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“Minsk” behind the scenes. Confession of a non-diplomat. Part 2
04/14/2026 16:04   77
She then appeared on the screen, flushed, fastening the top buttons of her blouse. “Natalia Vladimirovna, where on earth are you?” asked Ambassador Grau, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s Special Representative, with a touch of feminine sarcasm. Nikanorova did not reply. — Either from the beach, or after...
“Minsk” behind the scenes. Confession of a non-diplomat
04/08/2026 16:39   148
“Minister” Nikanorova rolled her eyes, jumped up and ran off somewhere. And her brother, who represented the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the security subgroup and, as it turned out, headed an entire “administration” of Pushilin (the leader of the “DNR”), was outraged that I equated myself with their “ministerial” status...
Without Telegram. Luhansk journal
04/01/2026 16:43   187
On March 22, they slowed down Telegram. As loud as it may sound, it felt like the world stopped. What about all the texts, connections with family members!? It turned out that all life was in Telegram...
Intensification of mobilization in Ukraine: digitalization and total tracking
03/30/2026 19:35   217
Mobilization in Ukraine may soon move into a significantly stricter and more controlled phase. This is not about isolated targeted changes, but about an attempt to close several key “gray zones” at once...
“The war in the Middle East is a blow to China and a chance for russia”: expert Mykhailo Honchar explained what’s going on in the energy market
03/24/2026 23:44   259
Will the current crisis become a new “energy shock” for the world? Who actually benefits from rising oil prices? And is China capable of stabilizing the situation by acting not only as a consumer but also as a geopolitical mediator?
Forced evacuation: what the new law provides for and why human rights defenders criticize it
03/17/2026 14:12   331
This concerns not only cases of refusal to evacuate. The norm may also be applied in other situations. For example, if parents do not go with the child to a bomb shelter or leave the child alone at home. Theoretically, this may be interpreted as failure to ensure the child’s safety and become grounds for removing the child...
Crimea in a state of tension: 12 years of occupation and systemic problems
03/09/2026 11:09   356
Yes, russia illegally took Crimea in 2014, just as it is now doing with another territory of Ukraine. But this has already happened, and let’s be honest, no fair referendum or vote today would be on Ukraine’s side...
It’s not about territories! Or why Donbas must not be surrendered
03/02/2026 17:15   374
If Zelensky agrees now to voluntarily withdraw the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Donbas, then this will no longer be negotiations, but simply the signing of a capitulation. Since peace on the terms of one side is exactly that — capitulation. That is, in such a case, Kyiv will de facto recognize its defeat in the war and moscow’s victory. But objectively, Zelensky has no reasons to take such a step...
Second-hand embarrassment of the “liberated” Avdiivka. Overview of the occupied Donbas media
02/27/2026 21:40   393
It is obvious that the propaganda of the occupied Donbas loves cheerfully patriotic news hooks. The most valuable are anniversaries of past victories and, of course, the successes of the so-called “special military operation”. Thus, last week, the collaborationist authorities recalled that two years ago russian troops managed to capture Avdiivka, which had been almost completely destroyed by the occupiers’ missiles and bombs...
The Dayton Accords: how an “imperfect peace” stopped the war… and froze the conflict
02/19/2026 15:33   429
For Ukraine, this experience matters not as a model to copy, but as a warning about the price of compromises concluded under pressure and without a clear understanding of what the state will look like “after peace”...
We are ungrateful. Luhansk journal
02/12/2026 20:48   453
An elderly person definitely won’t cope with this. The world is changing too fast, it’s not for the elderly. Not for weak people. And, strangely enough, on social media people don’t thank anyone for new paths, but complain about new tariffs, about changes that are too rapid, about a world that is often not as friendly as we expected...
Fake victories of the russian army, marines near Pokrovsk, and the energy crisis — Ivan Stupak on enemy’s plans
02/04/2026 19:36   474
It looks like a constant attempt to demonstrate positive results. Because those at the top are waiting for them. Their logic is simple: not a day without a result, not a day without a capture...
Personnel rotation in wartime: what the latest appointments in power really mean
01/29/2026 16:38   622
This is the strangest dismissal. Some say it is revenge for Yermak, the Mindich story; others say it is a request from Kyrylo Budanov, because they have rather tense relations (not conflictual); still others say it is simply renewal for the sake of renewal. The most discussed version in the corridors is Maliuk’s excessively high media activity and his contacts with the Americans....
“Short-lived happiness”. Luhansk journal
01/19/2026 16:42   1372
A refrigerator truck with a “200” sign (a euphemism for "killed in action" – ed.) is driving toward me. There are very many of them in the city. This one is small, cozy. And the “200” sign on the windshield is framed with Christmas fairy lights… Most likely, it’s just ordinary lighting the driver managed to find, but it turned out so festive, playful, like in a Coca-Cola commercial...
Diary of an 18-year-old volunteer’s mother: war is profitable, it is hard to compete with it
01/07/2026 12:31   1517
And in the 12th year of the war, I begin to realize it as my competitor, against which I have little chance. Because it can give many people much more than just a single mother — war can give earnings, positions, power, lucrative contracts to drone manufacturers and funeral homes, income to barbershops in Izium and brothels in Kramatorsk…
Volodymyr Fesenko: The window of opportunity is only slightly ajar, russia isn’t ready to compromise on Donbas, and talks have hardened after the U.S. meeting
01/02/2026 18:42   641
The intensification of international contacts around a possible ceasefire and the search for a formula for a peace agreement between Ukraine and russia is accompanied by growing diplomatic tension and a significant complication of negotiation dynamics...
War and people. What determines the future of Ukrainian Donbas
12/24/2025 20:15   699
The war determines how many citizens of Ukraine will leave the region and whether they will have anywhere to return to. People determine whether they will want to live in a country where russia kills them and where their own “nationally conscious” compatriots stigmatize them…
What locals say. Residents of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk on the “surrender of Donbas”, language, faith, and corruption
12/18/2025 17:10   749
Extremely negatively. The percentage of those who are actually waiting for russia here — I wouldn’t call it negligible, but such people are much fewer, percentage-wise, than those who want to live in Ukrainian Donbas. Even if the line of demarcation runs through Druzhkivka...
How the front-line Donbas lives. A first-person report
12/15/2025 11:53   745
It so happened that the cities in Donbas where I had been on my recent trips — Kurakhove, Pokrovsk — are now impossible to return to. At least in the near future… I noticed this trend in the spring, while being in Sloviansk. I wouldn’t say I’m superstitious, but back then, just in case, I tossed a coin onto the soggy road...
“The military will do what they are ordered” – Donetsk-born officer on the “withdrawal of troops from Donbas” and the AFU issues
12/08/2025 15:10   735
If, God forbid, that happens, it will be the maximum level of stupidity imaginable. I don’t believe that can happen. Pulling the military out of there means voluntarily giving up our territory. And what would change? The war will continue — only with unprepared positions and more of our people dying...
The “DNR” leader has confirmed that settlements destroyed during the “SMO” will be shown to tourists rather than restored. Overview of the occupied Donbas media
12/02/2025 12:26   830
For the first time, Denis Pushilin voiced the idea of preserving the Donbas city districts and settlements destroyed by the russian occupiers “to preserve memory” half a year ago. At that time, he named Avdiivka, Vuhledar, and Bakhmut as candidates for an “open-air museum”...
“This is not a document, this is a venture. But there are positive points”: Serhiy Harmash on the new U.S. “peace plan”
11/26/2025 11:46   771
Now a similar effect: screw the corruption — if we’re talking about the threat of losing national dignity, Mindich moves into the background. So, dramatizing the moment benefits our authorities, and Zelensky — let’s not forget — is a good actor...
Marinka and its only resident, FC “Shakhtar’s” stolen biography and their own chicken wings. Overview of the occupied Donbas media
11/20/2025 13:51   801
t’s hard to explain why, but from time to time the media of the occupied Donbas churn out news or reports that, according to russian censorship, clearly fall under the criminal article “discrediting the SMO” or even “sabotage”...
Military expert Roman Svitan: Ukraine has strategically lost Pokrovsk, the city is under threat of encirclement
11/07/2025 14:29   911
Military expert Roman Svitan explained to OstroV why Pokrovsk has become the strategic centre of the russian attack, what the loss of this line would mean for the entire eastern defensive system, and what decisions the Ukrainian command and authorities now need to make...
Diary of an 18-year-old volunteer’s mother: a year has passed. Turns out, one can live like this
11/03/2025 12:57   974
...We talk about mercenaries in the army of russia, but we also have Colombians who have already become part of everyday reality. They also fight on the opposite side, where the payments are much higher. One can conclude that those who choose to fight for Ukraine do so consciously, not just for money...
The kremlin hopes to break Ukraine in winter, but Trump’s sanctions change the negotiation game
10/29/2025 13:40   954
Later it became known that he had three options: the lightest, medium, and heavy. He, accordingly, imposed the medium option of sanctions, hinting to putin that he still had a tougher package...
Rehabilitation after russian captivity resembles a Tarantino movie
10/24/2025 11:39   1015
This man (like all of them) is in prison again — though a different one. Yes, it’s not russian captivity. But it’s still a prison. And within him, the feeling of dependence on the system continues to grow...
Pavlo Lakiichuk: The summer offensive failed, but russia is preparing a new campaign, the enemy has not abandoned plans to capture all of Donbas
10/17/2025 14:26   984
Gerasimov had to replan the operation. That’s what he meant when he was shown on television: “We will continue the autumn offensive”. In other words, a new operation is being planned, resources are being allocated, and it will be implemented...
The Moldovan elections as a prototype of future elections in Ukraine
10/13/2025 15:39   1006
The geopolitical confrontation between the EU and russia that raged during the parliamentary elections ended not only with the victory of Sandu and the European Union but also with the further polarization of Moldovan society amid deepening internal problems...
"The kremlin suffered a defeat": Volodymyr Fesenko on the elections in Moldova and the prospects of reintegration of Transnistria
10/03/2025 12:57   971
A victory for pro-Russian forces in Moldova would be a powerful argument for those European politicians who oppose EU enlargement. And this would undoubtedly work against both Moldova's European integration and Ukraine's European integration...
Russian elections in occupied Sevastopol: the triumph of Razvozhaev and "United Russia"
09/29/2025 14:41   2010
SVD-2025 confirmed the trend of monopolizing the political space. No governor was replaced, and "United Russia" only strengthened parliamentary positions; war veterans became a new tool of legitimation...
Consumption of reality. Luhansk journal
09/22/2025 14:50   5068
With water, the situation is very different. In Luhansk, the decade long problem has been solved, and it’s still hard to believe that one can live without water supplies stored on every surface in the house. A little further from Luhansk the situation is not so euphoric, but everything is covered by the capacious phrase — repair and replacement of outdated pipes...
Diary of an 18-year-old volunteer’s mother: The imbalance between official news and realities is traumatizing
09/17/2025 15:51   10227
He’s allowed to go to the MMC at his place of registration for two days. His commanders let him at their own risk, because you could get yet another AWOL. And at the MMC, the key doctor’s appointment is scheduled FOR 20 DAYS LATER!
The drawn “hero” Zakharchenko and Pushilin handing out empty promises. Overview of media in occupied Donbas
09/12/2025 13:06   15083
On August 31, occupied Donbas, under the close watch of local media, marked Donetsk Day, Miners’ Day, and staged an imitation of nationwide mourning for the anniversary of the liquidation of the “DNR” leader Alexander Zakharchenko...
Vladyslav Selezniov: Russia’s summer offensive turned out to be a “soap bubble” with no strategic results
09/09/2025 12:04   17090
Meanwhile, according to experts, the russian command is concentrating resources in the south of the Zaporizhzhia oblast, preparing new attacks that could become another attempt to turn the course of the war in its favor...
Crimea without gasoline: strikes on oil refineries, vouchers, and the black market for fuel
08/29/2025 16:19   20855
August 2025 turned out to be especially difficult for the russian fuel market. After a series of strikes on oil refineries, russia lost a significant part of its refining capacity (about 1–1.5 million barrels per day). Exchange prices for AI-95 gasoline reached 80.51 thousand rubles per ton, setting a historic maximum...
There will be no peace, even if... Forecast with analysis of the "root causes"
08/20/2025 15:19   18927
The problem for putin is not the war. The problem for putin, which forced him to ask Trump for a meeting in Alaska, is the economic incapacity of the russian federation to continue the war further. The state of the russian economy is forcing moscow to cut the military budget, which threatens both the loss of the war and social instability if it continues...
"The Finnish scenario". History repeats itself. Then – war returns
08/19/2025 16:28   24744
Moscow’s demands for the transfer of territories not yet seized by moscow in exchange for “peace” make this analogy almost absolute. It turned out that in more than 80 years, the kremlin’s creativity has not advanced one iota...
Tourist season 2025 in occupied Crimea: queues, internet shutdown, high prices, and fear of attacks
08/15/2025 13:20   27401
The occupation authorities are calling the 2025 holiday season the best in five years. The “Ministry of Resorts of Crimea” reported that from the beginning of the year to July 31, the peninsula received 3.74 million vacationers, which is 14% more than in the same period of 2024...
Unstable Trump. Witkoff, tariffs, and the trend toward freezing the war for 8–10 months
08/08/2025 16:30   12794
Recent Witkoff’s visit to putin and the subsequent statements from Washington did not answer the main question – what will happen on August 8, after the deadline set by Trump for moscow to make a “deal” with Ukraine?
Surviving without water: How the occupiers drove Donetsk to a humanitarian catastrophe
07/31/2025 12:07   16038
In four hours, people must gather enough for three days, fill every possible container, wash themselves, do laundry. Residents call this torture, because water is often absent or disappears an hour after it starts...
New water supply schedule: "DNR" residents nostalgically recall the times when it was given every other day. Overview of media in occupied Donbas
07/24/2025 16:37   15029
Last week, local information resources were diligently preparing their readers and viewers for a further worsening of the tap water shortage problem. Local authorities once again “reminded” that the occupied Donbas was left without water due to a water blockade, the beginning of which coincided with the open invasion of Ukraine by russian troops, but which, allegedly, was arranged by Kyiv...
"Trump’s 50 days". Political analyst Ihor Chalenko explains what lies behind Washington’s new strategy
07/21/2025 16:17   10395
Trump realized: if he continues pursuing a policy of appeasing putin, it won’t bring any results. That’s why we’re now seeing tactical changes. I don’t believe these are strategic shifts. Because again, Trump operates in very short-term timeframes. This is even supported by his own statements — for example, about “50 days”, and then “we’ll see if putin agrees to negotiations or not”...
Head of the Luhansk Oblast State Administration Oleksii Kharchenko: on the (im)possibility of working with Luhansk tax offices, the (in)expediency of administration operations, and housing for IDPs
07/16/2025 14:55   14817
Right now, there’s a narrative about 4.5 million IDPs existing. Of course, it’s impossible – for any country in the world – to provide housing to 4.5 million of its citizens. We can only begin solving this problem with the state when we understand the real number of IDPs, not the declared one, and the real need for service housing...
"Next to them, we are a dying species". Luhansk journal
07/09/2025 17:12   14705
There are a lot of non-russians. We’re not used to that. They work until the very end, until it gets dark. Ours don’t, not like that — our people take care of themselves. But these ones are quick, tireless. They can be on their feet for 12 hours, smiling. They need to feed their family, pay rent, secure a place here...
Diary of an 18-year-old volunteer’s mother: relationships between “locals and military” and “women and men”
07/02/2025 18:45   14890
Lately, there’s been this vile trend in social media of people saying that some girls/women supposedly marry young assault soldiers up to three times: one gets buried, she collects the payout, marries the second… and so on — till the end of time...
"Putin wants Ukraine to initiate a capitulation scenario itself" — Kostiantyn Matviienko on the imitation of negotiations
06/27/2025 10:15   10574
In fact, no one in the world right now is putting pressure on him with demands to at least call a ceasefire and stop the killing of Ukrainians, so he’s trying to push this issue off the agenda...
Roman Svitan: Russia is hastily forming new reserves to intensify the offensive by the end of summer
06/23/2025 13:56   14757
Law enforcement officers must be brought into service. There are simply no other options. We can't buy North Korean soldiers. But we have our own. Hundreds of thousands of law enforcement and security personnel within the country who are trained at least for defensive actions. They don’t need to go on the offensive, just to hold the line. They know how to do that...
Diary of an 18-year-old volunteer’s mother: wound, sister, billboards with the fallen
06/16/2025 17:31   14880
Mom, people are dying because of them! At our training base, a junkie was working in the kitchen. That’s disgusting! You come back from a forced march, and someone like that is serving you soup! It’s disgusting! He’s taking a spot that could go to a normal, decent person with a disability!
The kremlin is playing a "Minsk-3" game: Serhiy Harmash on the Istanbul negotiations, memorandums, and putin’s tactics
06/06/2025 12:35   12612
It can be said that the negotiations are not being conducted for results, but rather for the sake of one spectator sitting in the Oval Office. Both sides are interested in his favor, and each is trying to gain certain tactical preferences — whether it be prisoner exchanges or informational and political bonuses.
Diary of an 18-year-old volunteer’s mother: Baibak is “200”. I can’t sleep
05/30/2025 17:18   15000
The instructors told us before deployment not to get too attached to each other, ‘cause many of us will be ‘200’, maybe all...
“No grounds for peace exist. And even putin is showing that”: military expert Serhii Hrabskyi on the situation at the front, negotiations, and mobilization
05/22/2025 13:58   14906
So all this talk about an imminent ceasefire is meaningless. Both putin through his actions and Ukraine through its resistance show that the situation is not yet ripe for any negotiations. Moreover for us, peace negotiations, as practice shows, can be deadly dangerous, because putin uses any pause in the war to his advantage...
Putin is trying to seize the initiative and calls for negotiations in Istanbul: what’s behind it
05/14/2025 12:50   10649
What’s behind putin’s “Istanbul initiative”, why the russian dictator chose Turkey specifically, and whether there are real grounds for a peace process now...
Economic reservation from mobilization: case closed?
05/12/2025 14:07   14813
In recent months, the topic of economic reservation from mobilization has practically faded away. While last year members of parliament, government officials, and even the president discussed possible parameters and details, today this topic is barely mentioned...
Trump’s plan to end the war: chances of implementation and next steps
05/02/2025 11:31   14969
Trump needs a success in this area, and he will work on it. He understands that pressuring Ukraine is useless since neither the government nor society responds to or acknowledges his pressure. So maybe he’ll start putting pressure on russia...
Everything is “ownerless” and everything is mine: A review of media from occupied Donbas
04/23/2025 19:38   14889
Last week, media in the occupied Donbas explained how to carve up property stolen from Ukrainians and kept assuring locals that, once the choicest assets are turned into “federal” property, life will finally get better… It suddenly turned out that the non‑government‑controlled parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts contain huge amounts of “ownerless” real estate: industrial plants, farmland, shopping malls…
The russian myth of the "revival of Donbas". Construction boom or construction noise
04/10/2025 11:23   14894
The “liberation” of Donbas, which russian propaganda has tirelessly repeated since February 2022, turned into total destruction of everything the occupier set foot on. No surprise that amid the bombed-out Ukrainian towns and villages, a myth had to be quickly implanted in the public consciousness: “russians don’t abandon their own and everything will be rebuilt better than before”...
The most important thing is not to compare! Luhansk journal
03/31/2025 12:03   14835
The locals are completely bewildered. How were they allowed to return? It's not even about them, it's about us. How are we supposed to work with them and pretend everything is normal?
Defender of Mariupol Vladyslav Ivakhov: among the jailers were frenzied sadists
03/24/2025 17:32   14833
I would kill them. Or first, I’d do to them exactly what they did to us, put them on trial, and then… I’d kill them anyway. One of my comrades is still in captivity. I know exactly what he’s going through every second in those prison dungeons...
Putin’s response on the truce: was it a “yes” or a “no”?
03/18/2025 12:54   10595

That was a “yes” to Trump but a “no” to Trump’s proposal for a quick truce. Yes, 25 years in power have made putin a skilled diplomat, teaching him how to say “no” while pronouncing “yes”. And in doing so, leaving hope for a “yes” without giving a reason to react to his “no”...

Serhiy Harmash: The question is not whether putin will agree to a truce, but why he would agree to it
03/17/2025 16:17   10464
Why would putin publicly humiliate Trump by refusing when he could simply agree, present himself as a peacemaker, and then break the ceasefire anyway, while blaming Ukraine for it?
Serhiy Hrabsky: The cessation of hostilities today means catastrophe for Ukraine and Europe
03/10/2025 16:09   15018
The situation is further complicated by the fact that we are moving out of the densely built-up urban areas of Donbas. In these open fields, maneuvering is difficult. It is one thing to fight the enemy in an area where we have been fortifying our defenses for years and know the terrain well, but if the russians break out into operational freedom with air support—where they have superiority—and employ large numbers of tanks, which they can deploy, they may be able to advance much farther...
The agreement of disagreement. How long can Kyiv keep Trump on the "hook" of vanity?
03/05/2025 14:20   10742
Therefore, no illusions are needed: this Agreement does not guarantee us any benefits from the U.S., nor "colonial plundering", nor, even more so, a quick end to the war...
If America abandons us. A frontline perspective
02/26/2025 15:01   14836
There’s a reason this war is called the "first drone war"—it means that the majority of strikes are carried out by drones of various types. And most of these drones are not from the U.S...
Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko: The resonant Munich-2025, China's role, and peace negotiations
02/24/2025 13:50   10660
There is a risk—one that many are already discussing—that the West, as a unified geopolitical entity, may become a thing of the past. Europe and the U.S. could, so to speak, become separate geopolitical actors...
"Unfavorable conditions". The running water supply situation in Donetsk has sharply worsened
02/17/2025 12:13   15275
The miracle didn't happen. The water promised by the "DNR" leader Pushilin did not flow into Donetsk homes this morning...
Hryvnia: a test of strength
02/10/2025 15:58   10287
It is clear that under such conditions—where the national currency is held up solely by foreign financial injections—it is difficult to speak of its stability or predict any "bright future"...
"Other facets of life...". Luhansk journal
02/05/2025 10:29   14955
A friend of mine, after ten years of waiting for Ukraine to return to Luhansk, has revived his business in the "capital". Not directly—he's not allowed to enter the "republic"—but through former subordinates. His retail chain once had a foreign name, but now it's been rebranded with a traditional russian one, currently in vogue...
Elections in the de-occupied territories: a paradigm shift
01/27/2025 16:14   13865
As we can see, the conditions for holding elections in de-occupied territories before and after 2022 are fundamentally different. This means the election paradigm for these territories must also change...
Russian PSYOP: "The Jewish question" in Ukraine
01/21/2025 16:36   12909
The purpose of the state is precisely to regulate interactions between members of society, not based on emotions and traumas but on the rational maintenance of societal harmony and the country’s development...
Why is real estate in Donetsk so expensive?
01/14/2025 16:31   12103
First, high real estate prices are tied to high salaries. Of course, this doesn’t apply to the average Donetsk resident, whose salary ranges from 30,000 to 60,000 rubles...
Janissaries of the "russian world". How Ukrainian children are turned into enemies of Ukraine
01/07/2025 17:17   11377
The most vulnerable category of the population to propaganda is children. Their unformed psyche, lack of life experience, and often limited intellectual development make them easy prey for adults instilling any ideas...
Fake "revival"! Or why tax revenues are increasing in the occupied territories
12/30/2024 13:07   10433
During his latest "Direct Line" call-in show, putin stated that in the annexed regions of Ukraine, "revival is progressing quite quickly, and all these regions are reaching self-sufficiency"...
An inside look from Donetsk. Myths and reality of life under occupation today
12/23/2024 16:59   11679
It’s just that on TV, they show how much everyone in Donetsk loves russia and putin. In reality, there’s no love. People just endure and keep quiet so they won’t get arrested. Or, if their job requires it, they “love” it...
“Waste management doesn’t start with sorting”: about one of the reforms on the path to the EU that no one talks about
12/17/2024 11:54   10307

The recycling rate in Ukraine is about 10%, with the rest ending up in landfills, the overwhelming majority of which are illegal. In European Union countries, the situation is roughly the reverse: about 90% of waste is recycled, with only a small portion incinerated...

Return to the occupied territories: real stories and motives
12/11/2024 15:18   10412
The return of Ukrainian citizens to occupied territories is not part of the occupiers' plans. They do not want people there who have historical memory. Therefore, many russian citizens of various ethnicities are being brought to the occupied territories...
Non-charter relations: how putin unleashed a bloody war against Ukraine under the cover of the UN Charter
12/06/2024 11:59   10316
The UN Declaration adopted on September 13, 2007, clearly stipulates that the right of peoples to self-determination pertains specifically to the indigenous peoples of a given country. The multinational, predominantly non-indigenous population of Donbas and the southern oblasts of Ukraine cannot, by default, be considered such.
Freed Mariupol defender Andrii Tretiakov: "Azovstal", torture, and POW exchange
11/28/2024 17:29   10516
I’ve come to the conclusion that even Chechens treat prisoners of war better than russians. When Chechens came around, the treatment was more or less acceptable. The worst treatment we experienced was from russians in Taganrog...
"The horrors of our town": How residents of occupied Donbas spread fabrications about Ukrainian atrocities
11/20/2024 11:19   10868
...the specter of Bucha continues to haunt them. This is precisely why kremlin propaganda is feverishly pushing the narrative of alleged atrocities by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donbas areas that remained under Ukrainian control before being “liberated”...
What is information warfare and why Ukraine is losing it
11/13/2024 18:45   11347
To get an ordinary person to kill someone (and we’re not talking about pathological murderers, but average individuals), there needs to be an emotional charge—a feeling that triggers this unnatural urge in a normal person. There also has to be moral justification—an explanation for why killing...
People are returning to Donetsk to sell their apartments
11/04/2024 17:14   10316
Everyone traveling to Donetsk knows that without a russian passport, access to any “state” institution is denied. As a result, the first stop for many is the passport office to apply for russian citizenship...
Real estate from the inside: the forced experience of a displaced person
10/29/2024 17:05   10407
That’s real estate for you—lots of wheeling and dealing. I still feel embarrassed by those memories. But one thing eases my conscience. Around that time, my cat, our beloved pet and family member, fell ill...
The second anniversary of the "return of Donbas home": a festival of myths
10/22/2024 16:07   10404
The idea of appealing to history when talking about the belonging of a territory to various state entities, whose borders constantly shifted, appears odd in the modern world...
The last stronghold of the coal industry in Donbas: why people keep working despite the danger
10/15/2024 16:03   10700
The "Pokrovske" Mine Management is perhaps the only coal enterprise currently operating in the Donetsk oblaat. Before the war, it employed around 10,000 people, producing up to 8 million tons of coal annually. The enterprise provided jobs for a fifth of the population of Pokrovsk and supplied Ukraine with high-quality coking coal, essential for metallurgy...
"Survived by some miracle", or the results of the tourist season in Crimea
10/11/2024 15:55   10595
While the relatively low prices for tourists are a clear advantage, the local residents—many of whom live off the summer season year-round—are desperate as they lose income...
eVidnovlennia in the Donetsk oblast: How the state program works in practice
10/07/2024 17:07   10556
There is no need to fear selling property under the eVidnovlennia program. If you work with professional realtors, notaries, and lawyers, everything will go smoothly for both parties...
Housing boom against IDPs: Fleeing the war? Leave behind your children, the elderly, and pets
10/01/2024 15:13   10967
Displaced people have become easy targets for unscrupulous landlords. Unfortunately, even having a rental agreement doesn't always protect tenants...
Bread, evacuation, 20 residents, and the missing 82-year-old Nadiia Myroshnychenko: daily life of the free Luhansk oblast
09/25/2024 16:55   10553
The woman likely went looking for a place with mobile signal to call her son. She most likely triggered an explosive device, and wild animals scattered her remains...
Ukraine is ramping up drone production: issues and challenges
09/18/2024 15:26   10683
73% of surveyed defense industry manufacturers see no steps from the government to improve conditions for conducting defense business in Ukraine...
12-hour calls, reforms, and "Nadiia". How the ambulance service operates in the frontline Dnipropetrovsk oblast
09/13/2024 16:23   10588
The number of calls has increased... We all understand why. We have daily transports of military personnel; I won’t specify the locations. Military medics work first, and we pick up the wounded from first-contact hospitals or stabilization points...
Life prevails. How frontline communities in the Zaporizhzhia oblast are living
09/02/2024 12:39   11085
On the evening of August 20, the russian army struck the village of Malokaterynivka, which is part of the Kushuhum community. The occupiers hit the children's café Lavanda. As a result of the strike, a 15-year-old teenager, Dmytro Hrechanyk, died in the hospital...
Pavlo Kyrylenko and everyone else (who didn't get the recognition they deserved)
08/27/2024 12:04   11321
Opportunities for quick illicit enrichment in the war-torn region have been there all along, but have been changing...
Ways to leave occupied territories: current methods
08/21/2024 13:21   11152
August 6, the humanitarian corridor Pokrovka-Kolotilovka on the border with the Sumy oblast unexpectedly ceased operations. The russian side suddenly stopped allowing Ukrainians to pass through without providing any explanation, and the closure is indefinite.
Putin's "clever" move, or What lies behind Erdogan's grand gesture
08/13/2024 16:42   11394
For the kremlin, this means nothing but growing protest sentiments. That’s why it’s so crucial for it to ease sanctions, even if just a little. For example, through a trick with the "Black Sea grain initiative". But will this trick work? Probably not...
Will it ever be bought? The war and the land market: what was expected and feared
08/06/2024 16:51   11008
Even if the war ends and territories are liberated, as almost a large portion of agricultural land in these areas will require lengthy and expensive demining, reclamation, and similar processes...
Belarus and sanctions: on a short leash
07/30/2024 13:10   11406
By providing the russian army with territory to invade Ukraine, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko made his country an accomplice in war crimes and a target of international sanctions in February 2022...
Donetsk residents are being barred from returning home. Donetsk journal
07/24/2024 12:16   10951
Since October last year, getting home with a Donetsk registration and a Ukrainian passport has been like winning the lottery. You might get lucky, or you might not...
"Crimeaisours" is not yours! Luhansk journal
07/16/2024 12:38   10965
Crimea has become empty. There are few people but many military personnel. For our people, it's just right, but for the russians, it's scary. Furthermore, flights are halted, and taking a train takes too long...
Land reform, raiders, war and more... What farmers in the frontline Dnipropetrovsk oblast are not silent about
07/10/2024 12:20   11289
What's concerning about this reform? During the war, the ability to concentrate up to 10,000 hectares in one person's hands is a bad idea. Imagine a farmer buying these 10,000 hectares in one community. This creates a monopoly, and monopoly breeds corruption...
Tax increase: forgotten promises
07/02/2024 15:20   10859
These are taxes paid out of the pockets of ordinary citizens. No one is suggesting raising the corporate profit tax, the tax on shareholder dividends (investment income tax), royalties for mineral extraction, or the environmental tax. These are taxes paid out of the pockets of oligarchs...
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