Radiation, wild animals, and “Shaheds.” At night near the ghost city of Prypiat, a mobile fire group from the 25th Brigade stands guard under a sky where threats can appear without warning.
He survived the hell of Mariupol and several Russian prisons—and never broke. Oleksandr Savov, 33, was one of the last Ukrainian soldiers to surrender at the Azovstal steel plant — the vast industrial fortress in the besieged southern city of Mariupol— in May 2022. Three years later, on March 19, 2025, he stepped off a prisoner-exchange flight with broken ribs, missing teeth and a single thought: to hug his 12-year-old daughter.
Ukraine has successfully returned 175 defenders from Russian captivity, along with 22 more heroes who are coming home through efforts beyond formal exchange processes. Among them are severely wounded soldiers and those imprisoned on fabricated charges. All will receive full medical and psychological care.
Ukraine has been in a full-scale war with Russia for the third year. 2024 was especially difficult and exhausting for the army, society, and economy. Every day, 100-200 combat clashes along the thousand-kilometer front line. Hundreds of drones and missiles are launched at cities and villages in the depths of the country.
Ukrainian LGBTQ+ soldiers have a double-sided war against the Russian enemy and for equal rights for their community. “I want to get married and start a family. If, God forbid, something happens to me, I want my love to receive the state’s payments and the government to support her. I can’t take 10 days off […]
