2023 has emerged as yet another year in Ukraine’s ongoing struggle for self-determination and a brighter future. The Russian Federation launched thousands more missiles and kamikaze drones across Ukraine, targeting civilian objects and killing thousands of citizens.

¿What’s going on?

• On the night of December 29, the Russian Federation launched one of the largest missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages across the entire period of its full-scale invasion. The massive attack hit Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and other Ukrainian regions. At least 55 people were killed, 171 injured. In this attack, Russia started using North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine.
• On January 2 and 23, the Russian Federation conducted massive missile attacks on Ukrainian cities using hypersonic and cruise missiles, killing at least 17 people in Kyiv and Kharkiv and damaging civilian infrastructure. 
• The world must respond more decisively to Russia’s acts of terror to prevent such attacks from happening again. The only possible way to protect Ukrainians is to provide Ukraine with all the necessary military and financial means to defend itself. Russian terror must lose, and Ukraine must win.

Losses

• On December 23, Ukrainian theater and cinema actor, serviceman Bohdan Kolesnyk was killed at the frontline. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he has stood up to defend Ukraine. He starred in TV series and worked at the Individuals Theater, Luhansk Academic Theater, and Ukrainian Contemporary Theater.
• On January 2, Victoria Tymoshenko, an actress with the Kharkiv Academic Drama Theater, died due to a Russian attack on Kharkiv. Her heart stopped beating at the hospital. Victoria Tymoshenko was 84 years old. She survived World War II and had acted on stage since 1968. For her theater achievements, she was awarded the title of an Honored Artist of Ukraine.
• On January 7, the death of poet and serviceman Maksym Kryvtsov became known. Maksym voluntarily enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2014. After the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Maksym returned to the front where he wrote his poetry book, Poems from the Battlement. His poems were included in anthology War and Amidst the Sirens. New Poetry of War, published within PEN Ukraine Library Series (2023).
• On January 22, actor and soldier Volodymyr Fedinchuk was killed at the front in the battles near Mykhailivka (Donetsk region). Since 2011, he had worked at the Kolomyia Drama Theatre. He had been working at the Rivne Music and Drama Theatre since 2016.

Russias crimes against media

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has killed 70 Ukrainian and foreign journalists and committed 558 crimes against journalists and media in Ukraine. At least 30 journalists have been wounded.

• On December 30, and January 10, the Russians shelled two Kharkiv hotels often used by international media. The strike on the Kharkiv Palace hotel injured the interpreter for the German ZDF, as well as the ZDF crew’s safety advisor. The strike on the Park Hotel affected the crew of the Turkish news agency Anadolu. A Ukrainian fixer for the TV channel France 2 was also injured by the strike.
• Russia’s war on Ukraine keeps being a challenge for media outlets. The December 30 rocket strike on downtown Kharkiv severely damaged the offices of «Suspilne. Kharkiv» and Ukrainian Radio, which are located in the Radio House. The mass shelling strike on Kyiv on January 2 damaged the NV office building. The team had to postpone their broadcast for two hours.

Ukraine through the eyes of reporters

Ukraine Through The Eyes of Reporters produced by Ukrainer is a series of interviews aimed at highlighting the work of reporters and understanding how they approach their duty.

• John Sweeney, a British writer, reporter, and formerly investigative journalist at BBC, currently covering the Russian war against Ukraine;
• Andreas Umland, a political scientist specializing in contemporary Russian and Ukrainian history, regime transitions, and a wide range of topics in post-Soviet studies;
• Steven Moore, a seasoned political strategist, international social entrepreneur, and political opinion researcher;
• Peter Pomerantsev, a British academic, a Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, and the author of two books about information in propaganda.

Share materiales

• Oleksandr Mykhed «I’m a writer and soldier in Ukraine – here’s my diary of 24 hours in a war we cannot lose» (Guardian);
• Halya Coynash «New evidence of Russia killing Ukrainian prisoners of war in cold blood» (Human Rights in Ukraine);
• Yaroslav Hrytsak Looks to History to Explain Ukraine’s Resilience Against Russia (Public Sphere);
• Alexander J. Motyl «Christmas in Ukraine Is Much More Than a Religious Ritual» (The Messenger);
• Sasha Dovzhyk «When Library Turned Arsenal» (Ukrainian Killjoy Dispatch);
• Pray to the empty wells by Iryna Shuvalova review – hope’s last stronghold (Guardian);
• Kate Tsurkan «Haunting Ukrainian novel explores time, trauma, and identity» (Kyiv Independent);
• Pascal Bruckner “Europe needs to wake up” (Ukraine World);
• Charlotte Higgins «Amid the grief and chaos of war, Ukraine’s young women fill my soul with hope» (Guardian);
• Mridula Ghosh «How Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit became the synonym for overcoming all odds» (The Week);
• Mariana Lastovyria «What is the repatriation of cultural property? Experiences after World War II and during the Russo-Ukrainian war» (Ukrainer);
• Yaryna Grusha «Nessun punto alla fine. In memoria di Maksym Kryvtsov, poeta ucraino ucciso dai russi» (Linkiesta in Italian);
• Robert Prosser «Russisches Roulette in der Ukraine» (Der Standard in German).

PEN Ukraine webpage on war

Visit our webpage for the latest news and materials on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Here you will find information on the situation in Ukraine, links to important materials and information resources, petitions, addresses, a list of publications about Ukraine to read in English, and books by Ukrainian authors recommended for translation. The page is continuously updated with the latest news and links.