Russia-Ukraine War

A Christmas tree is seen on a street during a blackout in Odesa, Ukraine, on Dec. 15, 2025.
War

'Every new strike only unites us' — Odesa endures 5-day blackout after Russian strikes

by Valeriia Samsonova

ODESA, Ukraine — Rolling into Odesa’s downtown, the constant hum of hundreds of generators drowns the ability to converse. Just days earlier, the region came under a massive strike involving Shahed-type attack drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. The city, home to one million residents, was plunged into near-complete darkness on Dec. 13, with hundreds of thousands of residents left without electricity, while water and heating services became scarce. “The emergency situation that a

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Fact-check: Debunking Russian propaganda about 'persecution of Christians' in Ukraine

The supposed "persecution of Christians" in Ukraine ranks among the most popular tropes of Russian disinformation. Kremlin propaganda has sought to cast the state's push to limit the influence of the Kremlin-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) — whose clergymen have aided Russia during the war — as an assault on Christians. Though Ukraine is religiously diverse, Orthodox Christianity remains the dominant faith, with the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine (O

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