Daniel Ofman

In just the past couple of weeks, the Trump administration has shaken up the conversation about the war in Ukraine. The US has initiated talks to normalize relations with Russia, including six hours of talks on Thursday in Turkey to try to restore the normal functioning of their diplomatic missions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to visit the White House to sign a rare earth mineral deal with the US. Still, questions remain about how far this “reset of relations” can go.

Next week marks a somber anniversary: three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, leading to the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. For many of the millions of displaced Ukrainians, the path to safety was a treacherous one. This is the story of one young man’s escape from war-torn Ukraine.

“Flow” is an animated film from Latvia, with no dialogue, about a cat. Despite its modest budget, and coming from a small independent studio, it’s already won a Golden Globe and is generating serious Oscar buzz. The World’s Daniel Ofman reports that this passion project is finding a worldwide audience and is resonating because of its universal message.

Alexei Navalny was the most prominent Russian opposition politician and a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin. His legacy lives on.

Earlier this week, a bomb went off in a quiet Moscow suburb. A man named Armen Sargsyan was killed. He was the leader of a pro-Russian paramilitary group in eastern Ukraine and was a wanted man in Kyiv since 2014. These types of targeted attacks and drone strikes deep inside Russia are part of a bigger strategy of Ukraine taking the fight to Russia.