Ukraine

Eleventh-grade graduating students of School No.134 in Kharkiv danced a sombre waltz against the backdrop of the ruins of their school.

The United Nations estimates Ukraine is now one of the most mined countries in the world. In territories no longer occupied by Russian troops, experts from the country’s emergency services are now defusing hundreds of mines a day. VOA’s Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that Ukraine is now losing 60-100 soldiers each day in combat. By way of comparison, just short of 50 American soldiers died per day on average in 1968 during the Vietnam War's deadliest year for U.S. forces.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba chastised French President Emmanuel Macron, who earlier urged world powers not to “humiliate" Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine in order to preserve chances for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Refugees fleeing war zone - Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched on Feb. 24, has caused the largest migration crisis of the 21st century. All-out war - on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the start of a “special military operation” against Ukraine, i.e.,Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. Human toll - Russian forces have been shelling residential areas, dropping bombs on civilian targets, destroying villages and cities. Volunteers’ fight - As Ukraine’s Armed Forces were fighting to defend the country, many civilians were finding ways to help the fight without taking up arms. Life returns to liberated territories - In those regions, one can see the devastating consequences of the occupation.

Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched on Feb. 24, has caused the largest migration crisis of the 21st century.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), nearly seven million Ukrainians have fled the country, with over 90% of those escaping Ukraine being women and children, as men from 18 to 60 years of age are banned from leaving the country during the ongoing martial law.

Editor’s Note: As June 3 marks 100 days of Russia’s all-out war, the Kyiv Independent publishes its staff’s takes on what they have learned or understood over this time.

When Russia invaded 100 days ago, no one expected his country to survive. World leaders advised him to flee. “But they didn’t know us,” he said in a late-night video address in April. “And they didn’t know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom.”

"(Russia) lost its own future and any cultural ties to the free world. They all burned down."

Ukraine mounted a new counteroffensive Sunday to reclaim land around the southern port city of Kherson. Russian forces shelled targets in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to capture Sievierodonetsk, the last Ukrainian-controlled city in the Luhansk region.