Weekly column from Ukraine: Watch your tongue in wartime

Orthodox priests who belong to the Ukrainian Church under Kyiv’s leadership are fleeing Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. Those who stay are often tortured.

The Norwegian and Swedish police have discovered prostitution networks in which most women were from Ukraine. According to the police, this is due to the war, and the women are victims of human trafficking.

This story happened a couple of months ago in the south of Ukraine. The entire Kherson region, including Tavriyske –the village where I grew up (located about 70 km from the border with Crimea)– was the enemy's focus since the first days of the invasion. In Kherson and some local areas of the region, fierce battles were fought with the Ukrainian military. The latter withstood the fight but retreated because of the large preponderance of enemy forces. As a result, control over the region very soon wholly passed into the hands of the occupiers.