Daniel Ofman is a reporter with The World, based in New York.
Jamala, an Indigenous Crimean Tatar, often talks about how her heritage shapes her music. Her new album, “Qirim,” or “Crimea,” is a sort of ode to her country, with 14 epic Crimean Tatar folk songs.
The ruble is not doing very well. The Russian currency has been in a free fall. Last week, it reached its lowest point against the US dollar since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That could have implications for the Russian economy.
A two-day NATO summit wraps up on Wednesday in Vilnius, Lithuania. The 31-nation military alliance now has plans to grow, with Sweden expected to become a full-fledged member. Ukraine is eager to join as well, and its membership bid was at the top of the NATO summit agenda.
Last week, mercenaries from the Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, seized a major Russian city. Fighters eventually stopped their march toward Moscow, but the mutiny put Putin’s leadership — and the military — into question.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive appears to be off to a good start, even though it’s early days.
Ukrainian authorities say at least 19,000 children have been transferred to Russia from occupied territories during the war. Some Ukrainian families have taken matters into their own hands, taking risky trips to Russia to try to bring their children back home.
The World's Daniel Ofman spoke with Russian prisoners of war being held in a detention center in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Moscow and Kyiv are using captured POWs to retrieve their own fighters in prisoner swaps.
As the NBA Finals kick off, the 28-year-old Serbian basketball star is making waves with fans back in his hometown of Sombor, Serbia.
In many ways, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become a war of identity and self-expression. Many Ukranians are turning to tattoos to show their patriotism.
In 1989, the Ukrainian punk rock band Vopli Vidopliassova released an album called “Tantsi” or “Dances.” In 2019, the original session tape was rediscovered, and in 2023, Tantsi was finally officially released.
Over the weekend, President Joe Biden announced that the US will support a joint effort to train Ukrainian pilots. Administration officials also said that the US will allow its allies to supply Ukraine with advanced fighter jets, including US-made F-16s. The battle for air superiority in Ukraine has been ongoing since Russia's invasion, and now, Ukraine hopes that F-16s can help them counteract Russia's advantages.