Yurii Marchenko

The Vernadsky Research Base is Ukraine’s polar research station in Antarctica. But when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, even this icy frontier wasn’t untouched. Thirty-one polar scientists joined Ukraine’s Armed Forces. They’re now known, unofficially but proudly, as the Military Penguins. This is their story.

Russia wages war on Ukraine not only with tanks and missiles, but with paperwork, orphanages, and name changes targeting a generation of young Ukrainians—abducting them, militarizing them, and preparing them to fight against their own home. How does Russia transform stolen Ukrainian children into tools of its war and where are they now?

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it shook the world. For many Americans, it was another headline — something happening “over there.” But for some of the US veterans and volunteers, it was a call to action. They packed bags, bought one-way tickets, and entered a war that wasn’t theirs, at least not by birth. For them, it became a matter of principle.

Gathering to pray could mean a knock at the door, a midnight raid, or never coming home—this is the new reality for Protestants in Ukrainian territories under Russian control.

Meet the drones and their operators—pairs forged in war, bonded by survival. In Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion, these robots have become more than weapons. They’re comrades, partners in arms, serving side by side with the soldiers.

As a teenager, he joined the famed French Foreign Legion. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he became a volunteer, fighting on some of the hottest fronts of the war. Legionnaire, boxer, and sniper of the 3rd Assault Brigade—callsign “Hepa”—by the age of 24, he had lived a lifetime’s worth of experiences.