47-year-old Oleksandr Antonenko from Chernihiv took part in the battles for the hill near the village of Novoselivka near Chernihiv (an interactive reconstruction of these events is here).Before the war, he worked as a welder, joined the Armed Forces as a volunteer, and was enlisted in the 1st tank brigade.He says: "[When we were enlisted in the army], we were told that we were taken to do maintenance, and I was surprised that they would also pay us a salary on top of that. On the same day, we received weapons. But we got no uniform. Whatever kind of clothes people came in, they wore them in combat."Less than two weeks after voluntary mobilization, Oleksandr was captured during battle.We spoke with him in January 2023, after he returned home. Next are Oleksandr's direct words.Translated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike LytovЧитати українською

President Zelensky did not believe a full-scale invasion would happen and talked about barbecues in the spring – and the civilian authorities weren’t prepared for such a turn of events either. When Russia invaded, the government repeated optimistic reports that Ukrainian forces were successfully repelling the attacks. It cost the lives of those who took that message at face value and did not leave the soon-to-be-occupied territories in time. Others even moved to the occupied territories in a naïve hope to sit out the period of hostilities in a quiet area away from Kyiv.Читати українськоюTranslated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike Lytov

On July 29, a message in Russian was sent to the group chat of the teachers from Kherson secondary school No. 46: “On July 30, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., an inventory of the school will be conducted. You are requested to prepare the documentation and property items specified in the inventory list. The attendance of the entire teaching team is mandatory.”Translated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike LytovЧитати українською

“First, they pulled the nail off my little finger. Then my middle finger. The second time was not as painful as the first time. The pain was so immense I didn’t know what hurt more: when they were making a meat chop out of me with the rifle butt or when I stopped feeling my hands. They tortured me with an electric current. They called this ‘electrophoresis’ or ‘a phone call to Zelenskyi’,” says Oksana Minenko from Kherson. Her story is an account of the horrific crimes committed by the Russian occupiers in Ukraine. Oksana is 43 years old. For the past four years, she was happily married to 37-year-old Oleksiy Khvostyk, a lieutenant of the National Guard of Ukraine.Translated by Tetiana SykesRead this article in Ukrainian

Russia is systematically shelling electrical substations throughout Ukraine. We tried to analyze where Russian missiles are most often aimed at and what targets they choose.Earlier, we wrote about how Russian propagandists rejoice in response to attacks on Ukrainian power grids. We tried to investigate in more detail where the Russian forces were directing their strikes and saw how they are trying to isolate Ukraine's power grid and divide it into separate pieces. Notably, a lot of effort is being made to cut off electricity from the north of the country (Kyiv and Kharkiv).Translated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike LytovRead this article in Ukrainian

On October 11, 32 Ukrainian soldiers returned from captivity. Among those released is 22-year-old Oleksandr Makarevych from the Chernihiv Region, who has been serving in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade (the Black Zaporozhtsi) since September 2021. He went missing on June 26 this year near Bakhmut, Donetsk Region. Until October 10, the family did not know anything about what happened to him.Translated by Dmitry Lytov and Mike LytovRead this article in Ukrainian

Zaporizhzhia, a city near the frontline, comes alive every morning. The revving of cars, a line at the coffee shop - people head out to work. During the day they try to live a normal life, but at night they freeze up with fear. This is because Russian rockets usually arrive at night.One of the scariest nights in the city was from October 8 to 9, when the Russian army fired 12 rockets at Zaporizhzhia. An inconspicuous 9-story panel building at 8 Zestafonska Street became a "house with a hole" - another piece of evidence of the war crimes of the Russian army in Ukraine. TEXTY talked to residents who survived that night.Translated by Dmitry Lytov and Mike Lytov