Yurii Marchenko

A Kyiv penthouse with panoramic windows once embodied success. Now, it’s where people jolt awake to air raid sirens, counting the seconds: will they make it to a shelter, or is it safer to stay in the bathroom? Russia’s relentless bombardment has radically reshaped what Ukrainians call comfortable housing. Here are the main lessons.

Decades before Russian missiles rained on Ukraine, Moscow had already pulled off a quieter heist: seizing tens of billions in Soviet assets that rightfully belonged to Kyiv.

“What bad has Russia ever done to Ukraine?” a senior Russian official once asked. The line has since become a meme, yet history answers with centuries of conquest, repression, and betrayal.

On a golf course outside Kyiv, four players move unhurriedly along the fairways, chatting as they go. All of them are Ukrainian veterans who have been through the hell of Russia’s war, lost a limb, and yet today hold a golf club with confidence.

Alina Shukh was a World U20 heptathlon champion with Olympic ambitions. Far from the track, and deep in the fight against Russia’s invasion, today she leads foreign fighters on Ukraine’s frontline.

In the early hours of July 20, Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk defeated Britain’s Daniel Dubois and once again became the undisputed world champion. This is the third time he has held all the major boxing belts—something no one has ever done before. But this is far from the first record set by Ukrainian athletes in boxing.