and ground positions of russia's military equipment. russia's ministry of emergency situations delivers more than a thousand tons of humanitarian cargo to donbas and ukraine about 120 cars delivered essential supplies: food, bottled water, as well as furniture, especially, beds and bedding. more than 700,000 refugees came to russia during the special military operation humanitarian aid is now being collected for those who have already arrived in our country. мore than 700,000 people have been welcomed in different parts of russia. the stories of everyone who got out of this hell can leave no one indifferent. that is why now any support is like a cure for pain. monday, april 11: eleven people were injured in the donetsk republic as a result of shelling by ukrainian security forces. nine of the victims were residents of mariupol. this was reported by the joint center for control on the ceasefire. in total, our military has already evacuated 135,000 people from the city through humanitarian corridors. in the meantime, russian troops and the donetsk people's republic forces continue to successfully advance in the area of the azovstal factory industrial zone, where radical groups operate. assault units have reportedly been trained for operations in complex industrial areas. their task is to destroy the positions of the "azov" gang, which is banned in russia. channel one correspondent irina kuksenkova was injured during an attack by nationalists in mariupol as she was preparing for her next report, irina and her colleagues came under enemy fire. ira was injured. operator dmitry kachurin and sound engineer nikita sevastyanov were not injured. we wish ira a speedy recovery and return to the office. and one more thing, which i cannot but mention: the injuries would have been much more serious if ira had not been covered by the soldiers accompanying her, who actually took the brunt of the blow. they are now also in the hospital. we hope everything goes well with them. and thanks to them for being there at the right time. local residents share a conversation while sat on a bench on april 13, 2022 in borodianka, ukraine. rescue workers are still removing rubble from the destroyed residential area after the withdrawal of russian troops during their invasion of ukraine. anastasia vlasova/getty images every day, the russian military shows courage and heroism on the front lines, standing up for civilians the names of the new heroes include lieutenant colonel andrei garanin. the lieutenant colonel and his battalion restored the strategically important bridge which neo nazis had destroyed during their retreat. the group also cleared two high explosive mines, all under continuous mortar fire. when one of garanin's subordinates was wounded, the lieutenant colonel gave him first aid and continued to lead the personnel. the eu plans to intensify the supply of weapons to ukraine this statement was made by german foreign minister annalena berbock, following an eu foreign ministers meeting in luxembourg. german chancellor olaf scholz also confirmed berlin's intention to continue pumping weapons into ukraine. however, the weapons that the west supplies to the ukrainian security forces and gangs often end up in the hands of the donetsk and lugansk republic forces. the armed forces of ukraine simply throw away the weapons when they retreat. the russian ministry of defense showed footage of a ukrainian drone being destroyed the crew of the "admiral essen" frigate of the black sea fleet shot down the drone off the coast of crimea. according to our ministry of defense, the drone gathered intelligence about the actions of the ships of the black sea fleet, as well as coastal and ground positions of russia's military equipment. russia's ministry of emergency situations delivers more than a thousand tons of humanitarian cargo to donbas and ukraine about 120 cars delivered essential supplies: food, bottled water, as well as furniture, especially, beds and bedding. more than 700,000 refugees came to russia during the special military operation humanitarian aid is now being collected for those who have already arrived in our country. мore than 700,000 people have been welcomed in different parts of russia. the stories of everyone who got out of this hell can leave no one indifferent. that is why now any support is like a cure for pain. newsletters in your inbox see all company editions: contact terms of use © 2025 newsweek digital llc

my reporting on the invasion of ukraine led to an assassination order being issued   and then came the mysterious illness i didn’t want to write this for a long time. i feel disgusted, afraid, ashamed. even now, i can’t write about everything i know because i have to protect the people who saved my life. on 24 february 2022, my country attacked ukraine. the day of the invasion, i went to ukraine on assignment from novaya gazeta, the independent russian newspaper where i had been working for 17 years. i crossed the polish ukrainian border on the night of 25 february. over the course of four weeks, thanks to the incredible support of countless ukrainians, i was able to file stories from the border, odesa, mykolaiv and kherson. kherson was under occupation. getting in and out meant crossing the frontlines twice. in kherson, russian soldiers were kidnapping and torturing people. i found people who had survived being tortured. i found the detention centre where the kidnapped people were being held. i learned the names of 44 kidnapped people and the circumstances in which they were taken. i published my article and handed over what i had uncovered to the ukrainian prosecutor general’s office. the next place i was aiming to report from was the southern ukrainian city of mariupol, where there was active combat and on many days there were no humanitarian corridors. the only occasionally passable road lay through zaporizhzhia. it often came under fire, and as you approached mariupol, the russian checkpoints began. nevertheless, people travelled this road every day in order to try to rescue their loved ones from the city as it was being destroyed. i decided to travel with them. on 28 march, i entered zaporizhzhia. waiting at a checkpoint, i started getting messages from friends: “assholes.” “hang in there.” “let me know if i can help.” that’s how i found out that novaya gazeta had shut down. the paper had received its second warning that year from the state censorship agency, which meant it could lose its licence. i’d been expecting this from the moment of the incursion, but i didn’t know how painful it would be. i decided to go to mariupol anyway. i’d publish my piece wherever i could. i met with volunteers and the people heading to mariupol to rescue their relatives. i found someone willing to take me in their car despite my having a russian passport. we arranged to leave on 31 march. i spent the day before our trip in a hotel, trying to gather my strength. a colleague from novaya called me and asked if i was going to mariupol. i was puzzled   only two people from the paper knew i was going to mariupol: the editor in chief, dmitry muratov, and my editor olga bobrova. i said: “yes, i am going tomorrow.” she said: “my sources have got in touch with me. they know that you’re going to mariupol. they say that the kadyrovites have orders to find you.” the kadyrovites, a chechen subdivision of the russian national guard, were actively engaged in the fighting around mariupol   they manned the checkpoints. my colleague said: “they’re not planning to hold you. they are going to kill you. it’s been approved.” it was like running into a wall. i went deaf; everything went white. i said: “i don’t believe you.” she said: “that’s what i told them, too   that i didn’t believe them. then they played me a recording of you talking to someone about mariupol, planning your trip. i recognised your voice.” she hung up; i sat down on the bed. i didn’t think anything, i just sat. forty minutes later, my source from ukrainian military reconnaissance called. he said: “we have information that an assassination of a female journalist from novaya gazeta is being organised in ukraine. your description has been sent to every russian checkpoint.” an hour later, muratov called me. he said: “you have to leave ukraine this minute.” but i couldn’t make myself leave. the following morning, i woke up to messages from an editor at novaya. the russian prosecutor general’s office and the russian media regulator, roskomnadzor, had demanded they take my reporting from ukraine down from their website or else the site would be blocked. novaya complied. somehow this was what crushed me. i started crying and couldn’t stop. then rage came in place of the tears, and it filled my entire being. i tried to find another way into mariupol, bypassing the russian checkpoints. but there was active combat everywhere. the only road was through zaporizhzhia, and they were waiting for me on that road. in the end the thing that stopped me was thinking what would happen to the person who agreed to take me in their car. if i got killed, they wouldn’t be spared. on the night of 1 april, i left ukraine. i left in a very bad state. i had lice, mumps and ptsd. my friends took me in; they passed me from hand to hand. my girlfriend yana came from russia and took care of me, made sure i was eating and sleeping. my plan was to get better, finish the book i was writing and go back to russia. all of my work, my entire life, my mother and sister   they are all there. the worse the news from home got, the more i felt like i needed to be there. on the evening of 28 april, muratov called me. he spoke in a very gentle voice. he said: “i know that you want to come home. but you cannot go back to russia. they will kill you.” i hung up the phone and started screaming. i stood in the street and screamed. a month later, we were able to meet. muratov said: “they’ll make it look like a hate crime. the people on the right hate lesbians.” by that stage i was working on my book. i wrote, and only thought about what i was writing. there wasn’t room for anything else in my head. those were the best days. at the end of september, i got in touch with muratov again. i asked him to find out if i could return to russia. he called me back several days later. “no. no. no.” i found an apartment in berlin and moved there. on 29 september, i began working for the website meduza. we decided that my first reporting trip would be to iran. i’d been there before, and i found people who would help me, got a visa, bought clothes. we decided that after iran, i would go to ukraine. meduza asked me to submit the paperwork for a ukrainian visa before i left. i couldn’t fill out an application or make an appointment at the ukrainian embassy on their website   it wouldn’t let me. the ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs hotline told me their website was being attacked by hackers, so it was impossible to deal with my request for now. i started looking for contacts within the embassy. i got someone to agree to see me in their consulate in munich. i have to admit that i corresponded about my trip to munich over facebook messenger. it’s not secure, and i knew that. but i wasn’t in russia   i was in germany. i didn’t even think about the basic tenets of my security, the protocols i’d been following for years. on the evening of 17 october, i booked a seat on an overnight train to munich. on the train i took off my shoes, curled up on the seat and slept. people walked past me; they knocked into my feet. i kept sleeping. when i arrived in munich, i went to meet my friend, tried to get some sleep, then went to the embassy. the staff questioned me, asking what i was planning to do in ukraine. they took my documents, but i still wasn’t able to apply for a visa   there were problems with their internal system. they said i should come back another day. my friend picked me up at the embassy and we went to get lunch. we sat outside at a restaurant. while we were sitting there, two different groups of her acquaintances happened to run into us. they came up to our table   there was a man, and then two women. i thought: “what a small town munich is. it really seems like everyone knows each other.” i went to the bathroom, still thinking about my visa. then my friend took me to the train station. as we approached it, she said: “listen, i have to tell you: you smell bad. let me find you some deodorant.” i remember i was shocked by what she said   she’s a very tactful person and she would have never said anything if i hadn’t actually smelled terrible. when i got on the train, i found my seat and immediately went to the bathroom. i wet some paper towels and started wiping myself off with them. i was covered in sweat. the sweat smelled strong and strange, like rotten fruit. i sat down and started reading the manuscript of my book. after a while, i realised that i was just reading the same paragraph over and over. my head ached. i’d had covid three weeks earlier. i thought: “do i really have it again?” i called yana. i said: “i feel unwell. i hope it’s not covid   how will i go to iran if it is?” i tried to get back to the book, but i was feeling worse. my headache got so bad i couldn’t look at things any more. i kept sweating. i went back to the bathroom and wiped myself off again. when i got out at the train station, i couldn’t figure out how to get home. i knew that i needed to transfer to the subway but i couldn’t figure out how. i considered going outside and calling a cab, but the very thought of having to find my location on the map in the app terrified me. i looked for the right entrance to the subway for a long time. when i finally got there, i burst into tears   i didn’t know what direction i was supposed to go in. other passengers helped me. the walk home from the subway is five minutes. it took much longer. every few steps, i had to put my bag down   it seemed unbearably heavy   and rest. on the stairs i got short of breath. i thought to myself: “this fucking covid has really messed me up.” as soon as i got home, i went to sleep. i was woken up by a pain in my stomach. it was strange   very strong but not sharp, it came and went as though being turned on and off. i tried to sit up but i had to lie back down. i felt so dizzy   it was like the room was spinning. with every rotation, i grew more nauseous. i got to the bathroom, where i threw up. i kept corresponding with the iranians. i cried. it was supposed to be my first trip for my new job, and now this. the pain in my stomach kept getting worse. it was painful to even touch the skin. i barely slept those first few nights   as soon as i drifted off, i would be woken up by the pain. my head kept spinning whenever i sat down or got up. on the third day, it became clear that i was not going anywhere, and that whatever i had wasn’t covid. it isn’t easy to see a doctor in berlin. i was only able to get an appointment on 28 october, 10 days after i became ill. it was a regular clinic in my neighbourhood. the doctors   there were two of them   both immediately said that i had long covid: “it can go on for up to six months. if you don’t feel better six months from now, come back.” but they did an ultrasound: all clear. they tapped on my stomach. i got them to do some blood tests. i came out of the clinic feeling comforted   it was nothing, i’d get better soon. the blood tests came back bad. the levels of alt and ast (alanine and aspartate aminotransferase) enzymes in my liver were five times above normal. they tested my urine. there was blood in it. the doctors stopped joking around. i was referred to a specialist. she said it was most likely viral hepatitis. “we’ll figure out which one it is and then treat it,” she said. the hepatitis tests came back negative. my symptoms kept changing. my stomach hurt less and i got less dizzy. but i was totally weak. my face started swelling, and then my fingers. i barely managed to take my rings off, and could not get them back on again. my fingers looked like sausages. then my feet started swelling. the swelling kept getting worse   i lost sight of my chin, my face was no longer my face. when i looked in the mirror, it took me a moment to recognise myself. sometimes my heart would start racing. sometimes my palms and the bottoms of my feet would start to burn, turning red and shiny. everything was exhausting. it was hard to go down the stairs. sometimes yana and i would go out for 15 minutes, half an hour, and i would get so tired that i’d have to go home. i stopped being able to sleep, but it was not about the pain. it was as though my brain had forgotten how to fall asleep. i’d lie there for hours trying not to wake up yana, looking up at the ceiling and wondering what was wrong with me. my hepatic enzyme levels kept rising. there was still blood in my urine. i kept going to doctors. the doctors would come up with theories, test them, come up with new ones: autoimmune diseases, acute complicated pyelonephritis, systemic diseases. meduza put me in touch with a doctor they trusted. the doctor decided to retest me for hepatitis. the tests came back negative. while i was heading home, he wrote to me: “is it possible that you have been poisoned?” i replied: “no, i am not that dangerous.” i told yana; we laughed. she said: “oh yeah, the simplest explanation. she must have been poisoned   she is a russian journalist.” on 12 december, i went back to my local doctor. i got a new round of tests, and the results had got worse: my alt was seven times above normal. we sat in her office. she said nothing, going through her papers. then she said: “elena, there are two theories left. the first one is that the antidepressants you’re on may have suddenly started working aberrantly. but you recently changed medications, and your symptoms and test results haven’t changed. that’s why we have a second theory. please try to stay calm. you may have been poisoned.” i laughed. the doctor stayed silent. i said: “that’s impossible.” she said: “we’ve ruled out all other options. i’m sorry. you need to go to the toxicology department at charité [the university hospital].” i spent the next three days lying in bed and thinking. i don’t remember what i was thinking about. yana says that the first day i said it was stupid and that the doctors had made a mistake   it was just that they couldn’t diagnose what what wrong with me and didn’t want to run any more tests. then i stopped talking. then i got in touch with meduza and we started trying to figure out what to do next. in order to get blood tests done for poisoning, you have to go to the police. so i did. from the police station, they sent me straight to the hospital. the police officers turned up at the hospital to talk to me and the doctors. my first session was with the berlin criminal police and lasted nine hours. they wanted to know everything: what i was working on, and planning to work on, who i had been in contact with in ukraine, which colleagues i was in contact with now. i had to reconstruct 17 and 18 october minute by minute. my clothes and apartment were checked for radiation. my body, too. they took the clothes i’d travelled to munich with. then the police did a “safety check” of my apartment. an officer asked me: “why are your blinds open? you could easily be shot from the balcony across the way.” the police told me i needed to follow new safety protocols. like what? “move house. take different routes home. don’t get cabs directly to your destination; get out a block away. wear sunglasses.” “that’s it?” “well, it will all help your chances.” the police officers were angry at me. they didn’t show it, but after the third round of questioning, we started talking. the senior detective had run the investigation into the killing of zelimkhan khangoshvili, a former chechen field commander, who had been shot in central berlin in 2019. the killer was quickly caught thanks to eyewitnesses and security camera footage. his passport said he was vadim sokolov, but journalists and police established that his real name was vadim krasikov and that he had ties to the fsb security service. he received a life sentence in germany for murder “on the orders of the russian government, being a part of the russian law enforcement apparatus”. the judge called what happened “state terrorism”. in 2022, russia filed two separate requests to include krasikov on the list of prisoners up for exchange, but germany refused. the same senior detective had in 2018 investigated the poisoning of petr verzilov, the publisher of mediazona and a member of pussy riot. he had been taken to charité from moscow on a private plane, convulsing and delirious. verzilov’s friends found that the berlin hospital was under surveillance by the russians. the police offered verzilov protection and opened an investigation. “and we weren’t able to establish anything. not even the substance used.” “how come?” “because it’s impossible to ask a lab: ‘was this person poisoned?’ you can only ask if there was a specific substance present in their body. and there are thousands of substances. that’s why it’s such a popular means of assassination. “we can’t understand why it took you this long to come to us. you should have called the police right away, as soon as you felt sick on the train. we would have met you at the station.” “but i didn’t think i’d been poisoned. i’m still not sure.” “why didn’t you think so?” “it seemed crazy to me. and i’m in europe.” “so what?” “i felt like i was safe.” “that is what drives us crazy,” the detective said. “you come here and act like you’re on holiday. like this is some paradise. it doesn’t even occur to you to keep yourself safe. we have political killings here. the russian special services are active in germany. your carelessness, yours and your colleagues, knows no bounds.” i was not kept informed of the progress of the investigation. on 2 april, at a journalism conference, i was approached by roman dobrokhotov, editor in chief of the insider, an independent russia focused news website. he took me aside. “lena, i have a personal question. but first i need to tell you something. christo grozev from bellingcat and i have been investigating a series of poisonings in europe. all the known targets are female russian journalists. i want to ask you: you haven’t written anything for a long time   is it because you’ve been sick?” and i told him what i am telling you now. on 2 may, i got a letter from the berlin prosecutor general’s office telling me that the investigation into my attempted assassination had been closed. the police had not found “any indication” that there had been an attempt to kill me. “blood test results do not conclusively indicate poisoning,” it said. the doctors speaking to the insider and bellingcat said that the most likely explanation for what had happened to me was that i’d been poisoned with a chloroorganic compound. i passed this information on to the police. on 21 july, the prosecutor’s office reopened the case. how am i now? the pain, nausea and swelling have gone. i still have no energy. i left meduza   i am a long way away from being able to return to the field. right now i can work three hours a day. this keeps increasing, but slowly. there are days when i can’t do anything. i lie there and try not to hate myself. while i was writing this, i strove to establish the chronology of events, and to remember all the important details. but which details are really important? last november, a friend of mine came to berlin. he is a publisher   not an activist, not a journalist, not a politician. he came over and he was horrified at the state i was in. he said: “do you understand that you may have been poisoned? have you talked to your doctors about that?” i said: “i haven’t and i am not going to   that’s stupid.” i said: “don’t try to infect me with your paranoia.” i had lied to the police when i told them the idea of being poisoned “seemed crazy” to me   it didn’t. during my time at novaya gazeta, four of my colleagues were killed. i organised the funeral of journalist mikhail beketov. he’d been a friend. i knew that journalists got murdered. but i did not want to believe that they could kill me. i was protected from this thought by revulsion, shame and exhaustion. it disgusted me to think that there were people who wanted me dead. i was ashamed to talk about it. even with loved ones, let alone the police. and i knew how exhausted i was, how little strength i had left, and that i wouldn’t be able to go on the run again. my book i love russia: reporting from a lost country is coming out in october. it is about how russia descended into fascism. it is coming out in several languages simultaneously. the police believe it might become a trigger   that the people who tried to kill me in ukraine, and possibly in germany, will try again. i want to live. that’s why i’m writing this. i also want my colleagues and friends, activists and political refugees currently living abroad to be careful   more careful than i have been. we are not safe, and we will not be safe, until there is regime change in russia. the work we do could help to bring this regime down, and it is defending itself. if you are suddenly ill, please do not discount the possibility that you may have been poisoned. tell your doctors. fight for yourself. and if it’s already happened to you, please make contact with the investigative teams at the insider or bellingcat. they are looking for the people who are trying to kill us. translated from russian by bela shayevich. a version of this article first appeared in n+1 follow the long read on twitter at @gdnlongread, listen to our podcasts here and sign up to the long read weekly email here.

free newsletters sign up now russian president vladimir putin has threatened that the conflict could spread after ukraine fired u.s. supplied longer range missiles nov. 19 and u.k. supplied cruise missiles nov. 20 into russian territory. as russia's full scale invasion reached the 1,000 day mark nov. 19, ukraine still stands as "a testament to the miraculous endurance of our people, to god's grace," said archbishop borys a. gudziak of the ukrainian catholic archeparchy of philadelphia. as the 1,000th day since russia launched its large scale invasion of ukraine approached, the vatican secretary of state said he hoped the milestone would "awaken a sense of responsibility in everyone, especially those who can stop the ongoing carnage." russia's latest blockage of western religious websites and social media accounts tightens the kremlin's chokehold on russian residents' information access, the editor of a ukrainian religious news outlet told osv news. italian cardinal matteo zuppi of bologna, pope francis' envoy for peace in ukraine, returned to moscow in mid october for meetings with russian government officials and leaders of the russian orthodox church. pope francis and ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy met for the third time since russia's full scale invasion of ukraine, focusing their discussion on the repatriation of ukrainian nationals held in russian captivity. servicemen, veterans and others gathered thursday in kyiv to remember the adopted son of ukraine’s chief rabbi, moshe azman, who was killed in battle, in a funeral service underlining unity among ukraine's diverse communities in the fight against russia's invasion. a ukrainian catholic university student and all but one member of her immediate family were among those killed in a sept. 4 strike by russia on the western ukrainian city of lviv. "in thinking about the laws recently adopted in ukraine, i fear for the freedom of those who pray, because those who truly pray always pray for all," francis said after his aug. 25 angelus. the pope stated that "a person does not commit evil by praying" and urged ukrainian leaders to "let those who want to pray be allowed to pray in what they consider their church." the heroic work and witness of the eastern churches in some of the world's most conflict ridden regions was highlighted at the annual catholic media conference held in atlanta in june. "we had come to ukraine to learn about the collective trauma of the nation," writes peter daly. "a nighttime taxi ride brought us face to face with one casualty of the war. it was a brief encounter." i am going because i feel the need to do something, even if small, to help those courageous people survive this unjust war and continue to exist as a nation, writes fr. peter daly. francis, the comic strip: waiting for any takers to wage peace. ukrainian and allied officials sunday criticized pope francis for saying that kyiv should have the “courage” to negotiate an end to the war with russia, a statement many interpreted as a call for ukraine to surrender. pope francis said in an interview that ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out peace talks. on feb. 20, the ukrainian catholic bishops of the u.s. announced that their metropolia humanitarian aid fund has been restructured as the "healing of wounds of the war in ukraine fund." metropolitan archbishop borys gudziak warns that failing to support ukraine as russia's war machine relentlessly presses its attack will have a vast impact on religious freedom in the region as well as on global security. this coming saturday, feb. 24, marks the second anniversary of russia's second invasion of ukraine in this century. mounting evidence of russia's mass deportation of ukrainian children is stoking outrage, not least in ukraine's catholic church. "alongside the occupation, repression and injustice, this has inflicted yet another painful wound," one bishop told ncr. if russian president vladimir putin prevails in his invasion of ukraine, religious freedom in the country would be curtailed, ukrainian faith leaders said at a recent event at the united states institute of peace. how many emaciated children are vladimir putin and russia prepared to sacrifice in their maddeningly immoral war? and how long is the rest of humanity prepared to let them get away with it? italian cardinal matteo zuppi, who said pope francis tapped him not to mediate but to encourage dialogue that could end russia's war on ukraine, flew to china sept. 12, italian media reported. as fighting in ukraine continues, christians on both sides should be asking ethical questions. fr. peter daly considers whether ukraine's defense against russian invasion meets the just war criteria. pope francis was visibly moved during a meeting of interfaith leaders at world youth day on aug. 4, when a russian orthodox bishop thanked the pontiff for his efforts on behalf of ukrainians, says a priest attendee. weeks after pope francis sent cardinal matteo zuppi as a peace envoy to moscow, ukrainians express doubt about the vatican's attempts to settle a conflict whose outcome looks set to be decided on the battlefield. president joe biden's recent decision to send ukraine cluster bombs has begun to erode the moral high ground for u.s. involvement in the conflict with russia, writes former ncr editor tom roberts. few have done more to prevent a nuclear catastrophe in ukraine than rafael mariano grossi. for over a year, the director general of the international atomic energy agency has worked to protect the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. in western ukraine, a military hospital's rural campus offers some four plus miles of walking trails; when soldiers struggle to rest at night, they're given the chance to temporarily encamp with a neighboring army: bees. pope francis is not cheering on either side in the russia ukraine war, which is an essential quality needed in a mediator. cardinal matteo zuppi, pope francis' personal emissary tapped to lead the vatican's peacemaking efforts between ukraine and russia, will be in the ukrainian capital of kyiv from june 5 6. a recent video that has gained traction on social media purportedly shows a mcdonald's in kiev bustling with people, prompting some to argue that perhaps the conflict is not as grim as the media and the country's government has reported. view from the vatican: the sant'egidio community has been instrumental in high profile peacemaking efforts. now its ties to the russian orthodox church may assist cardinal matteo zuppi as he heads to kyiv and moscow. an ethicist who supports nonviolence nonetheless finds practical and conceptual challenges when it is applied to the war in ukraine. when fr. peter daly visited church programs serving ukrainian refugees in poland earlier this spring, he witnessed charity and mercy in action. francis, the comic strip: what is the vatican's secret plan to bring peace to ukraine? pope francis met with ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky at the vatican on may 13. ukrainian church leaders have cautiously welcomed news of a vatican visit by their country's president, volodymyr zelenskyy, after a fresh wave of russian missile attacks in anticipation of a counteroffensive by kyiv's forces. francis, the comic strip: brother leo reads the news from russia. russia's seizure of europe's largest nuclear power plant in ukraine has undermined global nuclear security, while serving as a "wake up call" to ending energy dependence on russia, said experts at a recent panel discussion hosted by manor college in jenkintown, pennsylvania, a catholic college. during a recent trip to ukraine and poland, david bonior witnessed the pride and resolve as the war moves into its second year. pope francis has offered his support for the world council of churches' proposal for an in person, roundtable summit of divided russian and ukrainian orthodox church leaders, the rev. jerry pillay tells ncr. view from the vatican: on feb. 24, the day of the one year anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine, several embassies to the vatican underscored their support for ukraine by flying its flag alongside their own. as the first anniversary of the russian invasion of ukraine approaches, columnist michael sean winters surveys the human suffering and prays for peace in a land long besieged by russia. francis, the comic strip: the pope waits for a conversation. aid organizations warn that increasing attacks by russian missiles are preventing supply access to ukraine, after strike in dnipro killed 44 civilians and after a catholic volunteer lost a leg delivering food in bakhmut. four refugee women from different parts of ukraine thrown together by the sad fate of war say they are ending a turbulent year safe, secure and calm   though still uneasily in exile. they spoke to ncr in warsaw. in michael sean winters' last links column, he rounds up the latest news. in the new year, look for a weekly newsletter that does much of the same. be it among refugees in poland or those who remain in ukraine, there is widely shared determination that however long is necessary, the country is willing to continue battling russia to defend its territorial integrity. the national review's column on the 60th anniversary of vatican ii is worse than ross douthat's, says columnist michael sean winters. capuchin and conventual franciscan friars joined with secular franciscans to help ukrainian refugees struggling with the social and psychological wounds of war by using performing arts exercises. francis, the comic strip: putin's threats are serious. what will francis do to stop a nuclear war? francis, the comic strip: worried about nuclear confrontation, francis talks with an expert. with "rivers of blood and tears" still flowing in ukraine and with the increasing threat of the use of nuclear weapons, pope francis begged russian president vladimir putin: "stop this spiral of violence and death." listen: heidi, father daniel, and david look at catholic governors who use migrants as political pawns; synthesis reports from the synod; and recent developments and long term effects in the war in ukraine. francis, the comic strip: "ouch!" somebody didn't sleep too well. the washington post reports on the collapse of russia's military in the kharkiv region of ukraine. it is stunning, writes michael sean winters, and shows how stretched the entire russian war effort is. francis, the comic strip: francis still hopes to meet with patriarch kirill   maybe the most crucial meeting of his papacy! many of ukraine's catholics remain "upbeat and determined" despite fears of intensified russian attacks on ukraine's independence day, said a senior priest, who added that parish life was also continuing under tight surveillance in occupied areas. marking the six month anniversary of the start of russia's war against ukraine, pope francis renewed his appeal for prayers for an end to "the horror of war." the war in ukraine is no longer leading the nightly news, but the people of ukraine are still fighting for the values that put the light into enlightenment, and they deserve all the help we can muster. while the vatican hopes for a diplomatic resolution, catholic leaders cater to ukrainian faithful on the ground. commentary: during russia's terrible war on ukraine, it has become clear that one strain of so called "realist" thought in international relations   "offensive realism" theory   is an obstacle to human progress. the deep acrimonies surrounding the conflict in ukraine have raised questions about interfaith ties with the vatican and in the world council of churches, as well as about the realistic chances of religious mediation. meeting with a delegation from the orthodox ecumenical patriarchate of constantinople june 30, the pope said that as war continues to rage in ukraine, it is a time not for "talking and discussing, but for weeping, for helping others and for experiencing conversion ourselves." commentary: we need an all out mobilization to build renewable energy in europe and around the world, and it starts by divesting from fossil fuels. this will help us end the war in my country and rebuild ukraine from the war ashes. michael sean winters: other news items have pushed the war in ukraine off the front page, but that should not lead western nations to push ukraine into a negotiated peace that would not meet the challenge posed by putin. marking the 100th day of russia's war against ukraine, pope francis again called for international efforts to stop the aggression, respect human life and end "the macabre destruction of cities and villages" in the country. pope francis on june 5 appealed to world leaders to start "real negotiations" to end to the war on ukraine and avoid bringing the world to ruin. when a group of polish archbishops paid a "solidarity visit" to ukraine in late may, their presence also highlighted the key role played by polish catholic clergy in sustaining ukrainian religious life. patriarch kirill, the head of the russian orthodox church, has been removed from the latest round of european union sanctions to punish russia's invasion of ukraine. the vatican said may 31 that pope francis will travel to kazakhstan in september for an interfaith conference, a meeting that may give him a chance to meet with the head of the russian orthodox church. in addressing the violence of russia's war against ukraine, the pope is trying to shift our gaze. it is a shift that jesus models, toward pastoral accompaniment and a focus on how we might break the violent dynamic. commentary: as catholics, christians, muslims and jews, we are taught to take action and not wring our hands. in ukraine and now beyond its borders there are millions in need of our love, compassion and our resources. "i know that the rest of the world, when they hope for one person to solve this problem, they look at the pope," joseph donnelly told ncr may 16, in his first interview with a u.s. news agency since his arrival in rome. an existing relationship between notre dame and the ukrainian catholic university set the stage for my rich reflection on the impact of russian propaganda on media, civil resistance, the future of east european studies and other topics. commentary: the only way to end the manipulation of the vatican's position by the russian state and russian orthodox church media is to stop producing actions and statements that can be interpreted to feed russian propaganda. pope francis said he has asked for a meeting in moscow to help bring about an end to the war and warned that russian orthodox patriarch kirill, a key backer of president vladimir putin's fight against ukraine, should not become putin's "altar boy." a professor at the university of st. thomas in st. paul turned to an iconography project with the mission to expose the ongoing tragedy of war in ukraine and to raise funds for a voluntary mobile hospital. thomas reese: ukraine deserves our attention, but it is one of many connected crises around the world. we won't have stopped it until we stop ignoring the rest. the planned second meeting between pope francis and russian orthodox patriarch kirill has been canceled out of concern it could cause "confusion," and there will be no papal visit to kyiv while war rages, francis said in an interview with the argentine daily newspaper la nación april 21. hungarian prime minister viktor orban met with pope francis at the vatican on april 21 as the war in ukraine and the millions of refugees it has created cast a shadow over two leaders who have long sought closer ties with russia. pope francis and the vatican are urging world leaders to listen to the people's cry for peace, and they have backed an appeal by the head of the united nations for an easter truce in ukraine. francis, the comic strip: francis has the patriarch kirill dream again. a ukrainian marine in the besieged city of mariupol has written to pope francis pleading for the pontiff to personally intervene on the city's behalf, as russian forces continue their devastating, weeks long siege on the strategic port on the sea of azov. pope francis used his easter message to again appeal for peace in ukraine, saying the country has been "dragged" into a "cruel and senseless war" and that if the conflict escalates, it could lead to the destruction of all of humanity. perspective: my good friday experience came early this year. i can pinpoint it to the day in early march when, during an assignment covering the ukrainian refugee crisis in poland, i visited auschwitz birkenau. to wage war, which marks a failure of politics and humanity, is to surrender to the forces of evil, pope francis wrote in a new book. european catholic and protestant leaders echoed pope francis' appeal for an easter cease fire in ukraine, and they asked russian orthodox patriarch kirill of moscow to support it. jesus brings peace to today's shattered world through meekness and not through an "armed peace" that seeks to subjugate others, pope francis said. in russia's war on ukraine, "the forces of evil" are clearly at work, leading to "abominable" attacks on innocent people and widescale destruction of their homes, pope francis said. the head of the ukrainian catholic church asked pope francis to scrap plans to have a ukrainian woman and a russian woman carry the cross together during the pope's way of the cross service at rome's colosseum april 15. while the vatican confirmed pope francis' hope to travel to kazakhstan this year, it did not confirm a news story that francis could meet russian orthodox patriarch kirill of moscow in jerusalem in june. russian forces in ukraine attacked a caritas office in mariupol and a catholic seminary in a small village north of kyiv, prompting renewed calls for an end to the war and to the targeting of innocent civilians. francis, the comic strip: pope francis hopes to go to ukraine. how can he get there? the eastern rite catholic bishops of the u.s., meeting recently at the maronite catholic pastoral center in st. louis, expressed concern for the plight of ukraine and ukrainian refugees fleeing russia's ongoing war. russia's war on ukraine frighteningly raises the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons, the unleashing of radioactive material from nuclear power plants and a new push to develop or acquire nuclear weapons, including by terrorists, said members of the pontifical academy of sciences. pope francis opened holy week on april 10 with a call for an easter truce in ukraine to make room for a negotiated peace, highlighting the need for leaders to "make some sacrifices for the good of the people." holy week is a time when the christian community shares christ's pain on the cross, his betrayal and abandonment. christ is being crucified again in ukraine. michael sean winters: we believe that god is all loving and all powerful, but where was that love and that power this past month when they were needed in ukraine? pope francis once again pleaded for an end to the bloodshed and violence in ukraine after images of innocent civilians apparently executed in bucha sparked outrage and horror around the world. ukrainian archbishop sviatoslav shevchuk of kyiv halych said disturbing images from ukraine after russian retreat are evidence that "the struggle of ukraine is a spiritual struggle against evil." as russia's violent monthlong invasion continued to devastate ukraine, pope francis laid the fates of both countries at the feet of mary in the hopes that peace would finally reign. commentary: the nonviolent strategies being used by ukrainians in many locations are vitally important and illustrate powerful and effective ways to defend their communities and to break the cycles of violence. it's easy to complain about the "institutional church." but the speedy and generous response to the crisis in ukraine shows the value of our ecclesial institutions in coming to the aid of desperate people. tensions over the vatican's approach to ukraine and russia reveal the complex web of intra ecclesial politics and influence of the global cast of characters who craft and compose the holy see's role in the world stage. pope francis spoke for a second time by phone with ukraine president volodymyr zelensky on march 22. commentary: fossil fuels have become a weapon of mass destruction, both for war in ukraine and in the climate crisis. we must believe that we can overcome not only war in ukraine, but also our dependency on oil, gas and coal. pope francis has asked bishops around the world to join him march 25 to pray for peace and consecrate ukraine and russia to the immaculate heart of mary. as russian assaults on ukrainian cities continue, the "immense suffering" of europe's mounting refugee crisis "needs both material and 'a heart response' and a prayer response," says the president of caritas ukraine. pope francis on march 16 spoke with russian orthodox patriarch kirill, a backer of russian president vladimir putin's war against ukraine. according to the vatican, francis rejected justifications for the invasion as a "holy war." the mayor of ukraine's capital city has appealed to pope francis to visit kyiv, saying his personal presence in the city could be instrumental in securing peace amid russia's invasion of the country. as russian troops battled ukrainian forces during the third week of their invasion, the militant stance of russian orthodox patriarch kirill seemed to dash hopes of closer ties between his community and the catholic church. the vatican on march 14 sought to defend itself from criticism that pope francis has failed to directly condemn president vladimir putin and russia as aggressors in the war in ukraine and doubled down on the vatican's long tradition of maintaining strict neutrality in wartime. joan chittister: we are all interconnected. when some of us stand up to the bully, we may all be persecuted in the name of god's righteousness. but to do so willingly is the heart of the eighth beatitude. we say: whatever is happening behind the scenes, it is time for pope francis to speak the truth about the murderous assault on ukraine. it is time to call things as they are. this is putin's war and it is evil. russia and ukraine are two of the world's largest wheat producing countries. their decreased exports due to war may affect u.s. farmers already struggling from droughts. it's unclear if the roman catholic church could be a neutral negotiator because of its complicated relationship with russia's orthodox church, which has strong backing from the russian government. michael sean winters: with the possibility that the war in ukraine will become genocidal, and as the pain of economic sanctions hit home, the west's political and moral leaders must recalculate what the war demands of us. russian orthodox patriarch kirill, leader of russia's dominant religious group, has sent his strongest signal yet justifying his country's invasion of ukraine   describing the conflict as part of a struggle against sin and pressure from liberal foreigners to hold "gay parades" as the price of admission to their ranks. as russia continues its attack on ukraine, the vatican's secretary of state spoke with the country's foreign minister on march 8 to convey "pope francis' deep concern about the ongoing war." former vatican envoy and outspoken papal critic archbishop carlo maria viganò released a letter on march 7 blaming "deep state" forces in the united states, the european union and nato for triggering the current war and demonizing russia. pope francis has yet to publicly condemn russia by name for its invasion of ukraine or publicly appeal to the head of the russian orthodox church. some are not satisfied with the vatican tradition of quiet diplomacy. a loose collection of catholic and other christian ethicists, scholars and theologians has released a statement condemning russia's "brutal, wholly unprovoked and unjustified" invasion of ukraine. archbishop sviatoslav shevchuk of kyiv halych called the attack on ukraine's zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by russian forces "an irreversible attack on god's creation." as ukraine endured its seventh day of russia's invasion, cardinal pietro parolin marked the start of the lenten season on march 2 by offering prayers for "those who suffer and flee before the roar of weapons." the fascist nonsense in some catholics' comments about russia's invasion of ukraine is viciously unconcerned with justice of any magisterial teaching. commentary: the russian invasion of ukraine casts a baleful shadow over the world. as death and destruction mount, hope of a negotiated settlement is dimming. but are there historical parallels that still offer hope? the vatican is ready to facilitate negotiations between russia and ukraine, said cardinal pietro parolin, vatican secretary of state. pope francis on feb. 27 again pleaded for peace, saying "those who make war forget humanity." pope francis called ukraine president volodymyr zelensky to express "his deepest sorrow for the tragic events that are taking place in our country." philadelphia metropolitan archbishop borys gudziak stands as a strong u.s. ukrainian catholic voice sharing the eastern european nation's painful history and boosting its potential as a dynamic, democratic state. for some u.s. prelates, such as bishop robert j. brennan of brooklyn, new york, the feb. 24 news of russia's invasion of ukraine hit close to home. ambassadors to the holy see, priests, religious and laity packed rome's basilica of santa maria in trastevere to overflowing feb. 24, pleading to god for peace in ukraine. michael sean winters: russian president vladimir putin traffics in morally obscene lies to justify his invasion of ukraine. is he likely to be moved by moral concerns at all? as war broke out in europe feb. 24, with russia's early morning attacks on various parts of ukraine, catholics in the u.s. joined pope francis in prayers for the people of the east european nation and for peace. as russia fired missiles on several ukrainian cities and russian troops reportedly landed in odessa, the head of the ukrainian catholic church affirmed the right of ukrainians to defend their homeland and assured his people that god would watch over them. less than 24 hours after russia began a full on invasion of neighboring ukraine, the vatican warned of the threat of international destabilization, while maintaining "there is still time for goodwill, there is still room for negotiation." for weeks pope francis has been calling for peace in ukraine. the vatican's secretary of state has offered assurances of solidarity with the ukrainian catholic church and the country. but one word has been missing: russia. as the threat of war loomed over the world, pope francis called on people to pray and fast for peace in ukraine on ash wednesday. with the "further escalation of tension in ukraine," the president of the polish bishops' conference asked polish catholics to continue praying for peace, but also to be prepared to welcome ukrainian refugees. meeting leaders of the eastern catholic churches    many from countries at war, facing the threat of war or dealing with the destruction left by war    pope francis said human beings seem to be "attached to wars, and this is tragic." the vatican's secretary of state has called the head of the ukraine's eastern rite catholics to express the closeness of the holy see at a time of escalating tensions with neighboring russia. as fears of a russian invasion of ukraine continue to mount, the ukrainian catholic bishops of the u.s. have called for a three day prayer vigil "for peace and the conversion of the hearts of those who preach violence and escalate war." the major archbishop of the ukrainian catholic church reiterated concerns of some of his baltic neighbors, saying that ukraine might be on the front lines of a russian threat, but the threat extends beyond ukraine.

russia ukraine war supported by in war, things can change quickly. a new york times reporter wanted to capture   in whatever blurry way one can in a war   this moment in this war, three weeks in. by sabrina tavernise in war, things can change quickly. you look away and the kaleidoscope has turned. suddenly the greens click out of view and the reds have taken their place. i wanted to capture   in whatever blurry way one can in a war   where the kaleidoscope had stopped turning, at this moment, three weeks in. for several days, i interviewed people who had come from places that were often too dangerous for reporters to get to, talking to them by phone after they had reached quieter places in western ukraine or had made it safely across the border. all of them were women, many with children, as that is overwhelmingly who is doing the leaving in ukraine today, and i realized the small stories of their lives were telling me something about the broader war, too. they talked about the randomness of who survives and who does not; the sheer weirdness of the moment things change, when suddenly your body is moving in ways that your brain can’t comprehend. one day you are driving to the dentist. the next you are whispering with strangers in a dark basement. it is a moment when instinct   to save your children, to get through the next checkpoint   takes over and emotions are blocked. finally, it is the shocking realization that suddenly, unwillingly, you are a refugee, dependent on the generosity of strangers, no longer a middle class person in charge of your own life. it reminded me of the stunned quality of the early moments of other wars, when people are still in disbelief, habits have not hardened, and society has yet to fully collapse. here are the accounts of four women that capture this moment. these interviews have been edited and condensed.

photo: holy see press office via vatican pool/getty image transcript   february 29, 2024 this transcript is from a csis event hosted on february 29, 2024. watch the full video here. elizabeth hoffman: good morning, everybody, and thank you so much for joining us at csis here today for this important event on russia's religious persecution and misinformation in ukraine. my name is elizabeth hoffman, i'm the director of government relations and a fellow here at csis, and i'm so pleased to be joined today by many experts and practitioners that will speak to this very important issue. i'm particularly thankful to my colleagues dan runde and ilya timtchenko for their support and help in putting this event together. it should be no surprise that we're having this conversation today about russia's religious persecution in ukraine. not only has russia continued to persecute religious believers since their 2014 invasion of ukraine and annexation of crimea, but they also do so within their own borders. russia has been designated a country of particular concern by the state department, which is a designation reserved for those nations that repress religious freedom and believers within their own borders. this practice has extended with their campaign as i mentioned in 2014 with the initial invasion of ukraine and has only been exacerbated by the 2022 full scale invasion of ukraine. i'm really pleased to be joined this morning by catherine wanner who is a professor of history, anthropology, and religious studies at pennsylvania state university; viktor yelenskyi, the head of the state service of ukraine for ethnic affairs and freedom of conscience; dr. borys gudziak, president of the ukrainian catholic university and metropolitan archbishop of the ukrainian catholic archeparchy of philadelphia and mark elliott, a retired professor of european and russian history at asbury university, wheaton college, samford university, and southern wesleyan university, and editor emeritus of the east west church report. first, we'll hear from dr. wanner and then go down the list as i read it and then we'll have some questions for the group. the audience will also be able to pose questions, so if you're interested in asking the panelist questions, please do use the q&a box that you see on the bottom of your zoom screen. we will screen those questions and ask them at the end of their remarks. so, without further ado, i'd first like to turn to dr. catherine wanner for her opening remarks. dr. catherine wanner: thank you, elizabeth, and thank you to everyone at the center for strategic and international studies for addressing this important and neglected topic. i'm very pleased to participate. the first thing i would like to note is that one of the achievements of the ukrainian state following ukrainian independence in 1991 has been the establishment of an impressive degree of religious pluralism in ukraine. this pluralism is characterized by more than just a passive tolerance for difference, be it religious, linguistic, ethnic, or what have you; but we see among the wide spectrum of religious groups that exist in ukraine an active engagement with each other. and i would cite as simply two examples of this active engagement and acceptance of difference. the response of religious communities to the maidan protest in november 2013 to february 2014, so really 10 years ago. at that time, a very wide spectrum of religious communities protested on the maidan, and they were able to articulate a shared political vision and engage in coordinated, concerted activities so as to realize that form of political change. when the maidan protests ended with viktor yanukovych, the pro russian president, fleeing to russia, oleksandr turchynov, who was a baptist, became the acting president. and this was very uncontroversial, and that's because turchynov had held high level government positions prior to this moment and went on to similarly hold positions of leadership within ukraine. and the maidan was preceded by, i cite only the most visible other moment, that is the orange revolution of 2004 2005, when similarly we had a wide spectrum of religious communities come out and protest in almost a single voice for the realization of a shared vision that would accord a far greater degree of religious liberties and civil liberties more broadly. so, we have then this established basis of religious pluralism and that's due primarily to favorable legislation that allowed religious communities to either create a presence within ukraine or to thrive and build on the presence that they already had. as concerns specifically protestant groups, and that's primarily what i've studied thus far, a wide spectrum of protestant groups, but specifically baptists, evangelical christians, and a wide spectrum of pentecostal groups   ranging from charismatic pentecostals to far more aesthetic literalist pentecostal groups   were primarily located in eastern and southern ukraine. those regions which are now occupied had been a stronghold of protestant presence within ukraine. there were things such as a christian university, a variety of seminaries, publishing houses that served not only protestant communities within ukraine but even more broadly within the former soviet union. i would like to contrast that kind of religious landscape in ukraine, certainly prior to 2014 and especially since the full scale invasion in 2022, and that kind of political atmosphere grounded in civil liberties, with the religious landscape in russia, which is quite different. in russia, there is a legislatively enshrined categorization of religious groups. there's first off the so called traditional religious groups, of which there are four: orthodox christianity, judaism, islam, and buddhism. those are considered historically rooted in russia, and within that group, the orthodox church receives as a preferential status. then there are the nontraditional religious groups, where a variety of protestant groups fall into this category, and then there is a similar group, a third category, if you will, of undesirable religious groups, and here we have a wide spectrum up to and including jehovah's witnesses that, as most of you know, are outright banned russia. so, this categorization combines with the yarovaya law, which was passed in 2016, which begins to articulate both in very broad but yet very sweeping terms the kinds of religious activities that can occur, where they can occur, how they can occur, and with what kind of authorization, and what the specifics of mandated registration. in short, this law complicates by virtue of its very, very sweeping nature the ability of religious communities in fact to comply with it, but i believe it's purposely written as such because it also maximizes the possibilities for using the law to repress or otherwise curb the activities of any kind of religious groups. and when those two factors   that is to say, the sort of hierarchical categorization of religious groups and corresponding rights according to those categories, and similarly very sweeping legal restrictions that can be very, very broadly interpreted   when that combines with the historic discrimination and stigmatization of certain groups, most notably protestant groups as sectarians, as american cells, as fifth columns, a whole variety of slander that was used against non traditional religious groups so as to repress them   this creates a highly unfavorable environment in which certain religious groups can continue to exist. so, what we have in the occupied territories is then the clash of the kind of religious pluralism that had been created in ukraine and the otherwise selectively highly restrictive political landscape in russia. this is then compounded by two trends that have been developing, and i'll just briefly note them. when we have a rise of not just christian nationalism but really orthodox nationalism, where we have the russian orthodox church as quite a vigorous supporter of this war, and even some of the original pro russian separatists of unknown origin in some instances that fomented the hybrid war in eastern ukraine, as of 2014 called themselves an orthodox army. but this kind of equation of being slavic and being orthodox becomes highly problematic then for those religious minorities such as protestants, for example, who then are seen as not only betraying their nation but also betraying their faith. and when this combines with additional laws on foreign agents and the ability to engage in authorized, or perhaps unauthorized, i should say, collective activity, really heightens vulnerability for religious minorities within the occupied territories. religion by definition is a collective activity, but when what constitutes collective activity, and how and when it can be enacted becomes highly, highly regulated so as to facilitate repression, you really see tremendous vulnerability and the possibilities for not just discrimination but for repression and violation of religious rights massively expanding. as a final point, just to close, i would like to suggest that these kinds of conflicts are not limited to ukraine and to the occupied territories. i'm a professor at penn state, as elizabeth mentioned, so i live in rural central pennsylvania, where there happens to be a baptist mega church. it used to be called the russian baptist church   they changed their name after 2022. they are now the salvation baptist church. the majority of members are either ukrainians, russians, or russian speakers, and this community itself has fractured; it has divided in two. while there was universal agreement that the war should be condemned in no uncertain terms and that russia is the aggressor in this case, the issue that prompted this community to split was over how one should pray for suffering co religionists. the russians and the russian speakers argued that the restrictive atmosphere in russia was such that there was immense suffering among russian baptists in russia, and so the suffering of russian baptist should be equated with ukrainian baptists, and the two should be prayed for on equal terms. the ukrainians, those from ukraine, said no. the suffering of ukrainians is primarily at the hands of their russian brethren, who are waging war and shelling ukrainians every day and destroying baptist communities throughout ukraine. and so, it was over the issue of how to recognize the suffering of both baptists in russia and baptists in ukraine that prompted this community to experience conflicts such that they split. this is my way of saying that these conflicts are not limited to the occupied territories in ukraine where they are most acutely experienced, but they reverberate in communities in rural central pennsylvania, which has a significant number of immigrants from the former soviet union, and specifically from ukraine   as does our neighboring state, ohio, and michigan beyond it. so, thank you for your attention, and i'll end it there. ms. hoffman: thank you so much dr. wanner. now i'd like to turn to dr. yelenskyi for your initial comments please. dr. viktor yelenskyi: thank you for having me, thank you for center, and thank you catherine, for such an illuminative observation of russian legal system. but what is going on in ukraine, it's not about religious regulations, it's about the very existence of people of faith on the occupied territories. just exactly two weeks ago, military men in the ukrainian town of kalanchak in the kherson region occupied by russians   three military men broke the door of the house of father stepan podolchak, put a sack over his head and took him to an unknown destination. after two days, people called his wife and summoned her to identify the body of her husband. father stepan podolchak was tortured to death, and he became the 38th victim among ukrainian priests during the so called great war since the full fledged invasion of russian militaries in 2022. the 39th victim became the 58 years old pastor from the city of kupyansk, kharkiv region who was killed in his church, the protestant church of jesus christ, just yesterday, during a ride of guided avia bomb of russians in the town of kupyansk. i would like to stress that the case of father podolchak was deliberately murder. it was not shelling, it was not air ride, it was deliberate murder   and it was probably, in my [estimate calculations] there are dozens of such priests, monks, and pastors who were killed by russians deliberately. for example, orthodox priest maksim kozachyna was killed on march 5th, 2022, wearing in liturgical vest. the persecution of christians, of muslims, and of jehovah’s witnesses by russians in ukraine dates back to 2014, when russians annexed crimea and waged the war in donbas. the favorite, let's say, target, of russians became evangelicals, jehovah witnesses, orthodox believers not subordinated to moscow patriarchate, and muslims, especially crimean muslims, from the hizb ut tahrir movement. jehovah’s witnesses are banned, as catherine mentioned, in russia, and russians transferred this practice to occupied territories, now get sentence terms unbelievable in the brezhnev era ussr. for instance, i went through archives cases, and normally jehovah’s witnesses got, in the late soviet union, three and a half years in prison for rejecting military service. now crimean jehovah’s witnesses in russian courts get six, eight, nine and a half years in prison. members of the hizb ut tahrir movement got six, twelve, and [indistinct] got nineteen and a half years in prison. by the observation of human rights activists, putin's russia surpassed the brezhnev and khrushchev era ussr in the persecution of political prisoners, and there are more. the number of political prisoners in nowadays russia surpass the number of political prisoners in brezhnev and khrushchev era in the ussr. and we should realize that nowadays russia is more brutal, much more brutal, much more dangerous and inhuman compared to brezhnev era ussr. at least in the brezhnev era, nobody abused the body of political prisoners as they abused the body of killed alexei navalny. i can [give] you many instances of how brutal and how dangerous the circumstances of the russian prison system are, and how brutal the treatment is by russians, the so called national guards and russian police, in occupied territories of ukraine. by the way, i spent a lot of time with a prisoner of the so called dnr prison, ihor kozlovskyi, who spent two years in dnr prison and then was my assistant during my tenure in the ukrainian parliament. it's something beyond the good and evil   it's something beyond the human imagination. and all these practices are used toward ukrainian evangelicals, toward ukrainian jehovah witnesses, toward ukrainian orthodox believers, and catholic believers, and toward people who try to attend weekly service in occupied territories, unless they are members of the moscow patriarchate. pastor mikhaylo britsin, from the now occupied town of melitopol in the ukrainian south, told a very illustrative story about his baptist church. his baptist church was founded in 1910, and in 1936 was closed by soviet authorities, and the pastor of this church was sentenced and accused of being a german spy. in 2022, the church was closed once again, and the pastor was accused that he is an american spy in this time. so being an american spy is a standard accusation for many pastors, especially in donbas. authorities of occupied donetsk and luhansk region are absolutely crazy about finding american spies, and all baptists, all pentecostals, all mormons, all evangelicals, and all 7th day adventists, not to [mention] about jehovah’s witnesses, are in their eyes, american spies. and this anti evangelical, anti american, anti western propaganda is the daily routine for the so called donetsk and luhansk media. my short comment wouldn't be full if i do not mention about the 630 destroyed or damaged prayer buildings, cathedrals, synagogues, and mosques in the territory of ukraine since the beginning of the great war. some of these buildings, or prayer buildings, were ruined deliberately. for instance, the roman catholic church on the borderline between the kherson and mykolaiv regions was destroyed by soldiers who tried to hit the cross on the top of cathedral by tank. they failed and tried again, and after the 14th shelling, they destroyed the dome of this cathedral completely and ruined this building to [shreds] actually. now ukrainians try to restore some of this building, especially in the kyiv and chernihiv districts, and many people all over the world try to help them, and of course they asked me to deliver their gratitude to those who restore the prayer buildings. to conclude, i would like to say that actually the russian federation now is absolutely something different from the russian federation back at the end of the 90s and the beginning of this century. this is much closer to a fascist, chauvinistic dictatorship than to just an authoritarian regime. and those standing with ukraine and those who help ukraine to fight against russians, among others, are standing for religious freedom. thank you for your attention. ms. hoffman: thank you so much dr. yelenskyi and for the work that you're doing. i'd now like to turn to dr elliott for his remarks. dr. mark r. elliott: first let me thank daniel runde, ilya timtchenko, and csis for this opportunity to reflect on a subject much on my mind in these days so perilous for ukraine and for the west. i also consider it a privilege to share zoom space so to speak with such respected panelists. since the full scale invasion of ukraine in february 2022, russian forces have been responsible for damaging or destroying at least 660 churches and other religious structures, including at least 206 belonging to protestants. the largest number of protestant churches damaged or destroyed have been pentecostal, 94, evangelical christian baptist, 60, and 7th day adventist, 27. and what russians have not destroyed or seized, they have closed and banned for purposes of worship. for example, in the portions of the luhansk region under russian and pro russian separatist control, not a single protestant church remains open for worship, and in the russian occupied donetsk region, only a handful. one of putin’s rationales for the full scale invasion was to protect russian speakers in eastern ukraine from alleged genocide at the hands of the so called nazi government in kyiv   but ironically, the largest number of churches russian forces have damaged or destroyed have been those of the ukrainian orthodox church, with its much debated ties to the moscow patriarchate   187. putin's feigned concern for the population of eastern ukraine is also seen to be a sham when one considers the death toll of mostly russian speaking civilians in the donbas. on the individual level, protestants as well as catholics muslims and non  moscow patriarchate orthodox have frequently been arrested and interrogated under torture. they have endured confiscation of personal property threats to their families and mock executions. some faithful have been abducted with no accounting of their status to date and some have been murdered. on the institutional level, in russian occupied territories, minority faithful, including protestants, have been subjected to raids during worship services with the added intimidation of worshippers having their names and passports recorded. churches have been searched, ransacked, looted, and vandalized. baptists and pentecostal pastors have been pressured to transfer their affiliation from church associations based in kyiv to those based in moscow. russian occupation authorities and pro russian separatists have required churches to undergo registration with hundreds of protestant churches closed after failing to receive official recognition. other churches have been torched by arsonists or have been destroyed by russian missile attacks and many churches that have survived every other form of assault have been confiscated for use as military bases. other indignities have included propaganda campaigns against disfavored churches and the counterintuitive deliberate destruction of bibles and other christian literature by russian troops at the behest of a regime quick to boast of its championing of traditional christian values. and we should be aware that as harsh as restrictions are for minority faiths in russia proper the draconian regime imposed upon them in russian occupied regions of ukraine is dramatically worse. on a personal level, i have been involved in a greenhouse project in ukraine for the benefit of rural church pastors and church charities. for a long time, i was unable to discover the fate of a greenhouse donated to a pentecostal alcohol rehab center in bucha back in 2016. just three weeks ago, i received an email from a friend and scholar tatiana vagramenko who managed to visit the rehab center, discovering that its greenhouse miraculously survived the infamous russian occupation of march 2022. her account of her interview with the current director is harrowing. russian troops lined up clients against the wall threatening to execute them, then on a whim commuted their bogus sentences. i thought of dostoyevsky’s close call with the czarist firing squad and a commuted sentence that emotionally scarred him for the rest of his life. i can only imagine the trauma bucha’s recovering alcoholics have had to endure at the hands of troops who did indeed murder hundreds of civilians in that key suburb. on a happier note, bucha rehab clients report that their greenhouse is still in use and that the vegetables they harvest and preserve give them a sense of accomplishment on their road to recovery. another account to relate does not have a happy ending, at least not to date. well before 2014 i visited donetsk christian university, in reality an evangelical christian baptist seminary with aspirations for a more expansive educational mission. i had friends who were teaching there, and i accompanied a representative of one of the western german and american foundations that donated millions to this institution. as of 2014 i believe dcu had the most impressive physical plant and possibly the strongest protestant theological collection of any evangelical seminary in the former soviet union. its 21 acre campus included an administrative and classroom building and a modern brick four story residence hall with 75 rooms all in support of an instructional program that ran from kindergarten to seminary level. separatist troops of the russian backed donetsk people's republic occupied the grounds in early july 2014 expelling all personnel students and their families. dpr soldiers looted the premises confiscated computers and converted donetsk christian university into a military base for 150 separatists and a contingent of their prisoners. such are the dreadful fortunes and misfortunes of war. in sum sorely tried believers of many minority faiths and traditions other than the privileged adherence of the moscow backed ukrainian orthodox church deserve our wholehearted support and prayers. they also deserve our best efforts to convince western governments and western voters that every effort should be exerted to support ukraine in its existential struggle against an aggressive empire minded russia. thank you. ms. hoffman: thank you so much dr elliott, and for sharing those stories. that's really important. i'd now like to recognize archbishop gudziak for your initial remarks please. dr. borys gudziak: thank you so much and thank you for these very well  informed presentations. i won't repeat some of the material that was stated, was i meant to share. let me start with a story that helps us understand and i will try to contextualize what is happening. professor wanner contextualized it geographically: the lack of religious freedom in russia is now being spread to ukraine. in russia, religious institutions are able to function if they support putin and the government. in the occupied territories those that don't support actively the occupying regime are destined for annihilation. but this has great historical precedent. in 1711, peter the great, who many connect with the flourishing of russian culture’s opening to the west, on his name’s day, after a sumptuous feast in the town of polotsk, went into an eastern catholic church and along with his fellow revelers they beat up four monks, punctured them with swords, cut off their ears and the next day forced some of them to walk with ears in their hands to their own hanging. vladimir putin wants to recover the greatness of peter the great. that's an explicit connection that he is making. whether it was the early 18th century whether it was in the 19th century in the 20th century, the 21st century, the eastern catholics, today called the ukrainian catholics, are destined for annihilation as a visible structure in society every time there is a russian occupation. so, what is happening today, and this explains ukrainians’ resistance, is something that ukrainians   orthodox, catholics, protestants, jews, muslims   have experienced time and time again over the centuries. the ukrainian orthodox church was annihilated in the 1920s by stalin. stalin arrested all of the ukrainian catholic bishops in 1945, ukrainian greek catholic bishops, and the following year the church was rendered illegal. it was the biggest illegal body, religious body, in the world from 1946 to 1989. today, in the occupied territories the ukrainian catholics are being wiped out. in the eastern occupied areas, there is not one officially publicly functioning catholic priest of the eastern or the western right. this is what russian occupation brings. it brings not only the war crimes in the occupation, but it brings the historical tradition and present legal status of different confessions in russia to a territory that is being occupied. it's very important that people of faith internationally and especially in the united states understand this. russian occupation   the russian desire to undermine the ukrainian state, a state that has guaranteed religious liberty   will diminish or negate the religious liberty of muslims   the tatars are persecuted   of jews, of protestants, of catholics and orthodox. so, this is something that has a long historical legacy, it spans 11 time zones in the russian federation and it is spreading in ukraine with incredible brutality, with a brutality that was modeled by peter the great more than 300 years ago and is repeated with the most recent torturing to death of stepan podolchak the priest about whom victor yelenskyi spoke and others   the prisoners, two ukrainian catholic priests, ivan levitsky and bohdan heleta, who were abducted in november of 22 and now 16 months later still remain in captivity without a clear sense without anybody really knowing uh what their situation is. so it's very important today for us to raise the voice and speak to our political representatives particularly in the united states, particularly in the congress. if you haven't done so already, alert your representative to the horrific violation of religious liberty, especially if you are a protestant because some of the protestant members of our legislative bodies do not fully understand the danger in which their co religionists are in ukraine. thank you. ms. hoffman: thank you so much archbishop. i would like to first ask perhaps just a basic technical question. i think that there has been some, i'll say misinformation, about the ukrainian government's supposed repression of religious freedom that has been circulating here in the west. i believe that part of that is due to a fundamental misunderstanding of some of the church alignments that is quite technical in nature for those that don't follow this issue closely. last fall the ukrainian rada the parliament voted on legislation to ban the ukrainian orthodox church. now the ukrainian orthodox church [of the moscow patriarchate] is markedly different from the orthodox church of ukraine. as you can imagine this causes confusion among those who, as i mentioned, don't follow the issue closely. maybe archbishop gudziak or dr. yelenskyi, could you just explain to our audience in brief the difference between the ukrainian orthodox church [of the moscow patriarchate] and the orthodox church of ukraine, and why that distinction is important, and perhaps how that's distorted. dr. gudziak: dr. yelenskyi you are, i can supplement what you will say, but you are on the ground. unmute please. ms. hoffman: dr. yelenskyi your microphone is muted. dr. yelenskyi: excuse me. i went through a long and exhausting discussion with the moscow patriarchate lawyer, mr. amsterdam, last week about the ukrainian orthodox church of the moscow patriarchate, about the ukrainian orthodox church, about many things, about the so called ban of ukrainian orthodox church, and many other things. so, first of all, i would like to start with a statement. the ukrainian government has no intention to ban any church, including the ukrainian orthodox church of moscow patriarchate, or any other churches. what the ukrainian government wants is for the ukrainian orthodox church of the moscow patriarchate just to leave the russian orthodox church, which is not just supportive but is a direct participant of russian aggression against ukraine. the ukrainian government doesn't want the ukrainian orthodox church of the moscow patriarchate to change calendar, change liturgical customs, change liturgical language or be a part of another church, as many [supporters] from moscow patriarchate claim. i have discussions with priests and [indistinct] of ukrainian orthodox church on a regular basis, and normally i ask them what is valuable for you in links with moscow patriarchate, which killed your faithful, which destroyed your cathedrals, which try to undermine ukrainian statehood and openly said we are going to annihilate ukrainian culture and ukrainian identity. and for now, i still have no answer for this question, because subordination to moscow patriarchate is not a part of orthodox teaching. and there are at least two other churches in ukraine which used to have their centers in russia: the first is the old believers church, a church which did not recognize the nikon reform from moscow kingdom in 17th century. and now this church realized that the head of their church metropolitan cornelius of moscow supported the so called special military operation and supports putin, and just severed the links with the center in moscow, just registered a charter for its church, and now it's called like [old orthodox] church in ukraine. another church which also break ties with moscow is the true orthodox church, a church which didn't recognize the declaration of loyalty of metropolitan sergius in 1927, also broke ties with moscow and now registered its charter with another center in massachusetts in the united states. so last summer 400 clerics from the ukrainian of church of moscow patriarchate addressed the primate of this church and asked him to convene the council and to decide a final break of ties with moscow patriarchate   this is the second point. third point, ukraine, since gaining independence in 1991, did not ban any single church. before the war, according to pew research center index, ukraine has not just decent standards in the sphere of religious freedom but very good standards, much better than not only former soviet republic but also even compared to many eastern european countries. so, i'm in a position to have discussions not only with lawyers who defend moscow patriarchate on the background of such a severe persecution of religion in occupied territories, but also with academics, with people from different churches; and i’m in a position to discuss with them, and in a position to explain the real goals and real position of the ukrainian government. dr. gudziak: if i can add to that, this is not primarily a question of religious freedom, but it's a question of the survival of people. you have the leader of a church using jihadist language, guaranteeing salvation to those who go and kill people in ukraine. could we imagine that, you know, we would allow for terrorist groups to have representative religious bodies in ukraine, i mean in the united states, that are directly under them and take their, let's say, cue from those centers that not only preach but practice terrorist war crimes. this is something that is diverting, this whole issue is diverting attention from the lack, the profound lack, of religious freedom in russia. in russia there are 300 orthodox bishops. can one imagine that, given this war, a christian bishop would not speak out against this war? in fact, not a single one of the 300 orthodox bishops in russia has spoken out against the war, and the moscow patriarchate as such has an official policy of defrocking priests who speak for peace, who speak for a just peace. this is the concern of ukrainian society, that a church centered in moscow that universally, at least through silence, but often through very explicit brutal rhetoric, is speaking about the destruction of the ukrainian state, of the ukrainian society, of ukrainian culture and ukrainian religious life. and it's not only speaking about it   it's supporting it when it happens in the occupied territories. this needs to be really kept in context, the context of historical precedent going back to the 18th century, developed very strongly under authoritarian russian tzarist rule, perfected with the persecution of religion during communism and now repeated in the 21st century, repeated with an explicit reference to these precedents, and realized as part of a plan to recover the russian empire: ‘so what we have in russia we will spread.’ the spread of religious persecution is guaranteed wherever russian occupation comes, and this is very important to understand for all people of faith. this is what concerns the leadership of the country and every simple churchgoer, every common member of ukrainian society. ms. hoffman: thank you so much dr. yelenskyi and archbishop gudziak. catherine and mark, i might ask you to weigh in on this as well   more on the broader accusations that some sectors in the west have made about the ukrainian government actually being responsible for the persecution of religious believers as opposed to the kremlin. dr. wanner: i would simply say that one can point to a multitude of examples of individual, let's say, clergy, within russia. i'm thinking of an example of a russian orthodox priest who gave a sunday sermon on the first of the ten commandments “thou shalt not kill.” he was arrested for that   that was considered subversive. one can point to a multitude of examples of infringements on religious liberties and religious freedom, and of repression based on religion in russia, and yet these allegations of religious repression in ukraine are rarely backed up by any kind of evidence. it's very quick and cheap to make allegations, but one needs evidence. if there are infringements of religious liberties and encroachment on religious freedoms in ukraine, i would like to see some evidence for that. dr. gudziak: also, if i may, you know, just another example   it's not clear how many ukrainians there are in russia, but from five to seven, maybe more, a million, and if you take that 8% of ukrainians are eastern catholic, you're talking about four to five to 600,000 people of ukrainian catholic background. in the 11 time zones of the russian federation, there's not a single ukrainian greek catholic parish that is registered as such. so, it's not only the jehovah's witnesses that don't have a legal existence. there’s not a single ukrainian language school in russia for the 7 million people. the ukrainian libraries have been closed; ukrainian study programs have been annexed. this is a broad, integrated campaign that ideologically leads to genocide. and it is explicit there, you know   putin says ukraine is a fake country; ukrainian religious communities are either heretical they're schismatic; they are deprived of grace. this is what awaits ukrainian religious life and ukrainian society with the spread of russian occupation. ms. hoffman: dr. elliott, please weigh in. dr. elliott: yes, i would like to point out a false moral equivalency that's at work here. there are some instances of ukrainian orthodox priests supporting the russian war effort. there have been some instances of pro russian literature confiscated from certain ukrainian orthodox churches in ukraine   those are the churches affiliated with the moscow patriarchate. but these are few in number compared to the vast repression of all manner of minority faiths in the russian occupied regions of ukraine. there are instances of russia and people in the west now sympathizing with russia, calling upon these rare instances of the russian government and the military rooting out cases where pro russian literature, funds from russia, some instances of collaboration between ukrainian orthodox priests [of the moscow patriarchate] and russian authorities addressing that issue, and comparing that with what's going on not only in russia proper, but especially and even more draconian in the russian occupied portions of ukraine. so, i would say that we've got a problem of illegitimate moral equivalency. ms. hoffman: thank you so much, and for others who are watching who might be interested in understanding more about russia's cooptation of certain religious groups in their own for political reasons, i would recommend to you a report that some of my colleagues put out a couple years ago called the kremlin playbook 3.0, which specifically looks at russia's co optation of the moscow patriarchy. i would like to ask another question which many of you alluded to in your opening remarks but hoping to get at in a more pointed fashion: what is the strategy of vladimir putin of the russian authorities and specifically targeting religious communities? why do you think that this is important to their war effort in ukraine? dr. wanner: i think religion is used, is instrumentalized, to provide a justification for russian entitlement to govern ukraine and indirectly govern areas of transnistria in moldova, belarus, northern kazakhstan, georgia’s abkhazia   it's a long list. religion provides   a paper thin, in my view, but nonetheless, a narrative that putin can use to justify his intervention and his attempts to reintegrate those countries under moscow rule, much as he seeks to re forcefully integrate orthodox and other believers in ukraine under the moscow patriarchate of the russian orthodox church. putin posits, together with patriarch kirill of the russian orthodox church, that there is something called a russian world, riskiy mir, that is founded and grounded in a shared confessional eastern christian tradition. and he posits that this creates a historic and spiritual common space that, just as it should be governed religiously by the moscow patriarchate, it should be in a political and especially in a geopolitical sense, governed by the kremlin. religion is used as a justification for integrating many areas of the former soviet union into a recreated imperial structure with, once again, russia, and specifically the kremlin, and the moscow patriarchate at its center. that is why religion plays such a large role in this war and why there must be this equation of being russian or being slavic, even as being orthodox. and this of course works to the tremendous detriment of any religious minorities, and so that's why this kind of ruskiy mir is in fundamental contradiction with religious liberty and freedom of conscience. ms. hoffman: thank you dr wanner. i wonder, archbishop gudziak, would you be interested in weighing in on this question as well? dr. gudziak: let me, you know, give you kind of a specific quote   ekaterina arkalova, a propagandist of the spas tv channel founded by the russian orthodox church, said the following to her viewers after a trip to melitopol, zaporizhzhia region, which is under occupation: “there are many different sects in the empire south. so, ukraine is the empire south, and they have stockpiles: greek catholics, the word of life church, jehovah's witnesses have stockpiles of ammunition, sectarian literature   all sorts of things. in short, they're sponsoring the armed forces of ukraine, and now, fighting those sects, all of them simultaneously, all those protestants and jehovah's witnesses, is the main task of our counterintelligence in those territories.” so, this is a religious tv station that is founded by the russian orthodox church, and it is speaking about our christian orthodox responsibility to work together with the counterintelligence of the russian federation to suppress these religious communities in the occupied territories. this is a concrete example of policy that is reflected. it would be helpful maybe to share the list of moscow patriarchate clergy in ukraine. i think viktor yelenskyi can correct me if i'm wrong, but it's over 50 clergy members that have been indicted for explicit collaboration with an occupying regime or with the, let's say, russian authorities, while not even being under occupation. so, this is explicit policy. what i cited is just an example of it, but it also has deep historical roots, and we've seen throughout this great tragedy the manner in which analysts and political leaders internationally have been either completely wrong or very slow to understand what is happening. today, germans with shame speak about their policy of change through business. that was the policy: we're going to engage russia, we're going to not look at the human rights issues or the issues of religious freedom, but as we engage, they're going to change. we had both ends of the italian political spectrum: the conservative trump like figure silvio berlusconi, after this full scale invasion, thanking putin for a few bottles of vodka that putin sent him before his death. and the other side, romano prodi, who 20 years ago said new zealand has a greater chance of entering the european union than ukraine. and both of these were personal friends of putin. as putin was bombing chechnya to smithereens, as he was occupying georgia, as he was presiding over the killing of political opposition leaders or journalists, as he began the war, the war has been on for 10 years, president bush looked putin in the eye and said: ‘i saw the heart of an honest man.’ president obama ridiculed his presidential election opponent when mitt romney said russia will be our biggest geopolitical challenge, and he said ‘mitt, your economics are in the 20s, your social policy is in the 50s, and you're stuck politically in the cold war.’ and of course, president trump embraced putin. as this great invasion was beginning, there was so much confusion even among the churches. so, we have centuries of an imperial image created for russia which has become normative, which is accepted, even though all colonialisms are criticized, all colonialisms are being deconstructed. with professor wanner, we were present at the north american assembly of slavists, which is now finally realizing that slavic studies needs to be decolonialized. so, it is an uphill battle. when people speak about the greatness of, you know, peter the great or catherine the great, well, peter the great was cutting off the ears of eastern catholic monks in their church, setting a precedent for the torture that people like ihor kozlovskyi endured or the priest that was killed a couple weeks ago, father stepan podolchak endured as he was being tortured to death. this is unfortunately the result of ideology   an ideology that is explicitly articulated and supported by the russian orthodox church. ms. hoffman: thank you. so, i have a final question. at the beginning of the full scale invasion of ukraine, putin gave as justification the, essentially, he said, you know, one of the reasons russia must go in, was that ukraine was committing genocide and particularly targeting jews. this is quite ironic given some of the rhetoric coming out of moscow recently which is vilifying jews and is really antisemitic. so, i'm hoping you could expand on that a little bit, and on what patterns and trends. particularly since you sit in ukraine, how is the rhetoric from moscow shifting as this war drags on, and how are they co opting and using religious narratives to justify what they're doing? dr. yelenskyi: excuse me. i had a small problem with hearing, but as far as i understood, you are speaking about the attitude to jews in ukraine? let me start, first of all   i scrupulously collect all cases of anti semitism in ukraine, and ukraine is still much more favorable for jewish people than in many nowadays european countries. in 2020, 2021, and 2023, there was no single anti semitic incident in ukraine, according to ukrainian va’ad, the umbrella organization for the jewish congregation. i would like to remind you of the evolution of putin in religious issues, in religious affairs. the first mention about religion from putin came from his interview with larry king. larry king asked him, ‘do you believe in god?’ and putin replied, ‘i believe in human beings.’ so, next stage, he said, ‘i was baptized, and, miraculously, the cross saved my life in my childhood.’ next stage, he said that he hesitated between so called eurasianism and true orthodoxy and said that ‘i have been told that our eastern orthodoxy is much closer to islam than to catholicism,’ and he focused on the anti westernism of his, let's say, addition of eastern orthodoxy. and with some episodes, he stopped over the eastern orthodoxy and as an antithesis to the western world, to western christianity, to democracy, to the rule of law, and he proclaimed that there are just two pillars of our statehood, there are two shields: our nuclear weapons and our orthodoxy   that's it, and this is ‘my credo,’ and this is guidance for russian people: that we should rely on our nuclear weapons and on our orthodoxy. under this view, patriarch kirill   i also followed his evolution from his 1980s statement, when he said that ukrainian catholics have a right to express freely their religious convictions, to nowadays absolutely chauvinistic and jihadist, as archbishop gudziak mentioned, jihadist statements about eternal life for those who would be killed in ukraine   and he just changed his say social capital to the support from the state. and when the russian orthodox church had a problem with remote ural mountains monastery, patriarch kirill just sent to this monastery the national guard   and when the russian orthodox church had a problem with the building of the cathedral, and the people in the city of yekaterinburg protested against this cathedral, he just sent a call to the government and sent national guard riot police to carp these protesters. so, in my view, patriarch kirill now is the head of not the most influential department of russian government   he shares the responsibility for russian aggression against ukraine, he shares the responsibility for this cannibalistic rhetoric of russian government, and, in my opinion, cannot be treated in the international arena as a religious leader. ms. hoffman: thank you. and then, dr. elliot, i'd like to give you the closing word. can you elaborate on why you think that believers of all faiths in the west should care about what's happening in ukraine? dr. elliott: sure. i think it's important especially for a western audience to recognize the difference between the historic u.s. separation of church and state and the radically opposite position in the russian federation today, where one church is subordinate to the state and is an agent of the state's imperial agenda. so, let me just close with this point: i think it's documented clearly that the ukrainian state since 1991 has moved in a very tolerant direction, and you could even argue that there is a greater level of tolerance in ukraine than in many parts of europe, western europe. in contrast to that, the status of minority believers in the russian occupied portions of ukraine is even worse than the condition of minority believers in russia itself, and that should be brought home to western audiences that want to talk about the traditional values being protected by moscow. it's just a sham. thank you. ms. hoffman: thank you for your thoughts and thank you to all of our panelists. this was a very informative and important event on an issue and an aspect of the russian invasion of ukraine that i don't think gets enough attention, so thank you all for joining. we're very grateful. (end.) center for strategic and international studies 1616 rhode island avenue, nw washington, dc 20036 tel: 202.887.0200 fax: 202.775.3199 see media page for more interview, contact, and citation details. ©2025 center for strategic & international studies. all rights reserved.

nadiya sukhorukova is a ukrainian journalist and tv presenter from mariupol. during the blockade of her native city, nadiya kept a diary, excerpts from which were heard in the european parliament and published in international media. after the evacuation, the journalist wrote a book about her experiences, "mariupol. hope", which was translated into english and is now being sold on amazon, the largest book platform in the world. the author and the book's characters shared their stories with the museum of civilian voices of the rinat akhmetov foundation. "a neighbor said that god left mariupol. he was afraid of everything he saw. i am alive and now i will live long. and my city is dying a painful death. for twenty days i was dying with it. i was in hell," nadiya wrote about what she went through. more about the book on march 21, 2022, the new york times first published excerpts from nadiya's diary, which described evidence of russia's war crimes in ukraine. excerpts from the diary were published in the united kingdom, the united states, germany, ukraine, and scotland. in the european parliament, they were read by the then minister of foreign affairs of latvia, now president edgars rinkēvičs. the documentary "mariupol. lost hope", which was based on the book, was also shown in the european parliament. "i was born in mariupol and lived there all my life. it’s the city of my childhood, of my love and my happiness. i never thought i would see it dead. i couldn’t even imagine that i would be describing its agony. it's a true story of real people. they are my friends, relatives, and neighbors. i wrote in this diary everything that happened to us, to keep my sanity. i didn’t expect to survive this hell, so i tried to record the events to leave a trail," nadiya writes about her book. an eyewitness to terrible events, grief, and losses shares with the reader her own emotions and the "first hand" truth. this mission is shared by the museum of civilian voices by the rinat akhmetov foundation, which has collected more than 97,000 living testimonies of ukrainians about their experiences during the war. the museum not only collects but also shares stories about russia's war in ukraine around the world to preserve historical memory and restore justice. these stories can be found on https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/en share your story so everyone can know about it we use cookies to provide you with the best website experience. if you continue to browse our website, you give your consent to use the cookies by your browser.

strictly q&a by kim cross february 21, 2024 share this article lizzie johnson was a young reporter at the san francisco chronicle in 2018, covering local and state politics, when the deadliest wildfires in california swept through the region, all but destroying the small town of paradise. johnson raised her hand to go, soon turning wildfire coverage into a mini beat, a book, numerous awards and a reputation for finding human stories in the midst of major trauma. five years later, johnson raised her hand again   this time to spend a month covering the war in ukraine for the washington post, where she now works as a reporter on the enterprise team. she spent the christmas and new year holidays in ukraine, covered standard news as necessary, spent time on the front lines and ate christmas dinner with ukrainian soldiers at a military outpost. her bylined work reveals an instinct for stories grounded in humanity: the actors who still take the stage, the 16 year old who marks her lost childhood by walking and sleeping, the 21 year old marine who woke up “ready to die,” the soldier who cobbled that traditional christmas dinner in a makeshift kitchen with no running water. johnson’s ukraine stories carry echoes of her work on the front lines of california’s wildfires, as does her preparation. to cover fires, johnson went through formal firefighter training. to cover the war, she went through hostile environment training with the post’s security team, wore combat gear and rode in an armored vehicle with a team of drivers, photographers and local producers who arranged and translated interviews. as ukraine enters a third year of war to turn back a russian invasion, johnson spoke with storyboard about the special challenges of war reporting, her approach to reporting trauma and the universal humanity found in specific experiences. the conversation has been edited for length and clarity, and includes highlighted story passages. let’s start with a big question: what makes a signature lizzie johnson story? how would you describe not just a washington post story, but a lizzie johnson story?my stories are about people. i try to understand what their lives look like in moments of crisis or hardship. in the past, i found that sometimes people would say, “oh, she writes about wildfires.” that was true to an extent, but i felt like my stories were more about people who were confronting wildfires or who whose lives were shaped by wildfires. in ukraine, i wasn’t writing just about war. i was writing about how people were impacted by a war. what do you do? what’s it like when the threat of your country being eviscerated is constantly hanging over your head? how do you feel joy? how do you carry on? how does it shape your identity? the stories always come back to the human experience for me. now the ukraine assignment: you are on a local enterprise team at the post. how did you land an assignment to a war zone?it took a lot of conversations. i always knew that i wanted to be a foreign correspondent but when i was working at a local newspaper in california, that was never a possibility. once arriving at the post, i immediately started thinking about how to make that happen. i got coffee with the foreign editor, then one of the managing editors and the deputy foreign editor. i laid the ground work: i really want to do some rotations abroad. if you ever need someone to fill in, i will go wherever you need me to go. i’m not picky. this past fall, they needed someone to fill in in ukraine in december. send me! i’ll sacrifice my christmas and new year’s. and that’s how i made my way over there. how did you enter ukraine and an assignment like this?i got on the ground in early december. you fly into poland and then take a long train to kyiv   it’s like a portal into another world. you don’t have much cell service. it’s an overnight train and you watch the landscape pass by until everything darkens and you can’t see anything at all out the window, except your own reflection looking back at you. you don’t know exactly what it is you’re going into. you know you’ll start in kyiv, but you have no sense of where you’re going after that. i remember feeling excited and scared and anticipatory: who am i going to be at the end of this month? who am i going to meet? what stories am i going to tell? i hope i do a good job. what sort of preparations do you have to make logistically and emotionally?the previous year i had gone through hostile environment training, which is a requirement for anyone going into conflict zones. i wanted to get all of those things out of the way, so that when the time came, there was nothing to stop me. then in the month or two before i left, i had to get my accreditation from the ukrainian government, which allows reporters through military checkpoints. i also had meeting after meeting with the security team for the post. they send all of these entertaining and terrifying pdfs: this is what a drone sounds like, this is what this kind of missile sounds like. don’t step on this kind of ground. don’t do this. don’t do that. here are all the ways you could die. i didn’t feel real fear until that train ride in, when i realized those videos about drones would be the reality soon. but you can’t allow fear to stick its head up too much. otherwise, you can be incapacitated by it. so i decided i was going to focus on what i have control over. that’s thinking about the kind of stories i want to do, reading as much as i could about this war, thinking about underrepresented voices, trying to key in on the stories that would have the most impact. what were your first impressions when you arrived?kyiv was bustling. the train that arrives from poland is always full of folks from ukraine, who are leaving or returning to their homes. there were all these reunions happening around me, along with a bunch of people getting ready to leave. i remember being struck by how beautiful the train station was, with its brutalist architecture. i walked the mile to my hotel, just looking at everything. i had taken some ukrainian lessons before i went   basically learned the alphabet and how to say thank you, and how are you? i thought it would be useful to show people that i care and want to connect with them in their language instead of showing up as an english speaker and not trying at all. walking in kyiv, i sounded out different signs: oh, that means bank! or that’s a mall. there are always those few seconds when you’re trying to figure out what it says, and then comprehension dawns. you must have worked with a translator.when you’re working in ukraine for the post, you’re basically traveling around with this little circus of people. you have what we call a “local producer” who translates and helps set up stories. you have a security person who helps you make decisions about whether access for a story is safe or not. they send reporting plans back to london and d.c. so everyone knows where you are and that you’re safe. there’s a photographer and a reporter (me). in dangerous areas, we wear flak jackets and helmets. we also drive around in an armored truck. i was expecting something that looked very militaristic. but it was a truck retrofitted with something like inch thick glass and 50 pound doors. every time i tried to open the door on a hill i was like, oh my god, i can’t get out of this car! there’s also a second driver who follows in a backup vehicle, so if something happens, we have another way to get out. what do you carry?i brought my a 10 year old deuter backpack that i typically use for hiking and mountaineering. i packed it with some essential stuff like a tourniquet and these little pouches that clip on to our flak jackets. i brought a lot of hand and foot warmers and some really warm socks, since i run cold. i wore my mountain hardwear jacket, which i’ve used on 18,000 foot mountain peaks. i had a basic first aid kit and our security guy had a full emt kit. i had six reporter’s notebooks. sometimes i also take notes on my phone if i’m just trying to blend in and don’t want to draw attention to myself. a few of my friends wrapped some little christmas presents for me, and i had those in the bottom of my bag. i worried a bit about going through security checkpoints because i didn’t know what was in those presents. it turned out to be a candle, a fancy bar of almond scented soap, and a miniature christmas tree. i opened them on the holiday, and they made me feel a bit more human as i was shuttling from hotel to hotel. i also packed my gummy vitamins because i wanted a little morning ritual that felt normal. i had granola bars   i’m a vegetarian, and i was worried that i wouldn’t always be able to find food   and cans of chickpeas, which i would eat when i was up late writing and missed dinner. how do you go about finding fresh stories in a massive, chaotic and well covered war zone?we have a really good team based in kyiv: isabelle khurshudyan, the bureau chief, and siobhán o’grady, the chief correspondent. on my second day in kyiv, siobhán held a bureau meeting with all the fixers and the photographers and security and we talked about what kinds of stories they needed and also what kinds of stories i’d be interested in. i also talked a lot with the ukraine editor, david herszenhorn, who is based in brussels. it was a relatively quiet period   the counter offensive had stalled and the holidays were nearing. one bit of news at the time was incredulity over how many actors had been killed in the war. there hadn’t really been any recent stories about the impact of the war on culture   what it meant to lose all these people who’d woven the fabric of ukrainian identity. one of the things that russia is so threatened by is the richness of ukrainian culture. what would happen once these artists were gone? the lead of the story: odessa, ukraine   if the air raid sirens blared, the theater manager warned, everyone would have to shelter   cast, crew and spectators. it didn’t matter if the dance had already started. still oleksandra vorobiova twirled, a blur of dark tracksuit and loose hair, as she practiced without an audience. for a moment, she forgot about the sign propped on a music stand, a red arrow pointing to a basement bomb shelter. she forgot about the 113 days that the national academic theater of opera and ballet and closed after russia invaded, how half the company’s dancers fled abroad, how others enlisted to serve in a war they wouldn’t survive. she forgot about her beloved friend, rostislav yanchishen, who traded his ballet slippers for combat boots in february 2022 and became one of dozens of artists slaughtered in a war that will soon drag into its third year. she forgot. but only for a moment. meanwhile, one of the local producers had gotten a tip that there was a military operation in kherson, where a bunch of marines were dying in this river crossing for very little gain. those were the two stories i started pursuing right off the bat. i’m always thinking, what am i going to do next? that’s an evolving conversation with the photographer and the local producer. i want them to tell stories that really matter to them, too. it’s a collaboration. in the back of my mind, i knew i wanted to find a local teenager. i was curious what the war meant for this next generation of ukrainians. these teenagers were processing a pandemic and the invasion of their country. what was it like for them, as they thought about their future? since i was there during christmas and new year’s, i also thought about how to tell the story of where ukraine was at in this moment in time, going into another year of war, as these two holidays, which didn’t feel very festive, we’re approaching. i tried to think about a unique way to tell those stories. you spent christmas and new years in a dangerous foreign environment? what is that emotional landscape like?in california, there were many years i spent thanksgiving or christmas in fire zones with people who had lost everything. so this wasn’t that strange for me. in weird way, it feels more odd if i’m with my family on the holidays because i’m so used to working. for christmas, i wanted to tell the story of soldiers on the frontlines who were trying to make ukraine’s 12 traditional christmas dishes. we drove out into the donetsk region to a little house that was serving as a military command post. at the house, this soldier with a big frizzy beard was rushing around slicing potatoes and gutting fish. the house had no running water, and yet he was managing to put together this incredible feast. getting to watch him work and waiting for the other soldiers to come in made me realize we’re all more similar than dissimilar. i thought this wasn’t too different from what my family was doing at the same time in nebraska   making food and enjoying time together, even if our family unit was incomplete. one my favorite parts was when the soldier started tucking coins into the potato dumplings. if you bite into a dumpling and hit a coin, it means you’ll have a year of luck and wealth. he insisted, “you have to eat one!!” when the dumplings were done, he gave us all a little dish. i was the first to bite into a coin and i thought, this is incredible! this is exactly the kind of thing that you hope for when you’re meeting new people and telling stories that really matter, and just getting to be part of it. a moment from that story: hunched over a camping stove in the entryway, pots of water boiling, the only window turned liquid from steam. slotting wood into traditional oven   the size of steamer trunk   to bake stuffed cabbage rolls, called holbutsi. stmaping dumplings from homemade dough with a yellow coffee mug. he moved in short, quick movements   his beard frizzy and graying, his laughter quick to explode   as he darted between rooms, through a door propped open with an ironing board. myron, who is being identified only by his first name for security reasons, knew the soldiers in his battery were cold and discouraged. they rotated through the trenches, running artillery reconnaissance on russian forces several kilometers away. now, they are stationed in a village where blue tarps cover homes where the roofs have been blown off, and vehicle checkpoints are dotted with christmas trees. it is a blip in a region bearing the scars of last year’s fighting   streets dark and emptied, sunflower fields seeded with mines   even after liberation from russian occupation last year. what precautions do you take to ensure your stories don’t endanger the people you’re writing about? it sounds like the military is cautious about disclosing certain facts to reporters. in one story, you note: “ukraine does not publicly disclose its number of military casualties and has declined to specify how many marines were killed in the mission.” and how do you fact check? the local producers are from ukraine and understand what’s at stake. i always have them back read my stories when i’m done writing to make sure that i didn’t misunderstand the translation or include anything that would endanger someone’s life. david, the ukraine editor, is also a wealth of knowledge and helps. you have audio from the interviews, so you can fact check against that. the local producer calls and double checks things with the authorities   giving them a chance to respond   to ensure we have the correct information. you aren’t just doing it by yourself, which very weird for me because i’m used to doing all of the fact checking and reporting on my own. it’s amazing to work in a team. there’s a lot of trust. i wish we could do this all the time! what is your relationship like with the local producer?it’s a total mind meld. the main producer i worked with, serhii korolchuk, is so smart and intrepid, and his english is phenomenal. he was able to translate nuances. working with him was so easy. it’s like a game of telephone. the person you’re interviewing is talking and you’re paying attention to their body language. i would find myself nodding my head or reacting just based on how they moved. serhii would then translate what they said into english. i would ask another question and he would translate it back. it was intimate in a way that i didn’t expect. you’re so deep in this conversation that you almost forget there’s a language barrier. i want to ask you about a scene from a particular story: “russia unleashes missile barrages at ukraine as holiday airstrikes persist.” there’s a scene right after a missile strike and you describe it in a way that makes me think you must had to have been there when the ground was still smoking: one ambulance’s windshield splintered. in a nearby liquor store, bottles shimmied off their shelves and smashed to the floor. the smell of natural gas wafted through the air. debris lofted into the park below, where benches had been knocked sideways. nestled among the damage was a teddy bear. these are such specific details that i figured this was an observed scene   not details you learned in an interview. where were you when the missile hit? were you in danger?that was one of my last days in ukraine, at the end of a few grueling days. we had news duty on new year’s eve and new year’s day. we basically just worked for 36 hours straight; my eyes were so red. on the morning of january 2, we were planning to celebrate by going out to breakfast as a team. instead, we were rattled awake at 7:30 am by these huge missiles going off a few kilometers from our hotel. we were raring to go, but our security guy said, “i’m going to take a shower.” he always tries to slow us down because a big issue with these strikes is that russia will often “double tap.” they’ll fire one missile and after it hits, they’ll wait for emergency personnel to arrive and then they’ll fire another missile. on this morning, that’s what happened. so his shower actually was probably a good thing, because we weren’t there when the second missile hit. when we got there, the ambulances that had reported to the first strike had been shattered. and it was just mayhem. people walking around without shoes. people crying, dragging their dogs around. i remember so clearly seeing this mom and her little boy. he had blood just seeping out of the side of his head and got it all over his mom, all over her face. i think people get really tired of hearing and reading about bad news. so whenever i am telling stories, i think about how to humanize my writing in a way that would make someone pay attention for just a sentence longer, a paragraph longer. i want to make them interrogate why they think what they think or make them feel something   to remember that this war still matters, even though it’s been going on for so long. those are the things i’m always looking for when i’m on scene. i’m not only looking at the building that just got bombed but looking around it. what’s in the park? how are the local businesses reacting? how does it feel to be there in that moment? if i can make a reader feel something the way that i felt it, i consider that a success. how did you approach the woman and her injured son?i had watched them for a little while. when i felt like there was a break   she was standing outside of the ambulance while he was inside to get his wound dressed   i went up to her with the photographer, wojciech grzedzinski, who was helping me out with translating since my local producer had already departed. i asked her name and where she lived and if she could tell me what happened. i knew we would probably only get two or three minutes with her before they took the little boy to the hospital. but it was really all we needed to get those details about who this kid was and what their lives had looked like before this missile hit. what was her response? how did she react to being interviewed in that moment?she was really open to it. there’s this misconception that people who are going through the worst days of their lives don’t want to talk to journalists. but i’ve actually found the opposite to be true. there’s some comfort in your story being heard. being seen. being able to share your pain in a way that makes your experience feel like it means something. after the story ran, the mom emailed the photographer, who speaks ukrainian. she basically said, we’re back home from the hospital. my son is okay. i try to bring empathy and sensitivity to whatever story i’m working on. i want the people i’m talking with to know they’re respected and that their stories aren’t being taken from them   that the things they say matter and might help others understand what they’re going through. so that email was very affirming. one of my favorite stories you’ve written is, “she’s sixteen. the war in ukraine wrecked her city and her childhood.” you mentioned earlier that you knew you wanted to find a teenager whose life was interrupted by this war. how did you find kate?we were trying to find the right teenager in the right place. a kid who was on the front line somewhere, or whose life had been impacted by the war in a really intimate way. our driver grew up in a city called izyum, which had been under russian occupation. his mom worked at a kindergarten with a teacher who had a teenage daughter. they’d lived in a bunker for several months. she had just turned 16, which i really liked, because 16 feels like such a poignant age. from the story: kate was there as 80 percent of izyum was razed, as more than 1,000 of her neighbors were killed. she was there when teh city   an important transporation hub in eastern ukraine with a preinvasion population of about 45,000   was liberated in september 2022. her classes are still online. her friends are displaced. her crush is in a different country. her beloved woods contain mines and at least one mass grave. still, she thought that 16 would be different   more freedom, more maturity. but her birthday came and went on dec. 4, and now it is just more of the same. “i thought, ‘wow, cool. i will be so grown up,'” kate said. “and i feel like a 10 year old child.” nearly every day, she walks   remembered what her life was, escaping what it has become   until her legs ache and her mind goes blank. the story about kate notes “three days of interviews at her home.” can you tell me what that three days looked like? i’ve been thinking about the progression of interviewing for narratives. in my process it starts quite broad, with open ended questions, and gets narrower and more specific with each subsequent interview. when you’re writing a narrative, what does interviewing process look like for you?you totally nailed it. i feel like the secret is starting broad, especially when you’re interviewing people who have gone through something that’s traumatic. you don’t want to just push them into the deep end before they trust you. i usually start just by asking whoever i’m interviewing to show me things   on their cell phone, in their environment. it’s a good way to make people feel less observed. it’s more participatory, instead of just, here’s this journalist staring at me and barraging me with all these questions! kate showed me her bedroom and i asked her about things i noticed. what’s this christmas ornament? did you make it? where did it come from? this box under your bed   what’s in there? we went through the box, where she’d stored her birthday cards, and she played me a song on her guitar, then gave me a little tour of the rest of the apartment. her mom was there, and we all talked and made sure everyone was comfortable. after that, we walked up the street to see her and her mom’s real apartment. they were staying with her grandparents for the winter because their apartment had suffered damage during a missile strike. it had no heat or running water and wasn’t habitable in the colder months. kate showed me her childhood pictures and her art books. i feel like it’s easier for people to share their memories if you make it more open ended. can you show me around? what do you think of when you look out the window? what are your favorite memories there? i let them take the lead. so that was the first day. on the second day, we showed up to hang out with kate. it was the photographer, the local producer and me. we wanted to shadow her through a typical day but she said, “all i really do these days is walk.” so we decided to walk with her. i remember thinking we’d walk for half an hour or so. then we ended up walking   i kid you not   all day. we followed her around for miles as she walked her different routes. she would point things out. “oh, that’s my school.” or, “that’s where i used to go rollerblading.” or “my parents met in that park.” she talked a lot about wanting to be alone. “oh, i’ll come sit over here by the soccer fields, but if anyone else comes, i’ll move because i just want to be alone.” the last day we just spent time with her at home. we ate breakfast with her and her grandmother. by the third day, i usually have a list of follow up questions, including some of the harder questions. but i always want to make sure i have time to leave someone in a good place. you don’t want to ask them really hard questions, and then up and leave. i’ve been thinking about the importance of the last interview. how do you prepare the person for the magnitude of the story that’s going to come out and the response they might get?i try to address the magnitude on the front end of a story. i’ll tell them, i don’t want to be here unless you want me here. i know it might seem weird to have this strange person in your home with you all day. if you need a break, just let me know   i can go get a coffee and come back. if you want to look at my notebook, you’re welcome to look at my notebook. i want them to feel comfortable and like they’re part of the process, versus feeling like something is being taken from them. then on the last day or toward the end of a reporting trip, when i have a sense of the harder questions i need answers to, i’ll usually explain, i have some harder questions for you. and you don’t have to answer them if you don’t want to, and if you need a break, that’s okay. then i ask the hard things: what was it like for you, having your stepdad get taken as a prisoner of war? what was it like living in the bunker? do you feel like your childhood was sped up because of the war? you talk a lot about feeling like you’re still 14. can you tell me about that?” i really want to get inside their head and understand how they think and feel. i always end with future focused questions. what gives you hope? what are you looking forward to? what plans do you have? kate felt really loyal to her mom. she wanted to give back to her mom and talked a lot about wanting to get her mom a new car   her old one had been stolen by russian soldiers   and take her to the seychelles. so that felt like putting her back on solid ground, thinking about what was ahead of her versus what was behind her. in writing about war, i imagine it’s not too hard to find a narrative lead with tension. there are probably scenes happening around you all the time. but how do choose an ending when you’re still living in the middle of the narrative arc?with beginnings and endings, i tend to feel it when i’m in the moment. when i was talking to kate on the last day, i asked what she was going to do with the rest of her day. she said, “i’m just going back to bed.” i thought, that’s it! that’s the end of the story! she’s a teenager. it may be late in the day, and she might be living in a war zone, but like any other teenager, she’s going to go back to bed. i think beginnings and endings are about finding the universal in the specific. those scenes that make you feel something. if i really feel something as i see it, i’ll put a star next to it in my notebook. when you are immersed in details and individual lives, is it hard to zoom out and see the context of the bigger picture? how do you do that?at the post, we call it “the sweep.” we need that sweeping washington post sentence or two at the beginning of the story to explain why the story matters. in this story, it was something like, kate’s lucky compared to some of her friends, but it’s still really hard for her to make sense of a war dragging into its third year. the sweep is specific to kate, but it also gets at the broad idea of what’s happening to youth in this conflict zone and why it’s important to care about them. this is why you should pay attention to this 16 year old. how do you feel about nut grafs?i like nut graphs that don’t seem like nut grafs. i don’t like it when nut grafs feel like a departure from the story   when you’re shoving them in there just to say that you have one. i think it better serves the story if you can make the nut graf feel part of the story. but you’re still telling readers why what they’re reading is important and how it pertains to the bigger topic of the war. what was the hardest part for you about your time covering the war?you really connect with the people that you’re writing about, and it can be really hard to see how painful their reality is. sometimes i wish that there was more than i could do. i feel so privileged getting to walk into the story and do this work, but i also know that i get to leave at the end of the story   to go home to a place where i don’t have to worry about a missile blowing up my apartment building in the middle of the night or my brother getting conscripted into the army. bearing witness to their reality is painful. you have to believe that the story will help, that it will serve them, that it will do something. yet sometimes i wish there was more i could do. * * * kim cross is a freelance journalist and nonfiction author based in boise, idaho. her new book, “in light of all darkness,” is about the fbi investigation of the 1993 polly klaas kidnapping. strictly q&a carly stern strictly q&a carly stern strictly q&a trevor pyle help advance the nieman foundation’s mission “to promote and elevate the standards of journalism” by making a donation. nieman foundation for journalism at harvard walter lippmann house, one francis ave. cambridge, ma 02138 (617) 495 2237 © 2024 by the president and fellows of harvard college

the european external action service (eeas) is the european union’s diplomatic service. since 2011, the eeas carries out the eu’s common foreign and security policy to promote peace, prosperity, security, and the interests of europeans across the globe. the eu high representative for foreign affairs shapes the standing of the european union on the global stage. all over the world, the european external action service, in coordination with the european union institutions, addresses eu foreign policy priorities, including civilian and military planning and crisis response. the european union has special representatives in different countries and regions of the world. contact the european external action service, ask general questions on the european union or get information on visiting the eeas. the eu maintains diplomatic relations with nearly all countries in the world and undertakes a range of actions with strategic partners, key international players, and emerging and developing 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around specific topic and actions. job opportunities, grants and tenders at the eeas, eu delegations and missions and operations. looking for an exciting job in the field of external relations, foreign affairs and security? find our vacancies interested in one of the tenders? see how to apply for an eeas call for tenders. grants can be awarded as donations to third parties that are engaged in external aid activities. grants are managed by europeaid (devco) or dg near, the eeas does not manage any grant. the eu supports projects worldwide covering a range of sectors. every day, events are organised worldwide by the european union delegations and its partners. the war in ukraine caused by the brutal russian aggression is different from everything seen over the last 30 years, according to some of the world’s most experienced war reporters in a panel discussion about reporting conditions in ukraine and frontline coverage of this war. pictured: oleksandra matviichuki addresses the reporting from ukraine conference in sarajevo. the view emerged at a gathering in sarajevo on 14 july 2023 of some of the world’s most reputable war correspondents, civic activists and photographers. the event was organised by the eeas stratcom western balkans task force, in collaboration with the eu delegation to bosnia and herzegovina, and in partnership with the international warm foundation   dedicated to war reporting, war art and war memory. the panel discussed different angles of the aggression on ukraine. the guests included oleksandra matviichuk, head of the kyiv based non profit organization centre for civil liberties, awarded the nobel peace prize in 2022, rémy ourdan, war correspondent for french publication le monde, senior correspondent for the new york times, carlotta gall. also included was soviet union born israeli freelance photographer edward kaprov, who publishes in leading international magazines all of whom have reported from ukraine, and valerie hopkins, moscow correspondent for the new york times, who reported from ukraine prior to her assignment in moscow. reporting from the frontlines, journalists make huge sacrifices and some of them pay the ultimate price. at least 17 journalists and media workers have been killed in ukraine since russia’s full scale invasion began. one of them was french journalist arman soldin. doing his job, reporting from donbas, arman paid that ultimate price. a russian missile took his life on the 9th of may 2023 while he was reporting from the front lines. arman was born in sarajevo in 1991. as a 12 month old baby, he was evacuated to france when the war in bosnia and herzegovina broke out. a tribute in his honour took place on the same morning that the news became public that french president macron posthumously awarded soldin with france’s highest order of merit, the legion d’honneur (legion of honour) in his native city. a short documentary by afp featuring soldin’s footage was shown during the tribute. arman soldin embodied a passion to convey the truth, tell stories and gather testimonies, with a sense of duty to inform. in a letter to agence france presse, president emmanuel macron praised soldin, saying that ‘arman soldin embodied a passion to convey the truth, tell stories and gather testimonies, with a sense of duty to inform.’ the panellists echoed this sentiment. rémy ourdan, a war correspondent for le monde, met arman as a young man, first in paris and sarajevo, later in kyiv. he was already a superb reporter. ‘he was an exceptional reporter,’ ourdan said. ‘more experienced war correspondents meet hundreds of new ones when they arrive. one would notice someone like arman immediately. he was extraordinarily good.’ ourdan’s remarks were spoken in front of an audience at the kino meeting point in sarajevo which included arman soldin’s father and two sisters. the event also focused on the different forms of pressure and intimidation journalists face daily. one of the most recent cases is that of thewall street journalist evan gershkovich, incarcerated in a russian prison since his arrest in yekaterinburg on bogus espionage charges. such oppressive practices have not been seen since the end of the soviet era in the 1990s. valerie hopkins, the new york times moscow correspondent, urged everybody watching the event via eu social media channels or watching live on sarajevo tv’s broadcast channel to read evan’s texts, follow his work and write to him in prison, where he has been confined for more than 100 days. the panellists also discussed the ways in which disinformation aims to blur the view of the russian aggression on ukraine. it manages to confuse audiences across the world about what the war is about and what is actually happening. a feature of every war, disinformation has been weaponized throughout history, panellists said, but thanks to new technologies, the scale of russian disinformation today is overwhelming. while reflecting on many conflicts he has covered over the last 30 years, ourdan has noticed a clear change, especially in his readership. ‘before, we would get both a praise and criticism for our reporting. but the latter would be based on either ideology or facts,’ he said. ‘today, some readers simply write, “i do not believe a word of what you say,”’ said ourdan, wondering what to can be done about this phenomenon, and where the lack of trust in professional journalists comes from. carlotta gall, the new york times senior correspondent, had a clear idea. ‘the troll farms that russia is known for, not only cause distrust in the media, but also put journalists in unprecedented danger,’ said gall. she added that journalists today face completely new challenges while reporting on war. mistrust in the media is a bigger problem for professional journalists now ‘mistrust in the media is a bigger problem for professional journalists now,’ she said, ‘and that is often caused by the authorities themselves.’ oleksandra matviichuk, the head of the kyiv based non profit organization centre for civil liberties, which was awarded the nobel peace prize in 2022, spoke about the importance of tirelessly gathering evidence of atrocities across ukraine. ‘as a human rights lawyer who has been documenting war crimes for nine years, i spoke with hundreds of victims,’ matviichuk said, ‘and i know that these people need to restore not only their broken lives and broken families, broken visions of the future, but also their broken belief that justice is possible, even though delayed in time.’ she presented her organization’s ambitious goal to document each criminal act which has been committed by the invading russian troops, arguing that findings of this laborious work should be used in a new court where vladimir putin himself can be tried. ‘today, there is no such court,’ matviichuk said. ourdan covered the war in bosnia and herzegovina from its beginning to its end. he remembered how war correspondents in besieged sarajevo reacted to the news that a tribunal for the former yugoslavia was to be established. ‘the lack of justice was so total and prolonged that all hope seemed lost at that time,’ he said, ‘but, things change.’ years later, both internationally acclaimed correspondents participating in the panel, ourdan and hopkins, covered the war crime trials of the main culprits who were convicted, restoring the hope that international criminal justice does exist. edward kaprov, the soviet born documentary photographer from israel said he could not avoid going to ukraine after the invasion started. 'ukraine was a part of my motherland that no longer exists,' said kaprov. 'my ancestors are from ukraine, and lots of my close friends are now living in ukraine. i could not stay aside when egregious injustice started to occur there.' at a time when everybody is speeding up with digital photos saturating audiences, he decided to slow down by taking pictures using a wet collodion technique with a five second exposure. the technique was originally used to image the crimean war (1854 56) which was the first conflict ever to be covered by a war correspondent. in order to document the frontlines of ukraine, he has adopted this old style technique to cover ‘an old style war’ as experienced war correspondents call the current one in ukraine. this approach has grabbed the attention of audiences across the world. also in the audience in sarajevo was mykhailyna skoryk shkarivska, deputy mayor of bucha. she praised the work of journalists in documenting the russian war crimes in her city right after the liberation. ‘bucha was in a state of shock and disarray,’ she said. ‘we needed all the help we could get. journalists did an amazing job reporting on atrocities that the russian military committed.’ oleksandra matviichuk center for civil liberties kyiv, winner nobel peace prize 2022 edward kaprov an independent israeli photographer covering ukraine, carlotta gall new york times senior correspondent, rémy ourdan multiple award winning le monde war correspondent reporting from ukraine. valerie hopkins moscow correspondent of the new york times (big screen), oleksandra matviichuk (small screen) and panellists. questions and answers session at the discussion in sarajevo.
russia ukraine war supported by a reporter thought of his city in the west of ukraine as a haven from russian bombs   until a strike hit his street. by yurii shyvala yurii shyvala has reported on ukraine’s war, mainly on the front lines in the east, for almost three years. he lives in lviv. i’ve covered the brutal realities of ukraine’s war on its eastern front lines since the russian invasion of 2022, but my home on the other side of the country remained largely untouched by violence. in september, the conflict reached my family in an unexpected way. our car and the apartment we live in were hit by a russian missile while i was away on assignment, and while my wife and daughter were visiting family elsewhere. even though none of us were at home when the missile struck, it was a jarring reminder that there are no truly safe places in ukraine. for almost three years, war has split ukraine into two realities. one is near the combat zones, where russian ballistic missiles and guided bombs are an ever present threat. the other is in places where life carries on relatively normally, with most of the trappings of peace   but with the ominous sense that this can change at any moment. the events of september occurred as i straddled those two worlds. i was in poltava, a city of about 300,000 people in central ukraine, on one of its darkest days since russia’s invasion. on sept. 3, two ballistic missiles struck a military academy there, killing 59 people and injuring over 270. among the survivors was a 25 year old who gave his name only as markiyan. sitting on a curb near a rescue tent, where emergency workers handed out food and water, he looked shaken and confused. his clothes were dirty and his skin scratched   clear signs that he had narrowly escaped the deadly blast. “the first explosion threw me under the stairs. when i tried to get up and reach the shelter, the second blast hit,” he said, his voice catching.

 scott simon how has life in ukraine changed as the second anniversary of the war nears? npr's scott simon talks to journalist yaroslav trofimov and art curator and journalist kateryna iakovlenko.