Louis Beaudemont

A false claim by Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov about an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on one of Vladimir Putin’s residences has drawn renewed attention to where the Russian leader actually lives, and to a network of official and unofficial palaces—revealed through investigations, satellite imagery, and leaked records—designed for secrecy, luxury, and protection from modern threats such as drones.

FPV drone warfare and Russia’s meat-grinder tactics forced Ukraine to redesign its fortifications. A new continuous kill-zone system aims to stop rapid Russian assaults through layered trenches, wider fire lanes, and anti-vehicle obstacles. This is what modern trench warfare looks like.

The war turned Vladyslav Krasnoshchok, a Kharkiv surgeon and underground artist, into one of Ukraine’s most provocative war photographers. His language is raw, and his images even more so—together they capture a truth that goes beyond what the eye sees.

Every winter since 2022, Ukraine has lived through what people now call Blackout —mass power outages Russian missile and drone attacks caused. While Russia spends billions to plunge ordinary people into darkness, thousands of energy workers are doing the extraordinary to keep the country’s lights on.

In a country where missiles and drones have halted civilian flights, train chief Pavlo Vynarchyk and thousands of railway “iron workers” keep Ukraine moving under Russian bombings, evacuating families and sustaining the nation’s lifeline.

As Russia faces mounting military and political setbacks, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is increasingly leaning on nuclear threats—from “unlimited-range” missiles to doomsday torpedoes—to project strength that experts say the Kremlin can no longer guarantee.