What Life Looks Like in the ‘Fortress Cities’ Russia Is Trying to Break Tyler Hicks Marc Santora Photographs by Tyler Hicks Text by Marc Santora Tyler Hicks spent 10 days in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk reporting this story. Sept. 29, 2026 When explosions ring out across Kramatorsk, Oleksandr Chyvenkov and the police paramedic unit under his command do not rush immediately to the scene. Instead, they listen. In this compact industrial city, where every detonation reverberates off concrete high-rises, the first blast is often bait. The team monitors military communications channels for reports of any incoming secondary strikes before racing in heavy protective body armor to save lives. “Most people in our unit have faced double-tap strikes in some way,” said Mr. Chyvenkov, using a common term for such attacks. He has led rescue teams for more than four years, including in the ruins of the nearby cities of Pokrovsk, Toretsk and Avdiivka, witnessing their methodical destruction before th...
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Ukraine Has an F-16 Emergency
Maintenance delays in Belgium are grounding its best defense against Russia’s jet drones. By The Editorial Board The Wall Street Journal Sept. 29, 2026 5:33 pm ET Original article contains links. A Ukrainian fighter pilot after shooting down a Russian drone. @jeff1830/instagram Ukraine’s air-defense vulnerabilities are becoming critical, and a shortage of Patriot interceptors isn’t the only problem. F-16 fighter jets are the best way to counter Russia’s new jet-powered drones that are now pounding Ukrainian civilians night and often day. But Ukraine relies on Western help to maintain its fighter-jet fleet, and delays have left most of its F-16 fleet out of commission. So far this month Russia has launched about 2,000 jet-powered drones at Ukraine, compared to some 350 in June. These new drones fly up to 375 miles an hour—too fast for the interceptor drones Ukraine has used to counter earlier Shahed models. Ukraine intercepts 55% of Russia’s jet dr...
Ukrainian Science Academy, Struck by Drone, Played Key Role in Research
Over 90 percent of Ukraine’s scientific discoveries have been attributed to Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, including advancements in astronomy and military technology. A Russian drone strike on the National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv, Ukraine, killed at least two people on Monday. Credit... Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York Times By Robin George Andrews and Nataliia Novosolova The New Work Times Sept. 29, 2026 Updated 3:55 p.m. ET original article contains links The Russian attack on Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences on Monday dealt a serious blow to the country’s pre-eminent research institution, a recent center of wartime innovation that is also responsible for almost every major Ukrainian civilian discovery of the past century. Scientists affiliated with the academy have contributed to recent discoveries in the fields of astronomy and medicine and have been instrumental in developing new military technologies, including drones and enhanced armor for vehic...