Russian soldier Mykhailo Romanov, commander of a tank regiment, has been accused by Ukrainian prosecutors of shooting a resident of the village of Bohdanivka and then raping his wife three times in 2022.
On August 8, 2025, people in Kyiv bid farewell to Viktoriia Roshchyna, a 27-year-old journalist tortured to death while in Russian captivity. Her killing shocked the international community and became another stark reminder of Russia’s brutality and lawlessness.
During a recent mass missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv in the early hours of 6 June, a Russian kamikaze drone ignited a large fire in buildings on Vadym Hetman Street near Shuliavska metro station, a busy transit hub on the capital’s Red Line just west of the city center. As firefighters, rescuers and the DSNS press team worked the scene, a deliberate “double tap” drone strike — now a grim new norm in Kyiv — hit the same spot. With U.S. deliveries of air-defence munitions growing uncertain, such follow-on strikes threaten to become even more frequent and deadlier.
Local authorities promised to bury every fallen defender at public expense, yet the mourners who trailed a cortege of three soldiers through town witnessed indignities money had not fixed. Widows and mothers were left convinced that the state’s help fell short.
An ambulance pulls away from Ukraine’s Heart Institute, a state-run facility in Kyiv, at 1 a.m. It speeds along at 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour), occasionally turning on its sirens, as almost all the roads are empty. The destination: Korosten, a small town in the Zhytomyr region of northern Ukraine, approximately 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of Kyiv and near the border with Belarus. There, a deceased donor’s heart can save a seriously ill patient.
Women undergo firearms, tactical, and medical training as part of a national resistance course. Each has her own reason for taking up arms.
The streets are strewn with the bodies of killed civilians and littered with burnt iron, which Russian equipment has turned into. All around, battered houses have been destroyed. This is what Bucha looked like when the first journalists entered the city after its liberation from the occupiers on April 2, 2022. Among them was a Frontliner reporter who managed to get across the Romanivskyi Bridge.
“War seems so far away for North America that we think we’re untouchable. But we’re not,” says April Huggett, a Canadian who left behind a peaceful home, three children, and a beloved career more than two years ago to help Ukraine. After two years of volunteering, she signed a contract and joined the ranks of the Ukrainian army. For the sake of strangers in a foreign country, Huggett sacrificed her marriage, relationships with loved ones, sleep, and peace of mind. Yet she insists she has no regrets—because in this war, she is fighting for her children’s future. Her story is not just about a personal choice but also about the shifting Western perception of Russian aggression, which has tested the international order for nearly 11 years.
Doctors in frontline Kharkiv report a shortage of blood for transfusions and are calling on residents to donate. The deficit could impact wounded soldiers on the front lines and civilians injured in daily shelling. The city's Blood Service supplies not only local hospitals but also frontline areas in the region. Since January 2025, it has also been providing blood to medical facilities in the Sumy region, according to Blood Service representative Valentyna Taran.
On March 7, 2025, the Russian army launched a combined assault on Dobropillia, Donetsk region, using Iskander ballistic missiles, Tornado-S MLRS with cluster munitions, and Shahed ("Geran") drones.
Despite the United States pausing military aid to Ukraine, American-made artillery shells, surface-to-air missiles, air defense systems, ammunition, military vehicles, and electronic warfare equipment remain in active use on the front lines. Reporters from Frontliner spoke with Ukrainian soldiers to gather firsthand accounts of their experience using U.S.-supplied weapons. Given the sensitive nature of the topic, troops shared their feedback anonymously, offering insights into the effectiveness, strengths, and challenges of the equipment they rely on in combat.
At the request of our subscribers, Andriy and Vita asked local residents and the military holding the line what they thought about Donald Trump's statements about the need for concessions from Ukraine and the possibility of ending the war.
He’s been through constant beating with fists and sticks, made-up war crimes that he was forced to hang on other prisoners, and grueling 16-hour standing in a cell, this is the story of Yurii Sviderskyi, the 23-year-old Azov fighter from Khmelnytskyi. After putting down arms in Mariupol, he was imprisoned for over two years. Yurii watched the whole city burn to the ground, witnessed the Olenivka attack with other Ukrainian soldiers being killed, and saw numerous inhuman interrogations. It’s been six months since Yurii got back to Ukraine. He is still undergoing rehabilitation, as he still struggles with his teeth due to the injuries he received before his release. Frontliner spoke to Yurii in Khmelnytskyi when he came to see his girlfriend Taisiia between rehabilitation sessions. The following text is Yurii’s raw speech.
The "Alcatraz" battalion, operating within the 93rd Mechanized Brigade "Kholodny Yar", is composed of former prisoners who have chosen to enlist in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Each of these men has a unique past, shaped by the criminal charges they once faced. Some served just a few months behind bars, while others spent a significant portion of their lives in prison.
Frontliner reporters Andriy Dubchak and Viktoria Kalimbet have traveled to the Donetsk region to document life in frontline towns and villages. They will visit Ukrainian military positions, speak with locals, and share daily photos and reports from their journey. Follow their diary on the Frontliner website.
After enduring months of brutal torture, men freed from Russian captivity are forced to continue battling for their survival. Many have returned to a life stripped of homes, money, and the care they should receive from the state. To support themselves and others like them, these former prisoners have come together to form a network called The Alumni.
During the full-scale war, the Russian army has regularly launched missile and drone strikes, devastating critical infrastructure and residential areas in Kyiv.
