Mariia Panchenko

Beyond the Euro-Atlantic Consensus As Russia's full-scale invasion enters its fifth year, Ukraine has shown extraordinary resilience. On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces have denied Moscow a decisive victory. At home, society continues to function despite daily attacks. Diplomatically, despite uncertainties coming from Washington, Kyiv has secured strong political, military, and financial backing from most of Europe and North America.

Three journalists killed, 26 still behind bars: these figures alone sum up the grim reality of independent journalism in wartime Ukraine over the past year. Behind them, dozens of lives have been disrupted and destroyed due to Russia's war of aggression, which has from the very beginning also been a war on Ukraine's free press and democratic system.

In the southeastern part of Crimea lay the Meganom Peninsula, an 850-hectare natural treasure. Since 2007, it has been protected under Ukrainian law as a natural monument – a status reserved for unique natural formations of exceptional conservation value. Meganom's uniqueness stems from the rare combination of steppe and coastal – marine ecosystems that have remained virtually untouched by civilization since their formation.