Borys Sachalko

Ukrainian men seeking to avoid military service pay up to the equivalent of $15,000 to smuggling gangs that hire children as guides to get them across the border to Romania. It’s one of the phenomena contributing to persistent manpower problems as Kyiv fights against the Russian invasion.

Russia has targeted the electricity infrastructure across Ukraine, forcing authorities to impose regular power cuts. In Chernihiv, residents arrange their lives around the blackouts, cooking meals in advance, charging battery-powered lights, and cutting back on showers when the water supply is down.

Ukraine’s need to get people to the front to fight the Russian invasion is also creating a manpower problem in the rear, with labor shortages hitting many industries and some towns virtually empty of conscription-age men.

Ukrainian ground drone operators joke that they feel like big kids playing with remote-control cars -- but the job of driverless vehicles in keeping frontline troops functioning is no game.

As hundreds of Russian drone and missile attacks hit Ukraine on the night of April 15-16, Current Time correspondent Borys Sachalko narrowly avoided one of the strikes. He recorded a video from inside his shattered apartment building in Kyiv, where shrapnel had claimed the life of a young neighbor.

Russian forces are pressing closer to Kostyantynivka, one of Ukraine's remaining strongholds in the eastern Donetsk region, but forces defending the city say they're holding firm. One Ukrainian drone unit is battling Russian incursions, including soldiers traveling by horse to evade detection.

Ukraine's city of Odesa is welcoming beachgoers for the summer season on its Black Sea coast. Despite the risk of Russian strikes, Odesa's beaches offer a temporary respite to war-weary Ukrainians. On the coast, divers help keep Odesa's waters safe by removing debris from downed Russian drones.

Despite Russian strikes from the Black Sea, real estate agents say Odesa’s property market is surging. Seaside homes and apartments are selling fast, driven by locals, Kyiv buyers, and displaced Ukrainians. For many in the city, life by the sea continues -- guarded by air defenses.

Ukrainian drone-interceptor crews are working around the clock to stop Russian reconnaissance and attack drones approaching the frontline city of Kramatorsk. RFE/RL spent a night with one team defending the skies as aerial attacks intensify.

Ukrainian drone-interceptor crews are working around the clock to stop Russian reconnaissance and attack drones approaching the frontline city of Kramatorsk. RFE/RL spent a night with one team defending the skies as aerial attacks intensify.