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Russia-Ukraine War

'There is also good news' — Ukrainian drones reportedly hit key military optics plant in Russia

'There is also good news' — Ukrainian drones reportedly hit key military optics plant in Russia

by Anna Fratsyvir

Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's counter-disinformation center, said a drone hit the Azov Optical and Mechanical Plant in the town of Azov, Rostov Oblast. The facility reportedly manufactures critical components for the Russian military, including sights, rangefinders, thermal imaging systems, and fire control equipment for tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, ships, and aircraft.

Attendees of the Meridian Czernowitz literary festival in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on June 28–29, 2025.

‘Not many events like this left’ — A Ukrainian literary festival in a city falsely claimed by Russia

by Andrea Januta

When Russia illegally declared ownership in 2022 over all of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast – despite never fully capturing or controlling much of it — it only strengthened the case for holding a literary festival there, says Svyatoslav Pomerantsev, president of the international literary corporation Meridian Czernowitz. Hosting a cultural event in the

Russia-Ukraine war

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, eight years after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula and led an armed aggression in Ukraine’s east.

In February 2014, almost immediately following the end of the EuroMaidan Revolution in Ukraine, Russia swiftly moved to annex and occupy Crimea. Within months, Russian proxy forces took control of parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

By the start of 2022, Russia had amassed nearly 200,000 troops on Ukraine’s border. At 4:50 a.m. on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a speech that Russia was to carry out “a special military operation.” Within minutes, missile strikes were launched on Ukrainian cities and the full-scale invasion had begun.

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