Матеріали автора Olena Kushchenko

September, 7 a.m. The alarm jolts me out of a fitful sleep. Hand reaches for the phone to silence the annoying tune and automatically open the Kyiv Digital app notifications. The screen is its familiar mix of yellow, green, and red. This is the kind of "traffic light" that signals the start and end of air raid alerts. In September, there were 190 of them, lasting a total of 243 hours and 14 minutes, or more than 10 days. The first pressing question: should I take my child to school? It’s just the two of us, my eight-year-old son and me. His dad is in the military, I have a job, and there are no relatives nearby to help.Читати українською

A soldier with weary eyes calls himself "Krishna". He joined the army after being released from prison to defend Ukraine and to make his "father proud". 12,000 former convicts are serving in the special assault units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In total, as of 2024, there were nearly 39,000 prisoners in Ukraine. What challenges arise during recruitment? Who is ineligible to defend the homeland? And can former prisoners be assigned to positions and granted leave? Texty.org.ua reports.Читати українською

Russian special services continue to recruit Ukrainian teenagers. Gamification of the process, turning tasks into challenges and pranks, helps attract children and force them to commit crimes. How does the system work? What psychological techniques do the FSB and GRU use? And why is it impossible to win this game? Here is a simplified step-by-step algorithm.Читати українською

In movies where all the benefits of civilization have disappeared, everyone is driven by their own selfishness. In reality, it's the opposite: people stick together.Russia dealt another blow to Ukraine's energy sector on December 27, just before the New Year. At that time, residents of the city of Vyshhorod in the Kyiv region were left without electricity for almost 100 hours. Olena, a resident of Vyshhorod, told Texty.org.ua about what it's like to live in winter without electricity, water, or heating.Читати українською