First Person

People gather during a protest against the foreign agents law on May 13, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia. © Daro Sulakauri/Getty Images

Georgia: “I Want to Play a Part in This Process”

IWPR project manager explains why she is volunteering as an election observer in a vote seen as crucial to country’s democratic future.

22 Oct 24

Ukrainian flags are displayed in the town square on September 29, 2022 in Balakiya, Ukraine. Balakiya was under Russian occupation for six months, the mayor collaborated with Russians, sparing the city from major destruction. © Paula Bronstein /Getty Images

“Justice is Costly, but Also Priceless.”

Head of Nobel peace prize winning NGO tells IWPR that Ukraine must win a “fundamental battle of values”.

7 Oct 22

Yevhen Nazarenko, 33, is a military reporter for the Ukrainian Witness YouTube project of the Come Back Alive Foundation, one of the country’s largest charitable funds. He has worked for Ukraine’s largest outlets, including 1+1, ICTV, Channel 24.

Ukraine: A Day in the Life of a Journalist on the Frontline

“As soon as we leave, a Russian shell lands exactly where we had been. If we’d left 30 seconds later, I would not be here to write this.”

20 Jul 22

A shelled apartment building in Mariupol, 16 March 2022. © Wanderer777/Wikimedia

Swimming Out of Besieged Mariupol

How one man swam to safety by diving into icy sea water to escape the Russian siege.

6 Jul 22

Russian troops control the entry and exit to Energodar, a city in southern Ukraine, which is home to the country's largest nuclear power plant. The city, with a pre-war population of 53,000 people, was occupied in the early days of the Russian invasion. The sign reads "Energodar. Russia, forever." © IWPR

Occupied Energodar, as Quiet as a Graveyard

The city, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, fell into Russian hands on March 4, and it is now impossible to leave.

13 Jun 22

https://iwpr.net/global-voices/ukraine-teenage-orphan-heading-his-family © Photo courtesy of Viacheslav Yalov

Ukraine: The Teenage Orphan Heading His Family

Eighteen-year-old looks after his four siblings after their mother was killed in a bombing.

9 Jun 22

(L) Fedir Sandor, head of the sociology faculty at Uzhhorod University, enlisted in the Ukrainian military and he still conducts virtual lectures from the trenches. (R) Fedir Shandor (centre) with his army friends. © (L) Uzhhorod University (R) photo courtesy of Fedir Shandor

Ukraine: The Professor on the Frontline

Giving lectures from the trenches, one sociologist combines military service with academia.

24 May 22

Ukrainian forces have managed to largely halt the Russian advance around the capital, but shelling and air strikes persist, driving up civilian and military casualties caused by Russia's large-scale invasion launched in Feb. 24. © Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images

Ukraine: The Clinic in an Underground Car Park

Volunteer medical centre can provide everything from dressings to surgery.

18 May 22

A poster near the memorial site Malakhov Kurgan reads “Thank you to the Russian army and each soldier – Z, for Russia”. © IWPR

Crimea: War Shrouded by Moscow’s Propaganda Fog

With Ukrainian news sites blocked, disinformation shapes people’s perception of events.

16 May 22

A row of buildings destroyed in Mariupol.

Besieged Mariupol: How I Got Out of Hell

Survivor describes heavy bombing, food shortages and intense loneliness of the siege.

5 May 22

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