Environmental groups and aid agencies say that Ukraine faces a long road to an as-yet undetermined environmental catastrophe. A river in southern Ukraine was inundated last week by an explosion at a vital dam, threatening a host of ecosystems and the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Working under Russian occupation, in the words of Ukrainian farmer Yuriy Voychenko, was nothing but “dead farm workers and injured cattle.” In Kharkiv, Russian forces abandoned their post in September 2022, but not before leaving a deadĺy legacy behind: mines.
According to data from the language-learning app Duolingo, more than one million people have begun learning Ukrainian since February of last year. According to reports, there is still a lot of interest in learning Ukrainian, and the top three countries with the most Ukrainian language learners are Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
It is now difficult for people outside of Russia to know what Russians think about the conflict due to the Russian media crackdown that followed its invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian tourists Genia Dulot met in Egypt described how their lives have changed.
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, spoke with VOA about the Ukrainian capital as the war with Russia enters its second year. Tatiana Vorozhko has this story.
During the first nine months of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 14,000 Ukrainian companies were reportedly started in neighboring Poland.Having overcome the odds of starting a business abroad, those Ukrainian entrepreneurs are now succeeding and making big and small contributions to their country’s war efforts.
A New York transplant surgeon plans his third trip to Ukraine, where he has been working with doctors to help patients affected by Russia’s war with that country. Dr. Robert Montgomery, the surgeon, is also working to raise money for the purchase of medical equipment for a hospital in Lviv.
Formerly occupied city of Lyman, a strategically located city that locals refer to as “The Gates of Donbas.” Residents of the formerly prosperous metropolis now sleep in the basements of abandoned industries and rail yards, not far from towns that have been reduced to ruins.
Prior to the war, their jobs had nothing to do with the military; however, they are now volunteers engaged in an effort to drive out Russian soldiers from the Donbas region of Ukraine. Some of the soldiers were interviewed by Anna Kosstutschenko.
Vadym Horodnyi is a member of a military family in Ukraine. Vadym was determined about joining the military despite the fact that his father was killed protecting their hometown of Chernihiv. Finally given the opportunity to study in United States, the 14-year-old is now a cadet at the Marine Military Academy in Texas.