Notes and Essays -- John Brown

Thousands who joined the military in the early days of the war are still on the front lines despite the mounting toll on their lives  Ihor Vizirenko joined Ukraine’s army in the weeks after the Russian invasion more than four years ago. By Alistair MacDonald and Nikita Nikolaienko | Photography by Justyna Mielnikiewicz for WSJ The Wall Street Journal , June 24, 2026 11:00 pm ET Quick Summary --Ukrainian soldiers demonstrate resilience after over four years of war, with early signs indicating a shift against Russia. --Jr. Lt. Ihor Vizirenko, fighting for over four years, bears physical and psychological scars. He sees his 3-year-old daughter only twice a year. --Ukraine faces recruitment struggles, but 57% of Ukrainians reject Russian demands that Ukraine give up control of its eastern Donbas region, and soldiers like Vizirenko remain committed to the fight. This summary was generated with AI and reviewed by an editor. Read more about how we use artificial intelligence in our journ...

With Moscow’s prospects faltering on the battlefield, the Kremlin is trying to nudge its closest ally off the sidelines By Thomas Grove and Daria Matviichuk June 23, 2026 3:18 pm ET The Wall Street Journal original article contains links and a map. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazakhstan this year in a photo released by Russian state media. Alexander Kazakov/ SPUTNIK/ EPA/ Shutterstock Quick Summary -- Russia is pressuring Belarus to strengthen the countries’ military union, potentially opening a new front in the Ukraine war. -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened to strike drone ground stations in Belarus if Belarus doesn’t dismantle them. -- Russia and Belarus held joint nuclear exercises last month, transporting nuclear warheads to Belarusian ballistic-missile positions. WARSAW— Russia’s closest ally, Belarus, has emerged as a potential new front in the Kremlin’s confrontation with the West, as Moscow seeks to str...

Four years after Ukraine was invaded, many of the people who lived in institutional settings remain unaccounted for. From left, Oksana Oliinyk, Hanna Zamyshliaieva and Larysa Branytska at a news conference on Tuesday in Kyiv. Credit... Sasha Maslov for The New York Times By Carlotta Gall Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine The New York Times , June 23, 2026, 4:22 p.m. ET For four years, Hanna Zamyshliaieva has agonized over the fate of her severely disabled son, who disappeared in southern Ukraine soon after the Russian invasion. On Tuesday, she and two other women whose loved ones are among hundreds of Ukrainians missing from residential schools and other institutions made clear that they are not giving up.  “I am here to fight for the return of my child,” said Ms. Zamyshliaieva. “I don’t know where my son is, what’s going on with him, what condition he is in and if he’s still alive.” Ms. Zamyshliaieva, joined by another mother and a grandmother, had come to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, ...