WhoWhatWhy’s Best Ukraine Stories of 2022 - WhoWhatWhy WhoWhatWhy’s Best Ukraine Stories of 2022 - WhoWhatWhy

Ukraine, soldiers, weapons, Donbass
Ukrainian soldiers unload weapons supplies in Bakhmut, Donbass, Ukraine on December 11, 2022. Photo credit: © Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire

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In 2022 we brought you on-the-ground coverage of the war in Ukraine — and we continued our coverage even after many others in the mainstream media seemed to move on. Here is a selection of our Ukraine stories.

Volodomyr Zelenskyy, Liberation, Kherson, Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy conducts a ceremonial flag-raising after the liberation of Kherson, Ukraine. Photo credit: Caleb Larson / WhoWhatWhy

Joy and Anxiety in Newly Liberated Kherson

Russian forces have withdrawn from Kherson; now inhabitants must rebuild their lives and their city. 


47-year-old Victor, Irpin, Ukraine
Victor still has a lot to do around the house. He stands in front of his old truck which was destroyed in the Russian assault. Photo credit: Stefan Weichert / WhoWhatWhy

The War in Your Head: Grief and Trauma in Ukraine

The psychological effects of the war will haunt Ukraine for generations.


llia Samoilenko, Azovstal Defenders
Illia Samoilenko, Daria Tsykunova’s boyfriend and one of the roughly 1,000 Azov regiment fighters taken prisoner by Russia in May whose fates remain unknown after the fatal POW camp bombing in July. Photo credit: Dmytro Kozatskyi

After POW Camp Explosion, Kin of Azovstal Defenders Nervously Wait

“They want to demoralize us.”


Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with his Cabinet of Ministers, July 15, 2022. A Republican congresswoman—born in Ukraine—is resurrecting allegations of corruption on Zelenskyy’s team. Photo credit: President Of Ukraine

Remember Corruption in Ukraine?

Legitimate questions over corruption in Volodomyr Zelenskyy’s government might also suggest a Donald Trump campaign tactic in 2024. 


Ukraine, Supply Driver, Sergii Gimiush
Photo credit: Courtesy of Sergii Gimiush

The Civilian Volunteers Risking Their Lives to Deliver Supplies in Ukraine

A civilian fleet of thousands of cars and drivers is delivering badly needed food, fuel, and medicine to Ukrainian cities and far-flung villages — at a great cost.


Russian, Tank, Kharkiv, Ukraine
A destroyed 2K22 Tunguska, a Russian anti-aircraft system, found on the outskirts of Kharkiv. Photo credit: Guillaume Ptak / WhoWhatWhy

For Ukrainian Villagers, “Liberation” Is Temporary

Ukrainian villages near Kharkiv retaken from the Russians are full of grim reminders that the war is nearby and could return at any time.


Alexandra, food, Ukraine refugees
Alexandra (middle) and friends volunteering to distribute food at Palanca, a village in Moldova. Photo credit: Haley Bader / WhoWhatWhy

Ukrainians on the Run: The Reality for Refugees Arriving in Moldova

Moldova, the tiny and impoverished former Soviet state immediately to Ukraine’s west, is the portal of entry to refuge for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the war, as well as a final destination.   


Ukraine, Telegram
The Telegram messaging service has become a powerful tool for spreading information — and disinformation. Photo credit: Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from Don Komarechka / Flickr and press and / Pixabay .

A Look Inside a Pro-Russia Telegram Channel

In May 2020, the first post of the Telegram channel U_G_M — a Ukrainian flag emblazoned with a swastika — set the tone for what was to follow.


Soldiers, evacuees, Kyiv
The cost of bombing campaigns to civilian populations is extreme in Ukraine as it was in Vietnam and other wars. Photo credit: © Lafargue Raphael/Abaca via ZUMA Press

Ukraine: Putin’s Vietnam?

Russia may blast Ukraine into submission, but political success is not guaranteed to follow military victory.


Odessa, Ukraine, Russian offensive
Odessa, Ukraine, preparing for the Russian offensive, March 2, 2022. Photo credit: © Gilles Bader/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press

Ukraine on the Line: Phone Calls During Wartime

A writer talks to Ukrainians in the moments before and after the Russian invasion begins, and reckons with her own childhood memories of a Soviet Ukraine.


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