Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · 20h

If you prefer reading to listening, check out the Q&A version of my interview with @msnegovaya.bsky.social about what might come next in Russia’s war against Ukraine. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

‘The Kremlin has resources’ Putin believes Russia can outlast and overpower Ukraine. What does that mean for the war’s future? — Meduza

In the weeks since the Trump administration’s push to negotiate a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv stalled, Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine passed the three-and-a-half-year mark. Russian troo...

meduza.io

1

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · 1d

New podcast alert! For The Naked Pravda, researcher @msnegovaya.bsky.social breaks down the rising costs straining the Kremlin’s war machine — and explores four possible scenarios for the Russia–Ukraine war’s next chapter. meduza.io/en/episodes/...

Four scenarios for the next chapter in Russia’s war against Ukraine — Meduza

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now passed the three-and-a-half-year mark, and there is still no end in sight. The Trump administration’s recent push to negotiate a ceasefire ground…

meduza.io

7 16

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · 1d

Big thanks to @msnegovaya.bsky.social for joining me on The Naked Pravda to talk about the next chapter of Russia’s war against Ukraine. We cover the mounting costs pressuring the Kremlin, four scenarios for the war’s future trajectory, and so much more. meduza.io/en/episodes/... @meduza.io

Four scenarios for the next chapter in Russia’s war against Ukraine — Meduza

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now passed the three-and-a-half-year mark, and there is still no end in sight. The Trump administration’s recent push to negotiate a ceasefire ground to a h...

meduza.io

5 9

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · 1d

“Both photojournalists, wearing helmets and bulletproof vests marked ‘press,’ were in the open.”

RSF’s preliminary findings on the deliberate Russian drone strike that killed French journalist Antoni Lallican & severely injured Ukrainian photojournalist Georgiy Ivanchenko. rsf.org/en/ukraine-r...

Ukraine: RSF publishes initial findings on targeted Russian strike that killed French photojournalist Antoni Lallican

French freelance photojournalist Antoni Lallican was killed near Kramatorsk in a deliberate strike by a Russian drone on 3 October. His Ukrainian colleague Georgiy Ivanchenko was critically wounded. R...

rsf.org

1 6

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · 7d

Overnight, Russian forces carried out their biggest strike on Ukraine’s gas production infrastructure since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to a statement from the state-owned energy company Naftogaz.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Russia launches largest strike on Ukraine’s gas infrastructure since start of full-scale war, inflicting ‘critical’ damage — Meduza

On Thursday night, Russian forces carried out their biggest strike on Ukraine’s gas production infrastructure since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to a statement from the state-owned…

meduza.io

10 11

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · 7d

Powerful piece by imprisoned Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli. “I was offered a plea deal – an admission of guilt in exchange for a lighter sentence – but I refused. To reconcile with injustice is to be buried alive.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

From my prison cell in Georgia, I implore Europe not to abandon us to Russia | Mzia Amaglobeli

My fellow journalists are putting their lives in danger every day, but we refuse to surrender to a regime that threatens Europe’s own security, says imprisoned Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli

www.theguardian.com

1 5

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · 10d

The water shortage in Ukraine’s occupied Donbas region is at a crisis level and only getting worse. Desperate residents’ public appeals to Putin have had few results.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

‘Hospitals and kindergartens are the first to suffer’ Russia destroyed the water infrastructure in Ukraine’s occupied Donbas. Civilians are paying the price. — Meduza

Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of war in Donbas triggered chronic water shortages across Ukraine’s Donetsk region beginning in 2014. By the time Moscow launched its full-scale…

meduza.io

2 11 25

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · 12d

Moldova’s pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity, led by President Maia Sandu, has won more than 50 percent of the vote in the country’s parliamentary election.
meduza.io/en/news/2025...

Moldova’s ruling pro-E.U.party wins parliamentary majority — Meduza

Moldova’s pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity, led by President Maia Sandu, has won more than 50 percent of the vote in the country’s parliamentary election.

meduza.io

11 41

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Reuters @reuters.com · 16d

Fugitive tycoon Plahotniuc lands in Moldova after being extradited, media reports reut.rs/46DSbHy

Fugitive tycoon Plahotniuc lands in Moldova after being extradited, media reports

Moldovan business magnate Vladimir Plahotniuc, detained in Greece on a warrant linked to a $1 billion fraud case, landed in Moldova's capital Chisinau after being extradited, local media said on Thursday.

reut.rs

6 22

Reposted by Eilish Hart

The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 17d

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report on Sept. 23 detailing the vast scale of torture committed by Russian forces on Ukrainian civilians held in captivity in occupied territories.

'We'll leave you to rot' — UN report details horrific torture of Ukrainian civilians in Russian captivity

Former detainees reported experiencing a broad array of torture and ill-treatment during their captivity. Commonly described methods included severe beatings with various objects such as batons and st...

kyivindependent.com

2 76 160

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · 21d

Two weeks ago, Meduza launched an emergency crowdfunding campaign. To survive, we needed a radical increase in the number of our monthly supporters. And thanks to you, we did it! But sustainability means our campaign continues. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

15,000 monthly supporters now have Meduza’s back. Thank you!! Our crowdfunding campaign continues after hitting a crucial milestone — Meduza

A little more than two weeks ago, Meduza launched an emergency crowdfunding campaign, explaining that our dwindling resources would prevent us from continuing our work without a surge in support from…

meduza.io

6 21

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · Sep 5

In a dispatch from Armenia, journalist Kushane Chobanyan uncovers the human stories behind Vanadzor’s forgotten industrial giant. The Beet’s latest. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

‘Half of my life was spent there’ The human stories behind Vandazor’s forgotten factory — Meduza

A former industrial powerhouse, the city of Vanadzor in Armenia’s northern Lori region has seen most of its factories shutter in the decades since independence. The local Chemical Plant, which was…

meduza.io

2 12

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · Sep 3

Each of Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children are the eyewitness to a war crime. Now that they’re on the Trump administration’s radar, will it help get them back from Russia? My latest. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

Eyewitnesses to a war crime Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children are on the Trump administration’s radar. But will it help get them back? — Meduza

More than two weeks have passed since U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and by all appearances, this controversial show of diplomacy yielded no tangible results. Despite t...

meduza.io

2 5 14

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · Sep 5

Reporting on the Armenian city of Vanadzor often focuses on its industrial decline. In The Beet’s latest dispatch, journalist Kushane Chobanyan uncovers the human stories behind the city’s most famous factory. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

‘Half of my life was spent there’ The human stories behind Vandazor’s forgotten factory — Meduza

A former industrial powerhouse, the city of Vanadzor in Armenia’s northern Lori region has seen most of its factories shutter in the decades since independence. The local Chemical Plant, which was onc...

meduza.io

2

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · Sep 3

Ukraine has verified Russia’s deportation of nearly 20,000 children from occupied territories. Can the Trump administration help get them back? meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Eyewitnesses to a war crime Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children are on the Trump administration’s radar. But will it help get them back? — Meduza

More than two weeks have passed since U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and by all appearances, this controversial show of diplomacy yielded no tangible results. Despite…

meduza.io

3 16 19

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · Sep 3

Each of Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children are the eyewitness to a war crime. Now that they’re on the Trump administration’s radar, will it help get them back from Russia? My latest. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

Eyewitnesses to a war crime Ukraine’s 20,000 stolen children are on the Trump administration’s radar. But will it help get them back? — Meduza

More than two weeks have passed since U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and by all appearances, this controversial show of diplomacy yielded no tangible results. Despite t...

meduza.io

2 5 14

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · Sep 2

Dear readers, we urgently need your help.
Without at least 15,000 regular supporters, Meduza as you know it will cease to exist. But if you come through, you know we’ll keep working for you.
Please, read our full statement here:
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

We need your help An urgent appeal from the Meduza team — Meduza

Dear Meduza in English readers,

meduza.io

1 28 33

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · Aug 29

When Meduza visited Dobropillia in early August, the remaining residents compared it to a ghost town — and that was before Russian troops pierced Ukraine’s defenses in the area. Read more in our new dispatch. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Dispatch from Dobropillia As peace talks stall and Russia closes in, civilians flee another town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region — Meduza

The frontline in Ukraine’s Donetsk region has been creeping towards Dobropillia for the past 18 months. Located not far from the hotspot of Pokrovsk, this coal mining town has served as a refuge for…

meduza.io

6 16

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · Aug 29

On July 16, Russia dropped a half-ton bomb on the main shopping center in Dobropillia. For many residents, this proved to be the last straw. @meduza.io reports on the evacuation of this frontline town against the backdrop of faltering peace talks. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Dispatch from Dobropillia As peace talks stall and Russia closes in, civilians flee another town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region — Meduza

The frontline in Ukraine’s Donetsk region has been creeping towards Dobropillia for the past 18 months. Located not far from the hotspot of Pokrovsk, this coal mining town has served as a refuge for t...

meduza.io

2 2

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · Aug 29

Meduza and Mediazona’s latest estimate — based on inheritance case data — puts Russia’s total combat losses in Ukraine at more than 200,000. At some points in 2024, Russia’s losses likely exceeded 2,000 per week.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

The deadliest year yet A new investigation from Meduza and Mediazona shows Russia has lost more than 200,000 soldiers in its war against Ukraine — Meduza

Earlier this summer, Russia’s Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) stopped publishing overall mortality figures, leaving inheritance case data as the only reliable and sufficiently detailed source…

meduza.io

1 9 24

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Politico @politico.com · Aug 28

Europe floats a Ukraine-Russia buffer zone in a push for peace.

“They’re grasping for straws,” a former Pentagon official who oversaw Europe and NATO policy under the Obama admin said.

‘Grasping for straws’: Europe floats Ukraine-Russia buffer zone in push for peace

The idea is one of several proposals European officials are considering as they scramble to establish a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.

www.politico.com

9 16 44

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · Aug 29

On July 16, Russia dropped a half-ton bomb on the main shopping center in Dobropillia. For many residents, this proved to be the last straw. @meduza.io reports on the evacuation of this frontline town against the backdrop of faltering peace talks. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Dispatch from Dobropillia As peace talks stall and Russia closes in, civilians flee another town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region — Meduza

The frontline in Ukraine’s Donetsk region has been creeping towards Dobropillia for the past 18 months. Located not far from the hotspot of Pokrovsk, this coal mining town has served as a refuge for t...

meduza.io

2 2

Reposted by Eilish Hart

Meduza in English @meduza.io · Aug 28

Seventeen people have already been confirmed killed in Russia’s massive overnight strike on Kyiv, as rescue workers continue searching the rubble. See the aftermath of Moscow’s deadly assault on Ukraine’s capital.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

‘We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace’ Russian strike on Kyiv kills children as missile tears through apartment building — Meduza

Russian forces launched a massive overnight strike on Kyiv on August 28, killing at least 17 people and injuring dozens more, Ukrainian officials and emergency services said. One of the missiles hit…

meduza.io

1 14 17

Reposted by Eilish Hart

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Aug 25

In Opinion | “Until a couple of years ago Peter Ruzavin was a wunderkind of Russian opposition journalism,” M. Gessen writes. “Now, at 34, he is a corporal in uniform — a Ukrainian uniform. He serves with a drone unit in Kharkiv. ‘I feel lucky,’ he told me.”

Opinion | A Star in Russia’s Media World Joins Ukraine’s Army

On the ground in Kharkiv, the choices are starkly different.

nyti.ms

3 22 130