Vlada Toporkova

Russia’s Orthodox Church has grown to around 350 parishes across Africa in just four years. Now, as questions mount over its links to Moscow’s military presence, the Church insists: “We don’t recruit Africans for military service.”

For five days, a Russian soldier wandered near the dried-up Kakhovka Reservoir after his unit was spotted and attacked by Ukrainian drones. Wounded, exhausted, and unsure where to go, he eventually encountered Ukrainian special forces and tried to fight them. Hours later, he was their prisoner.

More than a thousand people gathered in Kyiv’s Ivan Franko Square on July 16 to protest the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as Ukraine’s Defense Minister.

What started with volunteers building drones in garages, workshops, and warehouses has evolved into one of the most consequential military innovations of the war. On June 11, Ukraine honors the Day of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) for the first time.

Ukraine’s survival in its fight against the Russian invasion has depended on weapons and security guarantees. But in hospital wards, classrooms, and child protection systems, a coalition has been at work.