This week’s bonus episode is an extended interview with Bektour Iskender, a journalist and co-founder of Kloop, an NGO and leading news publication in Kyrgyzstan. Through his work with Kloop, Bektour trains young journalists to cover politics and investigate corruption, while also reporting on the most significant stories happening in his home country and near abroad.
We spoke to Bektour about his work in journalism and the history of Russian colonial aggression in Kyrgyzstan, creating a snapshot of a country whose past mirrors Ukraine’s, and whose present is also being determined by Russia’s war.
At least two were killed and 25 injured in a Russian attack on Kyiv overnight on July 10. The assault comes a day after Russia launched its largest-ever drone and missile strike against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war.
The Economist estimates roughly 31,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the offensive so far, in comparison to some 190,000-350,000 deaths and up to 1.3 million overall Russian casualties of the entire full-scale war.
Moscow's forces launched yet another mass aerial attack, deploying 18 missiles and about 400 drones, including 200 Shahed-type kamikaze models, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The package focuses on restoring energy systems damaged by Russian attacks, repairing transport networks and border crossings, and supporting small enterprises.
According to the SBU, the two individuals, a 24-year-old former student of a Kyiv technical university and his father, were gathering classified documentation with the intent to illegally transfer it to Chinese intelligence.
"With 2.3 billion euros in agreements signed, we aim to unlock up to 10 billion euros in investments to rebuild homes, reopen hospitals, revive businesses, and secure energy," Ursula von der Leyen said.
Dictator Alexander Lukashenko's regime often labels organizations that oppose its policies as terrorists or extremists in order to ban their activities.
