An open appeal by Ukrainian public figures to world leaders and the international community.

Ukraine’s continued resistance against Russian aggression is also clear in the field of literature. While many writers now serve in the military, others are making a contribution through their continued engagement with writing. Oleksandr Mykhed’s new book offers a vivid insight into this development that is helping to document the nation’s struggle for freedom.

Interview with US Army Col. (ret) Liam Collins, the executive director of the Madison Policy Forum and a fellow at the New America Foundation. Interviewer: Vazha Tavberidze.

Without solving historical issues, Polish-Ukrainian relations will be neither healed nor improved. They are burdened by a dispute over the commemoration of Polish victims on Ukrainian soil from the Second World War, as well as diverging perceptions of Polish involvement in helping Ukraine after the full-scale Russian invasion.

Ukrainians recently marked 1000 days at full-scale war defending their country against Russian invasion. In that time, the nation has developed many positive habits that are improving society as a whole. Such lessons could prove to be relevant for others around the world.

Beijing and other non-western capitals’ calls for a ceasefire and negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv have, after the Ukrainian occupation of Russian lands, acquired new meaning. A Chinese or other non-western push for a Russo-Ukrainian accommodation could lead now to meaningful peace talks.

As long as we have different narratives concerning the real meaning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the European Union will not be able to act as a coherent and pro-active geopolitical player. The EU should attempt to find a common language to talk about the war and its implications. Only then will we be able to uphold security across the continent, both for ourselves and our partners.

The recent meeting of the UN General Assembly proved to be a focal point for all the uncertainties the world is currently facing: the ineffectiveness of multilateralism; impunity for aggression and violations of international law; and increasing problems related to climate change and sustainable development goals. In short, the international rules-based order as perceived in the West is under threat with major uncertainties as a consequence.

As Ukraine continues its resistance against Russian aggression, discussions about the potential end of the war have sparked numerous debates throughout the international community. While many are eager for a swift resolution to the conflict, Ukraine has every right to be concerned about how the war will end.

The dialogue between Ukraine and some western partners was complicated in the early stages of the full-scale war. As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly emphasized, Ukraine is unwilling to give up any of its territories to achieve peace. He often referred to the moral aspect of the issue, even if some believed that it was not realistic. He stressed that Ukrainians living in the occupied territories are suffering under Russian occupation and enduring torture and human rights abuses.

A conversation with Borja Lasheras, advisor on Ukraine to Joseph Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Interviewer: Iwona Reichardt

Russia’s war in eastern Ukraine has dramatically impacted the areas that used to make up the coal mining industry. Since 2014 most of the mines on the territories of Donbas not controlled by Ukraine have been closed down and many of them subsequently began to flood. If the coal region remains in a state of uncontrolled flooding over the next five to twelve years, then two-thirds of the territory of Donbas will become uninhabitable for normal life.

Despite Russia's full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian government remains committed to its pledge to phase out coal after 2035, the former deputy energy minister, Yaroslav Demchenkov, said in the summer of 2023. By 2021, Ukraine, as well as the country's largest energy company, DTEK, had already joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), an initiative aimed at a phased transition to carbon-free energetics. In addition, during the COP28 climate summit, German Galushchenko, the energy minister, also announced plans to create a “de-carbonized mix of Ukraine's energy system” from renewable energy and nuclear power.

Scenes of conflict from Ukraine continue to dominate reports concerning the ongoing Russian invasion. Despite this, the war moves at a rather slow pace at the front. This reflects the local population’s adaptation to the conflict, with people stealing small moments of normalcy throughout their day-to-day lives.

On a cool, bluish-green river just minutes from the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, Ukrainian soldiers from a mortar brigade seek to relax. The dark green military 4x4 that brought them from the front now sits idle as they cast fishing lines into the water. The fishing is poor, yielding little more than ripples, but the catch does not matter. For these soldiers, the chance to grill meat, share drinks, and laugh in the open air is worth more than any fish they might pull out. Here, far from the war, time slows, and the simple act of being together in nature becomes a fleeting treasure.

With one million Ukrainians in the military, including hundreds of thousands on the frontlines, nine million displaced and thousands of men who once eagerly enlisted now hiding from military recruiters, the war shrunk and reshaped Ukraine's labour force. Indeed, it is likely to continue transforming society and women’s place in it for decades to come.

After years as a quality control engineer with big supermarkets and housing construction sites, Natalia Myronenko had yearned for change. Passionate about fashion, beauty, makeup and harmony, she saw her maternity leave after the birth of her second child as the perfect time to pivot. But the war intervened, thrusting her into a field she had never imagined entering: humanitarian demining. When she got the job as a quality control manager, she envisioned mostly office supervisory work. “Then I realized that war is my job, and I was shocked,” says the 40-year-old. Like in her old job, she has to check other people’s work. Only now, human lives are on the line. At stake is making the land safe again for farmers and people to live on, to survey each patch of farmland that had witnessed combat, carefully searching for and removing unexploded mines, missiles, artillery shells, bombs and other types of ordnance – all with the utmost caution. “It’s all about safety,” she says.