Will Tizard

5 days ago | rferl.org | Wasim Sajjad |Muhammad Zawar |Will Tizard

When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, they quickly banned music, declaring it un-Islamic. Musicians faced threats, raids, and the destruction of their instruments. “Our homes were searched for what we had there,” says Faiz Muhammad Sakhki, an Afghan musician now living in Peshawar. “Our instruments were smashed, the instruments that we hid at home.

5 days ago | rferl.org | Wasim Sajjad |Muhammad Zawar |Will Tizard

Afghan musicians were persecuted after the Taliban gained control of their country in 2021 and many fled to Pakistan. Those who remain there have found ways to continue their profession but now that Pakistan has launched a new campaign to deport Afghans, they are worried about their future.

1 week ago | rferl.org | Borys Sachalko |Will Tizard

A Ukrainian commander who fended off constant Russian assaults in a freezing house says he and his comrades found strength within themselves that they didn't know they had. Bohdan Kushnir shared the harrowing account of close combat with an enemy who fought to the death while seven Ukrainian troops, some wounded, held out -- and even managed to capture a few Russians. ShareTrapped In Toretsk: A Ukrainian Unit's Monthlong Fight For Survival

1 week ago | rferl.org | Alyona Yatsyna |Will Tizard

EmbedThe code has been copied to your clipboard. widthpxheightpxNo media source currently available0:000:01:200:00A Russian missile strike on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on April 13 left at least 32 dead in the city center, according to Ukrainian authorities. The attack occurred as many Ukrainians were going to church for Palm Sunday. Emergency teams were scrambling to treat survivors, with at least 84 were reported wounded, including seven children.

2 weeks ago | rferl.org | Will Tizard

The URL has been copied to your clipboardThe code has been copied to your clipboard. Residents of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kryviy Rih mourned children who were killed in a Russian missile strike on April 4. Nine children were among the 20 people killed, including 9-year-old Herman Trypolets, who was outside playing on a swing, a family member said.