Yurii Marchenko

Ukraine during wartime is a striking example of how an entire society can learn to save lives. Ukrainians have taken first aid courses en masse: from soldiers in the Armed Forces and volunteers to taxi drivers and teachers. Even thousands of kilometers from the front line, that knowledge is already saving lives.

“I drew death and war. And the future—because I’m scared of what’s coming.” Seventeen-year-old Valeriia lived through the Russian occupation and lost her father. Now she’s one of hundreds of children finding a way forward at Gen.Camp, where games and therapy help war-traumatized kids begin to heal.

Deep in a dugout near Ukraine’s front lines, a soldier sits with a book. It is not a tactical manual or a thriller, but Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations . His call sign is Stoic, and he lives by this philosophy.

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.