Editor's Note: Stanislav Aseyev is a Ukrainian writer, journalist, veteran, and a survivor of the Izolyatsia prison in Russia-occupied Donetsk, infamous for its torture of prisoners. He was the first Ukrainian journalist to see to the Sednaya prison and death camp in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2024. This piece was originally published in Ukrainian on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. It has been translated and republished with the author's permission. I conceived this p

Ihor Kozlovskyi (1954-2023) was a renowned Ukrainian writer, scholar, and theologian from Donetsk Oblast. He was captured by Russian proxies in occupied Donetsk in 2016 for his pro-Ukrainian views and subsequently subjected to torture for nearly two years in Russian captivity. He was released in December 2017. One of Ukraine's most prominent religious scholars, Kozlovskyi authored works of poetry and prose, as well as over 50 academic books and over 200 articles across dictionaries, encyclopedi

Editor's Note: This op-ed was published in Ukrainian by RFE/RL. The Kyiv Independent has translated it and is republishing it with permission. The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors. Joseph Stalin made a huge mistake when he didn’t believe Soviet intelligence on Adolf Hitler's preparations to attack the USSR. Whether it was because of the warm diplomatic and economic relations with the Reich, or because of his pride in being the leader of a "great country," Stalin