Ukraine has been damaged in so many ways by the Russian attack. Veronika Romanova, Mariana Lastovyria, and Artem Moskalenko explore another for @timkmak’s Counteroffensive: The contamination of the soil by metals from mass shelling. France still has “red zones” where toxic levels remain deadly 106 years after the end of WWI, and Ukraine is likely to face the same future, whenever the conflict finishes.

https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/scars-of-war-can-ukraine-rebuild

Yale researchers at the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) were looking for 35,000 missing Ukrainian children, until DOGE cut off their funding. Mariana Lastovyria and Anastasiia Kryvoruchenko write for @timkmak’s Counteroffensive about what will happen now.
https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/how-doge-scrapped-the-hunt-for-ukraines

When the United States went to war with Iraq, nations from across the world fought with them — including Ukraine, which didn’t ask for money or minerals in return. @timkmak and Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova write for Counteroffensive about the “trend of the Trump administration taking decades-long partnerships as mere leverage for transactions.”

https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/ukraine-fought-alongside-us-in-iraq

Why does President Zelenskyy dress in military-style attire, and why did he get flak from certain quarters when he wore it to the White House? @timkmak, Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova and Anastasiia Kryvoruchenko dig into it for Counteroffensive.

https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/why-zelenskyy-wore-that-shirt-to

Ukraine just entered another year of war. The team at @timkmak’s Counteroffensive shares photos that they took during the past three years, and why these are meaningful. These images tell a story: Amidst the explosions, there are weddings, cats, chats, clouds and more.

https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/the-photos-we-took-that-illustrate

Why is Saudi Arabia involved in the negotiations to end the Russian occupation of Ukraine? “The Kingdom has great ambitions to take on the role of an indispensable intermediary,” writes @timkmak for the Counteroffensive. “And to do that, you must forget all their past and ongoing transgressions: their repression of women, their murder of Khashoggi, their torture, their executions and their silencing of the free press.” On their position in general, Mak and his team say: “The Counteroffensive will speak with moral clarity in these trying, dizzying times. We will call out hypocrisy. We will bear witness to America’s betrayal if or when it happens. And we will hold to account those who are responsible for the lives lost in the days to come.”

https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/the-suckerpunch-in-saudi

President Donald Trump is promising to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine — with the participation of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but without Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that’s not acceptable to him. @timkmak’s Counteroffensive looks at another country, Finland, which preserved its independence 80 years ago after war with Russia by giving up land and declaring neutrality. Will Ukraine be forced to do the same? https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/will-ukraine-be-forced-to-become