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Looking for the 10 best Ukraine-related books of 2025? We’ve got you
Culture

Looking for the 10 best Ukraine-related books of 2025? We’ve got you

by Kate Tsurkan

The year 2025 brought us more books about and from Ukraine that carry an inescapable heaviness, with war present on almost every page. Lives once shaped by literary ambitions continue to be cut short on the battlefield or under bombardment. Yet, thanks to the devotion of translators, publishers, and a growing audience of readers who refuse to look away, these voices keep traveling outward. They insist on being heard. From the first days of the full-scale invasion, one imperative has remained co

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165 days trapped on Ukraine's front line

Just last year, the battlefield in Ukraine was most dangerous when the shooting started. Now it is often the moments before and after, when soldiers change positions under the eyes of prowling drones. For two Ukrainian soldiers — Oleksandr Tishaiev and Oleksandr Aliksieienko — this modern battlefield reality turned what should have been a relatively routine month-long deployment, into a gruelling 165-day battle against not only Russian forces but also starvation, dehydration, and insanity. "We

One front-line position, two soldiers, 165 days

As Ukraine negotiates a peace agreement with the U.S., soldiers on the ground face a different reality: holding the line with shrinking infantry numbers and almost no rotation. For nearly six months, two Ukrainian soldiers, Oleksandr Tishaiev and Oleksandr Aliksieienko, were trapped in the same battered position on the Zaporizhzhia front, unable to rotate as Russian drones monitored every path in and out.

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When Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, Ukraine cut diplomatic relations with Moscow, formally severing the main line of communication. Yet, as the war enters its fourth year, discreet communication between Ukraine and Russia has continued — through humanitarian contacts, backchannels involving officials and… oligarchs. While no diplomatic ties exist, multiple unofficial communication tracks have emerged. "An official communication channel is something we need, and it e

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Our reporting on literature, films, art, and traditions from Ukraine and the latest news on culture in Eastern Europe.

Ukrainian culture
Ukrainian culture has survived centuries of Russian attempts to appropriate Ukrainian art, silence Ukrainian artists, and erase the Ukrainian language. Modern Ukrainian writers, filmmakers, and musicians — some of whom are serving on the front lines — continue to develop Ukrainian culture and fight for Ukraine’s future.

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