52 h. ago You don't think it will happen to you: a deep friendship forged behind Ukraine's frontline

When the war breaks out in Ukraine, Alisa is thrown into a life she wasn't expecting. Working as a translator for foreign journalists she meets British war photographer Anastasia, who chooses not to rush towards the front, instead observing quiet moments of everyday resilience - birthdays, picnics, weddings. A unique friendship forms as the two women strive to collapse the emotional distance between “us” and “them”. Their bond deepens as war wounds them both —transforming this into a poetic meditation on closeness, distance, and what happens when war stops being a story about others. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago You don't think it will happen to you: a deep friendship forged on Ukraine's frontline

When the war breaks out in Ukraine, Alisa is thrown into a life she wasn't expecting. Working as a translator for foreign journalists she meets British war photographer Anastasia, who chooses not to rush towards the front, instead observing quiet moments of everyday resilience - birthdays, picnics, weddings. A unique friendship forms as the two women strive to collapse the emotional distance between “us” and “them”. Their bond deepens as war wounds them both —transforming this into a poetic meditation on closeness, distance, and what happens when war stops being a story about others. Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago People think they know what war is. Here’s what I learned in seven years on Ukraine’s frontline

Tanks, soldiers, explosions and tears are the cliches that movies and news reels show us. The reality is an integration of horror and the mundane, as those who have chosen to stay cling to as much normality as they canWatch the Guardian documentary here“I often have the same dream: that I’m trying to get home,” says Elena Lebedeva, setting out tea and sandwiches in the tiny kitchen of her rented flat. “There’s always some checkpoint, obstacle, something in the way. I keep going – walking, running, crawling – but I never manage to reach it.”Home for Lebedeva is Opytne, a tiny village – one school, no supermarkets – just outside Donetsk.Elena Lebedeva with her husband, Rodion, outside their new apartment block in Kryvyi Rih, 2023 Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago ‘You have to live’: Ukrainians on frontline practice normality despite Russian bombings

In once-occupied Sloviansk, war has become so routine that nobody pays attention to air-raid sirensOn a sunny afternoon this week the beach in the frontline Ukrainian city of Sloviansk was busy. Bathers paddled in a lake, sunbathed and sipped tea. At 3.30pm there was a sudden thunderclap. An artillery shell had crashed nearby, sending up a plume of twisting grey smoke. Ducks took off in panic. The swimmers glanced nonchalantly upwards and carried on bobbing in the salty water.“After three years of fighting we’ve got used to booms. They don’t bother us any more,” Alyona, a pensioner in a swimsuit, explained. She pointed to a concrete box beyond a row of wooden changing cabins and outdoor showers. “If the bombs are close we’ve got a shelter,” she said. Alyona and her friend waded into the shallows. A man selling grapes sat engrossed reading a book. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago ‘You have to live’: Ukrainians on frontline practise normality despite Russian bombings

In once-occupied Sloviansk, war has become so routine that nobody pays attention to air-raid sirensOn a sunny afternoon this week the beach in the frontline Ukrainian city of Sloviansk was busy. Bathers paddled in a lake, sunbathed and sipped tea. At 3.30pm there was a sudden thunderclap. An artillery shell had crashed nearby, sending up a plume of twisting grey smoke. Ducks took off in panic. The swimmers glanced nonchalantly upwards and carried on bobbing in the salty water.“After three years of fighting we’ve got used to booms. They don’t bother us any more,” Alyona, a pensioner in a swimsuit, explained. She pointed to a concrete box beyond a row of wooden changing cabins and outdoor showers. “If the bombs are close we’ve got a shelter,” she said. Alyona and her friend waded into the shallows. A man selling grapes sat engrossed reading a book. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Safety fears as external power to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant still out after three days

Ukrainian officials among those concerned Russia is manufacturing crisis to keep hold of frontline plantExternal power to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been cut for more than three days, a record outage that has prompted safety concerns over the six-reactor site on the frontline of the Ukraine war.Emergency generators are being used to power cooling and safety systems after the final power line into the plant was cut on the Russian side at 4.56pm on Tuesday and there is no immediate sign that the line will be reconnected. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Putin drafts Playboy editor to fight in Ukraine war as he's sent to frontline

The former editor-in-chief of Playboy in Russia has been drafted by Putin to fight against Ukraine in the war and in return he'll have charges of embezzlement against him dropped

Politics

2 w. ago Putin dons his military fatigues to visit Zapad war games 500miles from the frontline

Vladimir Putin wore his military fatigues today on a visit to the Zapad 2025 war games around 500 miles away from the nearest frontline, while his trooped unleashed a drone in Kharkiv, east Ukraine.

Events

2 w. ago From Playboy and London fintech to the frontlines in Ukraine. The curious case of Vladimir Lyaporov

From Playboy and London fintech to the frontlines in Ukraine. The curious case of Vladimir Lyaporov  Mediazona

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine drone sparks fire at one of Russia’s largest oil plants

Head of Bashkortostan region reports second drone shot down and minor damage to Bashneft’s Ufa refineryA Ukrainian drone crashed into one of Russia’s largest oil-refining complexes on Saturday, sparking a fire and causing minor damage, a Russian official said.The complex, which belongs to Russian oil company Bashneft, lies on the outskirts of the central Russian city of Ufa about 870 miles (1,400km) from the frontline in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Ukraine drone starts fire at one of Russia’s largest oil plants

Head of Bashkortostan region reports second drone shot down and minor damage to Bashneft’s Ufa refineryA Ukrainian drone has crashed into one of Russia’s largest oil-refining complexes, sparking a fire and causing minor damage, a Russian official has said.The complex, which belongs to Russian oil company Bashneft, lies on the outskirts of the central Russian city of Ufa about 870 miles (1,400km) from the frontline in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago How men as old as 65 are being snatched off the streets of Ukraine by violent press gangs

The woman shrieks in anguish. Along with a friend, she stands by the van feverishly pleading. But the officers are unmoved.

Events

last month Ukraine war briefing: No action from Trump as another Putin deadline passes

US president ‘very disappointed’ in Russian ruler; Trump had promised to get Putin to negotiating table with Volodymr Zelenskyy. What we know on day 1,288Donald Trump took no apparent action at the passing of his latest deadline for Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He was “very disappointed” in the Russian ruler, and was planning on “doing something to help people live”, said the US president, without any specifics. He was speaking on the radio show of Scott Jennings, a US conservative pundit.Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Russia was engaged in a new troop buildup in certain sectors of the frontline and still launching strikes on Ukrainian targets. “Now we see another buildup of Russian forces in certain sectors of the front. [Putin] refuses to be forced into peace Russia continues to launch strikes. Of course, we will respond to this,” said the Ukrainian president in his nightly address.European allies are ready to contribute to po...

Politics