Photographs of four emaciated soldiers have shocked Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers returning home in prisoner exchanges, after years in Russian jails, also show deplorable physical condition. The treatment they receive violates the minimum standards of respect stipulated by the Geneva Convention for prisoners of war. But these four men had not been mistreated by the enemy: their commanders had abandoned them, without the most basic resources, on the front lines.

Seguir leyendo

Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, 41, is a figure in European history. For Ukraine, he is a hero: the medals he has received attest to this. But his significance transcends his country. The name of Sukharevskyi, the current deputy commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the East, appears in the annals of war not because of the current Russian invasion, which began in 2022, but because of a decision he made on April 13, 2014, in Sloviansk. This city in the Donetsk Oblast, in the Donbas region, remains under Ukrainian control today, largely thanks to him.

Seguir leyendo

“It’s really a question of our life, of surviving.” Volodymyr Zelenskiy couldn’t have put it more clearly this Wednesday in an interview on CNN. The Ukrainian president was referring to the €90 billion ($105 billion) loan that the European Council approved for his country on Thursday. The approval comes after months of delays and just when economists were warning that the Ukrainian government only had enough resources left to last until summer.

Seguir leyendo