Iryna Hedzyk abducted, likely tortured and sentenced to 10 years for opposing Russia’s occupation of Kakhovka khpg.org/en/1608815499

3rd Congress of Women of Donetsk happening today in Kyiv 🇺🇦 Representatives from Donetsk Region Administration, women rights organizations, private sector, international partners sharing how every day they support Donetsk women & girls: incredibly inspiring

Honored & impressed to meet Oleksii Sobolev Minister of Economy, Environment & Agriculture of Ukraine 48hrs after 🇺🇦 Cabinet of Ministers damaged by Russian attack Government resilience at work: including for women’s economic empowerment & employment

Its has been another long night in Ukraine From Mayor Klitschko: “In the Pechersk district, a fire broke out in a government building as a result of a probable UAV strike. Firefighters are working on the scene. In the Sviatoshynskyi district, warehouse premises are burning again.” From my window:

Sickening. Shameful. And in the end, useless. Those were the words that came to mind when we watched the Alaska Summit unfold.

It’s 12:40 in Kyiv 🇺🇦 Rather than doom scrolling Getting 1000 times angry & depressed Im going to sleep, a long deep sleep, confident that all that red carpet stuff was bought with a promise not to send missiles against Kyiv tonight Good night 💤

in terms of concrete steps, there seems to be only one. The agreement to abolish OSCE's Minsk Group that had anyway failed it's mission. I wish this puts pressure on Baku to agree on some additional steps re. Turkey-Armenia normalisation, while Americans can try to sort out the tripp. 2/2

Hard to get excited about the carefree camp of #eurovision2025 this year with such a mess around all of us

Wishing all who celebrate a peaceful & happy Easter from Kyiv!

Kyiv 17:25: Easter eve supermarket shopping interrupted by a drone overhead. Literally above me according to Telegram channel Eи, Киiв!

Where am I? Tashkent? Nope: Kyiv (Podil) And a group of Hasidic jews just walked by… Beautiful Easter weekend in 🇺🇦

Forged in occupation, Bucha's women turned from war victim into drone hunters, protecting the very ground where they once ran for cover. euromaidanpress.com/2025/04/19/b...

Russian drones attacked a bread bakery in Sumy today. A 61 year old driver who was loading Easter cakes into the vehicle was killed.

Friends, For Christians, today is Good Friday. I guess it is a symbol of the words "it is always darkest before dawn". We in Ukraine are waiting for our dawn to come - we are exhausted and fragile, we continue fighting and living, but over three years of full-scale war are taking their toll.

In Sumy where Russia killed at least 34 civilians on Sunday & continued to attack w/drones & missiles on Monday, women’s right organizations & activists persevere. In their words, there’s no alternative: ukraine.unwomen.org/en/stories/o...

Dream and Achieve in Ukraine Love hearing women pitching their new businesses after 3 months of mentorship & skills development with UN Women & Impact Force

#Turkey’s two prominent investigative journalists Murat Ağırel and Timur Soykan have been detained this morning #Journalismisnotacrime

❗️If implemented, this could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation.” @wfp.org

Can you imagine starting your Monday morning with an air alert saying ballistic missiles target where you live? That’s the reality for many this morning in Ukraine

Kyiv 5:20: after an overnight drone attack, Russia launched several ballistics on the city. V loud. Now we wait to hear if cruise missiles are also coming our way

Something remarkable is happening on 5th Ave right now. 100s of 1000s of people, a spontaneous outpouring of anger, demanding Trump/Musk keep their hands off our healthcare, our schools, our democracy. This is a turning point in the fight back against the Trump presidency.

This is just gutting. I spent four years at Wilson. It made my 1st book, HOW TO LOSE THE INFORMATION WAR, possible, and funded important work on free speech and online harms. It was never a place concerned with splashy headlines, just quality, nonpartisan work. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/u... 1/

Russia is clearly not grateful Though the US imposed no new tariffs Tonight massive Russian drone attack on Ukraine including on Dnipro, Kyiv and Kharkiv where 2 reported killed so far

What’s happening in Georgia’s parliament is shocking … In addition to the measures described below gender & gender equality is being taken out of laws

Wow. I never thought that Dodik would give up & flee to Russia. If the High Representative had known many years ago that this would be the outcome, he could have done a lot sooner to protect BiH state level institutions & laws. BiH could have been a much stronger country today

“Just in these examples, we already see the outline of what a democratic network to counter authoritarian “sharp power” could look like.” So many good ideas in here from @peterpomerantsev.bsky.social, But who’s going to do it? What country/agency is strategic enough? www.ft.com/content/274a...

USIP staff fired: how can this happen so quickly? www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/u...

The resilience of Ukrainian women is awe inspiring: Friday Ukrainian Women Congress brought together some 300 women to strategize on how to further strengthen political & economic empowerment & resist Russia including by supporting national culture

Anyone have estimates of protest size today in Istanbul compared to Belgrade on 15 March?

In #İstanbul, people march in Şișli to protest against the government appointed trustee and Erdoğan. "This is just the beginning, keep fighting"

The Trump administration on Friday detailed its plans to put USAID, the government’s main agency for distributing foreign aid, fully under the State Department and reduce its staff to some 15 positions.

Dnipro: at least 5 people reported killed so far by Russia attack. We have an office in Dnipro as do many UN & international organizations. It’s our home. So angry at what Russia gets away with!!! So sorry for all effected

Istanbul’s elected mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu “The survival of democracy in Turkey is crucial not just for its people but also for the future of democracy worldwide…Democracy’s fate depends on the courage of… those who refuse to remain silent when institutions crumble.” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/o...

As expected, the govt appoints a trustee to run the Şişli municipality of Istanbul bsky.app/profile/bian...

Interesting CHP tactic: long lines show that by end of day millions of Turkey’s citizens will have demonstrated they support Istanbul mayor Imamoğlu despite (& because of) his arrest… CHP leading a political process way b4 any elections called. What next?

My take on the events in Turkey: kulturkampftr.substack.com/p/turkey-res...

Anger & shock this morning in Kyiv where overnight Russian drone attack hit 5 districts killing 3 residents: an elderly woman, a young girl & her father. Many more injured. Similar attacks have been carried out by Russia all week in different cities on civilians in their homes

Midnight in Kyiv & two series of loud explosions - apparently defense against drones Happening while Im trying to follow virtually what’s happening in hometown Istanbul…

Meanwhile Friday night in Kyiv, Mayor Klitchko warns citizens: “Enemy UAV is heading towards the center of the capital. Stay in cover!” And sure enough air defense audible from my kitchen

Massive Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia. At least one person killed, at least five more people injured. Rescue services at work. Russian terror on Ukrainian civilians continues.

The street in Turkey is saying “not so fast” if the 🇹🇷 President thinks he can emulate the 🇺🇸 one. People thought US institutions would protect US democracy - not so sure now. In Turkey citizens know that democratic institutions are hollowed out & their voices need to be heard in the public square

Another terrifying war crime

Im sure @istanbulbld.bsky.social is really busy but would be useful if they also posted here Protest this evening at Saraçhane looks big on X with 9.8k watching

Excellent news: survivors of conflict related sexual violence in Ukraine will also be able to make claims for reparations rd4u.coe.int/en/-/registe...

Back in Kyiv 💛💙

Training women in Ukraine to take on jobs where they can obtain equal pay & break down stereotypes is very inspiring. At UN Women we want to support women like Alina to get decent jobs & increase their empowerment even while Russian aggression continues ukraine.unwomen.org/en/stories/d...

The detention of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu along with over 100 other municipal officials and politicians is a politically motivated move to stifle lawful political activities in Türkiye. İmamoğlu and others detained should be released immediately. www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

The Commission documented new cases of rape & sexual violence amounting to torture against detained women. Russian authorities subjected female detainees to sexual violence, including rape, & inhuman conditions reflecting the gendered nature & impact of the treatment inflicted on women in detention