When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

LIVY BEREG
LIVY BEREG (Left Bank) is a Ukrainian news analysis and opinion website media founded by the independent Gorshenin Institute in 2009.
Image of a woman teaching a language to children in a classroom.
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Taras Kremin

The Hardest Soft Power: How Moscow Forces The Russian Language On Occupied Ukraine

Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine goes well beyond the battlefield. Russia is trying to destroy Ukrainian identity by imposing the Russian language in occupied areas, as a prime weapon in Moscow's policy of "Russification."

-Op-Ed-

KYIV — In all spheres of public life, where the enemy's boots have trodden, we will have to fight back against Kremlin myths, while dealing with the tragic consequences and the physical ruins of the attacks that have caused irreparable damage to the people of Ukraine.

In Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, a new generation of forcibly Russianized Ukrainian youth has emerged over the past nine years. At the same time, cities and villages that were under temporary occupation suffered similar catastrophic losses.

For these and other reasons, which have damaged national interests, it is crucial to pay increased attention to the spheres of education, culture, and media in the de-occupied territories.

Experts point out that this process could be tragic for Ukraine, as the Kremlin has been doing everything it can to break the mental ties between the occupied territories and Kyiv since the first days of the occupation.

It all started with linguistic discrimination, bans, threats, and then the actual genocide of the Ukrainian people. A linguistic ban is one of the most significant humanitarian risks associated with Russian aggression.

Watch VideoShow less
Why Zelensky's Europe Tour Was So Important — Short And Long-Term
Countries
Oleksandr Demchenko and Oleksandr Kalinichenko

Why Zelensky's Europe Tour Was So Important — Short And Long-Term

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky succeeded in securing massive stocks of weapons essential to Ukraine's imminent counteroffensive — and, crucially, he laid the groundwork for Ukraine's bid for NATO membership.

-Analysis-

KYIV — The Ukrainian president's tour of four European countries has ended, and Volodymyr Zelensky is back in Kyiv with new military aid promises from Italy, Germany, France and the UK, including medium-range missiles, tanks, air defense and artillery shells.

The UK also announced a new training program for Ukrainian pilots, and France has said it is ready to train fighter jet pilots. In addition, the leaders of four European countries supported Zelensky's peace formula, including terms for establishing a special tribunal for those responsible for crimes of aggression.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

In Europe, many decisions depend on the position of Germany, France, the UK and Italy. Each influences the implementation of security, economic and political initiatives in Europe, in one way or another.

Watch VideoShow less
Image of A serviceman is seen during a combat mission involving the use of a 240mm 2S4 Tyulpan self-propelled heavy mortar in Russia's special military operation in Donetsk
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Viktor Kevlyuk

Why Russia Is Now Betting On A Long War In Ukraine

After its initial blitzkrieg failed, and with Ukraine gearing up for a counteroffensive, Russia sees its best hope in holding out for a protracted conflict. Kyiv, instead, is trying to convince its Western allies that achieving victory as soon as possible is the only path forward.

-Analysis-

KYIV — There has been a lot of talk about prolonging the war in Ukraine and about who benefits from that situation.

British General Rupert Smith defined war as "collective killing for the sake of a collective goal" and advised focusing on political, strategic, territorial and tactical aspects.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

From this perspective, let's try to answer question "who benefits?"

First, we can exclude the U.S. and the "collective West" because they are not participating in the war.

The second important aspect is that Ukraine is not Iraq or Afghanistan. We are defending ourselves against aggression on our land; we are defending our sovereignty and our territorial integrity; we are not trying to spread the war to other territories or export it anywhere in the world. Our enemy, on the contrary, ignores all the existing norms of international humanitarian law, the laws and customs of war, and uses the practice of genocide both openly and covertly.

According to the founder and chairman of Genocide Watch, Gregory Stanton, “the Russian army actually intends to partially destroy the Ukrainian nationality.”

Two factors influence the duration of the war: Russia's ability to conduct sustained hostilities, which depends on whether there are temporal-spatial conditions to restore its ability to fight. Another factor is the ability of Russia to threaten the "collective West" and separately the United States, which depends on the achievements and losses of Russia in Ukraine.

Watch VideoShow less
Image of a woman walking past a building destroyed in Russian shelling as seen in Izium liberated from Russian occupiers in the Kharkiv Region of Ukraine.
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Mykhailo Gold, Oleksandr Demchenko

"Only I Survived" — A Year Ago Her Family Was Exterminated By A Russian Missile

When the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, Iryna Zhyvolup hunkered down with three generations of her family in Izyum, Ukraine. A few weeks later, she lost her loved ones in a missile attack.

Iryna survived, but barely. Severely wounded in her city of Izyum, in eastern Ukraine, she spent eight days in a roofless house at -10°C until her neighbors found her. Then she spent 25 days in the basement of the local hospital under Russian occupation, beginning to be nursed back to health. But this story, as told to Livy Bereg reporters, has no happy ending.

On Feb. 24, 2022, at five in the morning, my son called me from Kharkiv and said they were being bombed. I jumped up and started screaming, saying, "Get down to the basement quickly, and then get to Izyum."

The next day, he took the last train down from Kharkiv. Then a colleague called and said their house had been destroyed. Friends called from the neighboring district, where their village had been bombed.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

The flow of wounded began. On Feb. 25, the Russians started shelling Izyum. I offered to leave, but like many others, my mother and husband did not want to.

Russian forces destroyed schools, churches and buildings that had survived both world wars.

We moved to my mother's house. At that time, the bombing was constant, one plane after another. It seemed to grow quieter for a day. On the evening of March 6, our dog barked, and I realized there was a Russian air raid.

Watch VideoShow less
Photo of ​Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosts a face-to-face bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Mariinsky Palace, April 20, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Oleksandr Kalinichenko

When Will Ukraine Join NATO? All Eyes On Vilnius, And The Frontline

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted an invitation to attend the next NATO summit in July, but he will arrive with expectations that the alliance is ready to pave the way for the country's accession to the military alliance, even as the state of the war itself remains crucial to the decision.

-Analysis-

KYIV — After years of unsuccessful efforts, Ukraine seems closer than ever to joining NATO — but debate within the alliance on Ukraine's membership is heated, and developments on the battlefield may shape Ukraine's path. With the next summit for the Western military alliance set for July in Vilnius, Lithuania, what does Kyiv now expect of NATO?

Ukraine has been trying to become a member of the Western military alliance since 2008. Constant promises of membership without specific deadlines have become a political trap that a full-scale war could only level.

Watch VideoShow less
Photo of the Russian war on Ukraine: city of Izium is destroyed by Russians
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Katerina Amelina

Life Again, With "Interruptions": Springtime In Liberated Ukraine

In the parts of eastern Ukraine liberated by Ukrainian forces' lightning counteroffensive six months ago life is bittersweet, including a constant lack of electricity and water — and the constant risk of shelling.

IZYUM — In this riverside city, bulldozed buildings interlace with those gutted by fire. In-tact houses are the exception in Izyum, and those that are undamaged have windows boarded up with plywood.

As of July 2022, Russians hit the eastern Ukrainian city with missiles some 476 times. This is more than Mariupol or Mykolaiv.

We drive past the remains of a high-rise building, bombed by Russian forces in March of last year. Fifty civilians died under the rubble.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

“There has been no electricity all day; something has broken down again,” Andriy Yuriyovych says. Andriy takes care of one of the main basement-shelters in Izyum. After Feb. 24, 2022, and during the occupation, 62 people sheltered in the basement, hiding from Russian shells and soldiers.

“They constantly threatened everyone,” Andriy says. “One of them shouted ‘Don’t come out, or I’ll throw a grenade into the basement.' There were children in the basement. The youngest resident of the shelter at that time was Nicole, a two-month old. The baby had never known sunlight, only the light from a candle," Andriy says.

Watch VideoShow less
Image of a worker dismantling  the statue of a Soviet war hero in Kyiv
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Kateryna Busol and Dmytro Koval

Decolonization Of Ukraine: Another Way To See The Fight For The Future

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Ukrainians have begun a radical revision of their cultural habits and beliefs, casting off the relics of Russian colonialism. How Ukrainians see themselves and their country's past will directly affect how they fight for the future.

-Analysis-

KYIV — When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, Ukrainians were forced to revise their cultural habits and beliefs. Music that six months ago was celebrated, suddenly became unacceptable because it came from the aggressor country. Fascination with "great Russian literature" became a thing of the past, and many regretted the lost time that could have been devoted to learning about the work of Ukrainian writers.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

As early as Jan. 2022, discussions about renaming streets and monuments became widespread in central and Southern Ukrainian cities. Now, everything is different. Almost immediately after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, citizens formed a consensus not only about the possibility of renaming streets and monuments, but also about its necessity.

All of this testifies to the intuitive request of Ukrainians for the decolonization of their own cultural narrative and historical space. But even within the country, decolonization is not fully realized. The changes taking place in Ukraine look more like a reaction to Russia's neo-imperialism. Of course, foreign countries, their opinion leaders and the public are still far from understanding the war, its causes and the transformation of Ukrainian society. This all raises the question: Has Ukraine really moved past its colonial history?

Watch VideoShow less
Image of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko welcoming Russian President Vladimir Putin in his arms.
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Igar Ilyash

Nuclear Card And Firing Squads: Lukashenko's Long Game To Retain Power

A few weeks after an explosion at a military field in Belarus, Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. There is a connection, even if Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko is walking a tight rope of domestic control and keeping Putin satisfied.

-Analysis-

Back on the afternoon of February 26, local Belarus media reported explosions at the military airfield in Machulishchy, near Minsk, and increased activity of military services. Soon after, the BYPOL association, created by former security forces to fight the regime of Alexander Lukashenko,, announced that Belarusian partisans had used drones to attack a Russian A-50U long-range radar detection aircraft.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Neither Minsk nor Moscow acknowledged that such a valuable aircraft had been disabled. However, a few days later, the A-50U left the territory of Belarus for repairs.

The day after the explosions, Lukashenko convened a meeting of the security forces. He looked agitated, demanding "the strictest discipline" and spoke vaguely about some "internal events" and attempts to "stir up" the situation in Belarus. The Belarusian authorities publicly acknowledged the sabotage only on March 7.

That same day, Lukashenko accused the Ukrainian special services of organizing the terrorist attack in Machulishchy. "Well, the challenge has been met," he declared, before quickly clarifying that he did not intend to use the incident to draw Belarus into war. "If you think that throwing this challenge will drag us into a war that is already going on all over Europe, you are mistaken."

Watch VideoShow less