Culture

'Some are forged into poets during hostilities' — Medic, former POW, and poet on how war is shaping Ukraine's writers

by Andrea JanutaJuly 8, 2025

Before her harrowing footage of life in Mariupol under siege from Russian invaders was viewed around the world in 2022, Yuliia Paievska — call sign "Taira" — was already well known to Ukrainians for leading a volunteer medical unit in Donbas. Now, the volunteer, soldier, athlete, global activist, and former POW is being lauded once again – as a poet whose debut collection, Nazhyvo (Live), has captured audiences in Ukraine with its fervent writing, inspired by some of the war's most brutal episo

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 JanutaJuly 3, 2025

Ukrainian author killed by Russia awarded UK’s prestigious Orwell Prize in political writing

by Kate TsurkanJune 25, 2025

As Ukraine bleeds, Western opera welcomes back pro-Putin Russian singer Anna Netrebko

by Kate TsurkanJune 25, 2025

A woman holds a Ukrainian passport at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana, Mexico, on April 5, 2022

Foreigners move closer to Ukrainian citizenship with new draft law, but red tape obscures their path

by Kate TsurkanJune 24, 2025

Love, sex, survival — Ukrainian author on how war shapes intimacy in Ukraine

by Kate TsurkanJune 21, 2025

Two people walk down the street in Vynohradiv, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine on May 22, 2025.

Hungary’s soft power meets Ukraine’s hard reality in Zakarpattia

by Martin FornusekJune 16, 2025

‘I feel like I lost 3 years’ — Ukrainian author turned soldier Artem Chapeye on culture during war

by Kate TsurkanJune 12, 2025

NewsLetters

News Feed

July 9, 2025 01:04 PM

Lithuania, Finland pivot to landmine production, potentially supplying to Ukraine, Reuters reports

Lithuania and Finland plan to begin domestic anti-personnel mine manufacturing in 2026, with some of the supplies potentially earmarked for Ukraine to counter the Russian threat, Reuters reported on July 9.

July 9, 2025 12:55 PM

Missing Ukrainian student found dead in Italy in apparent suicide, authorities say

Mariia Buhaiova, born in 2007, disappeared on July 4 after leaving a tourist village in Carovigno, a coastal municipality in the Apulia region, where she had been completing an internship.

July 9, 2025 12:42 PM

Zelensky arrives in Italy to meet Pope Leo, Kellogg

President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Rome on July 9 and is set to meet with Pope Leo XIV, Suspilne broadcaster reported, citing the presidential spokesperson.

July 9, 2025 12:25 PM

Russia eyes USAID-type development model to expand global influence, official says

Yevgeny Primakov, the head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Russia's foreign aid and cultural outreach arm, said Russia's Foreign Ministry is currently drafting legislation that would establish a formal framework for international development efforts.

July 9, 2025 10:56 AM

US confirms Trump ordered resumption of Ukraine military aid shipments

"We have, of course, the resumption of shipments to Ukraine. The president has been vocal about this," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a press briefing on July 8.

July 9, 2025 09:02 AM

Trump claims he told Putin he would 'bomb the sh*t out of Moscow' if Russia attacked Ukraine, CNN reports

"With Putin I said, 'If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the sh*t out of Moscow. I’m telling you I have no choice,'" Donald Trump told a group of donors in 2024, according to CNN.

About Culture

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.

June 12, 2025‘I feel like I lost 3 years’ — Ukrainian author turned soldier Artem Chapeye on culture during war

March 26, 2025Explainer: Some Ukrainians speak Russian language — it doesn’t make them Russian

Most Popular

China

China unveils its new 'graphite bomb' — here's how they work

China's state TV broadcaster has revealed details of a new "graphite bomb" that can cause a "complete loss of electricity" across an area of 10,000 square meters, or knock out entire power stations, the South China Morning Post reported on June 29. An animated video released by China's CCTV showed a missile being launched from a ground-based launcher and then flying to a target where it releases 90 small submunitions. They then bounce on the ground before exploding amid a mock-up of an electri

War update

Culture

'Some are forged into poets during hostilities' — Medic, former POW, and poet on how war is shaping Ukraine's writers

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

Ukrainian author killed by Russia awarded UK’s prestigious Orwell Prize in political writing

As Ukraine bleeds, Western opera welcomes back pro-Putin Russian singer Anna Netrebko

Foreigners move closer to Ukrainian citizenship with new draft law, but red tape obscures their path

Love, sex, survival — Ukrainian author on how war shapes intimacy in Ukraine

Hungary’s soft power meets Ukraine’s hard reality in Zakarpattia

‘I feel like I lost 3 years’ — Ukrainian author turned soldier Artem Chapeye on culture during war

More from Culture

Putin’s suspected daughter found working in anti-war galleries in Paris

'Ukrainians have been stripped of illusion of control' — Filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai on Russia's war, cinema and reclaiming the narrative

Author Yuri Andrukhovych on Ukrainian dissident art in Soviet times

Exiled Russian scholar on why Dugin is no philosopher, and Russia no defender of ‘traditional values’

Wondering where to start with Dostoevsky? Try his Ukrainian contemporaries instead

Controversial Russian literature prize sparks debate on separating culture from war crimes

‘Tattoos of war’ — haunting portraits of Ukrainians’ most painful wartime memories (Photos)

When art meets blockchain: Ukraine’s new frontier in wartime cultural preservation

NewsLetters

News Feed

Lithuania, Finland pivot to landmine production, potentially supplying to Ukraine, Reuters reports

Missing Ukrainian student found dead in Italy in apparent suicide, authorities say

Zelensky arrives in Italy to meet Pope Leo, Kellogg

Russia eyes USAID-type development model to expand global influence, official says

US confirms Trump ordered resumption of Ukraine military aid shipments

Trump claims he told Putin he would 'bomb the sh*t out of Moscow' if Russia attacked Ukraine, CNN reports

About Culture

Read more

Most Popular

China unveils its new 'graphite bomb' — here's how they work

Ukraine war latest: Drones attack Russia's Black Sea Fleet; Russian pipelines explode in country's Far East, HUR says

Iran summons Ukraine's envoy, warns of 'consequences' over comments on Israeli, US strikes

Pipelines supplying Russian military explode in Russia's Far East, HUR source says

Ukraine’s new interceptor UAVs are starting to knock Russia’s long-range Shahed drones out of the sky

Editors' Picks

‘Neither side wasted time' — Ukraine's economy minister on minerals deal negotiations with Trump’s ‘business-oriented’ administration

Russia increasingly targets Ukraine's cities with cluster munitions, raising civilian toll

As US aid to Ukraine dries up, new platform connects American investors with Ukrainian startups

Ukraine’s new interceptor UAVs are starting to knock Russia’s long-range Shahed drones out of the sky