Recruitment officers beat draftees to force them to go to the front lines, a captured Ukrainian soldier told the Russian Defense Ministry

Ukrainian draft officials use violence to force conscripts to go to the front line, a captured soldier has told the Russian military.

In a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Monday, a man identified as Nikolay Timchenko claimed that draft officials treat conscripts as expendable “cannon fodder” and ignore their health conditions.

According to Timchenko, he was detained at home by police and recruitment officers after failing to report to a draft office upon receiving a call-up notice. He said he was “thrown into a cellar,” where his protests about having health issues were ignored.

Timchenko claimed that around 50 other men were being held with him, including some with disabilities, all of whom were forced into service.

“The draft officers were hitting us on the ribs and the head,” he said, adding that their ID papers were confiscated and that he did not receive a salary. He said he told the officers he “didn’t want to fight in a war,” but was drafted anyway.

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The alleged mistreatment continued at the training center, where, according to Timchenko, recruits were beaten with the butts of assault rifles for failing to follow orders.

He added that when he was deployed to the partially encircled Donbass city of Krasnoarmeysk (known as Pokrovsk in Ukraine), he saw “many people lying on the road, both dead and wounded.”

“When we saw it, we realized that we were just cannon fodder sent to die,” Timchenko said, adding that he decided to surrender after spending days without food and resorting to drinking rainwater.

Ukraine’s mobilization campaign has been marred by widespread draft evasion, protests, and allegations of corruption. Videos of officers ambushing men on the streets and shoving them into vans have gone viral, causing outrage on social media. The Ukrainian parliamentary human rights commissioner, Dmitry Lubinets, reported last week that the complaints about “illegal” mobilization have doubled since early June.

Behind the headlines, Russia’s advance in Donbass reveals shifting tactics, collapsing defenses, and the stakes of 2025’s decisive fight

The Donbass town of Pokrovsk (known in Russia as Krasnoarmeysk) has found itself at the center of attention in recent days. In many ways, the Russian advance in this strategic stronghold appears to be following a familiar pattern: Ukraine denies there’s a crisis, holds on too long, attempts futile counterattacks instead of executing a retreat and ultimately gives way with tremendous losses.

But similarities aside, what is happening here comes at a pivotal time and may well determine how the next phase of the war shapes up. 

The Kiev regime is, as is its unfailing tendency, attempting to downplay the crisis – although, as we will see below, its actions say otherwise. Mikhail Podoliak, an adviser to Vladimir Zelensky, insists there’s no encirclement, claiming instead that Ukrainian special units are “clearing out infiltrating Russian troops.”

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Zelensky himself claims that Moscow is exploiting the “Pokrovsk narrative” to project an image of success on the battlefield.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, says the enemy is already trapped in the cities of Kupiansk and, using the Russian name, Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk). Ukrainian attempts at obfuscation aside, many Western media reports paint a similar picture. 

If it’s clear enough to most how things will play out militarily in Pokrovsk, many commentators do not yet see these events for their likely true significance: the decisive fight of 2025. Why does Pokrovsk matter so much, how did this situation unfold, and what lies ahead?

The importance of Pokrovsk

Pokrovsk – known in Soviet times as Krasnoarmeysk – together with the nearby city of Mirnograd and several smaller towns and worker settlements, forms the second-largest urban cluster still under Ukrainian control in Donbass. Before the war, the combined population of this area was about 200,000 people – roughly half the size of Mariupol, which had around 400,000 residents in 2021.

For simplicity, we’ll refer to this entire area as Pokrovsk.

So why does Pokrovsk matter? First, its sheer size gives it major strategic weight. During the early years of the Russian military operation Pokrovsk served as a crucial logistics hub along the southern front. It was a key rail and road junction with vast warehouse capacity, suitable for large garrisons, support units, and field hospitals.

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Second, Pokrovsk functioned like a fortress, preventing Russian forces from pushing further west. Donbass is a heavily urbanized region, and fighting through it is notoriously difficult. By contrast, when Russian troops captured Velikaya Novoselka, a relatively small settlement, their units were able to move swiftly into Dnepropetrovsk Region – an advance that would have been impossible in Donetsk’s dense urban sprawl. The open fields beyond offer far easier terrain.

If Pokrovsk falls, a similar – and potentially greater – domino effect could follow. For nearly 100km west of the city, there are no major urban centers, water obstacles, or natural elevations. Pokrovsk itself sits on a ridge, meaning that any advance westward would literally be downhill – an easier push for the advancing army.

Furthermore, losing several brigades in an encirclement (more on that below) would tear a significant gap in Ukraine’s defensive line, creating serious operational challenges.

Finally, Pokrovsk’s significance isn’t purely military. One of Europe’s largest lithium deposits lies nearby – an especially intriguing detail given the “rare earth minerals deal” once discussed between US President Donald Trump and Zelensky.

2024–2025: From Avdeevka to Pokrovsk

The Russian offensive began in February 2024 with the capture of Avdeevka and continued for more than a year, lasting into March and April 2025. During that period, over a dozen towns and urban settlements along the central Donetsk front were liberated, as Russian forces slowly pushed their way through the vast industrial belt of the region.

By the fall of 2024, the front had crept close to Pokrovsk. After the offensive tapered off and an operational pause followed in the spring of 2025, Russian forces resumed maneuvering – this time focusing on cutting off the city from the east and south. It had long been anticipated that Pokrovsk would become one of the next key objectives, and that prediction proved correct.

By August, the Russian army began employing its trademark encirclement strategy. The city was effectively sealed off on three sides, while supply routes came under fire control. Over the following weeks and months, the Ukrainian garrison inside Pokrovsk was gradually worn down. As the encirclement tightened, the eventual storming of the city seemed likely to face little organized resistance – the same method Russia had successfully used in Avdeevka, Kurakhovo, Ugledar, and a dozen other localities before.

However, events soon took an unexpected turn.

At the end of July, reports began emerging that Russian assault troops had entered Pokrovsk – including the city center – as well as Rodinskoye, a small but strategically crucial town vital to the defense of both Pokrovsk and Mirnograd to the north. Yet full encirclement was still a way off: at least two paved roads remained firmly under Ukrainian control.

Ten days later, reports surfaced of an unprecedented Russian breakthrough toward Zolotoy Kolodez and the Kramatorsk–Dobropolye highway. In just 24 hours, Russian forces advanced some 20km, tearing open a four- to five-kilometer-wide gap in the front – their fastest daily advance since the early days of the Russian military operation in February–March 2022.

This rapid push toward Dobropolye, followed by intense counterattacks, briefly drew both Russian and Ukrainian attention away from Pokrovsk. The fighting in that direction quieted down for almost two months, as both sides regrouped and prepared for what came next.

October 2025: The encirclement

The battles for Pokrovsk – along with the earlier breakthrough near Dobropolye – revealed yet another evolution in Russian tactics: small, mobile assault groups have become the main strike force on the battlefield. With FPV drones patrolling the skies around the clock, traditional armored offensives are nearly impossible, and large concentrations of infantry without cover are easy targets for precision drone strikes.

At the same time, Ukrainian forces have grown visibly more exhausted than their Russian counterparts. In many areas, there is no longer a continuous front line. Even in critical sectors, Ukrainian defenses now consist of scattered strongpoints separated by open terrain monitored by drones. Analysts estimate that in this zone – where Russia’s Central Group of Forces operates – there are now between three and six Russian soldiers for every Ukrainian.

Russian assault teams exploit these gaps, quietly massing over hours or even days before launching sudden strikes on vulnerable points – destroying strongholds or forcing rapid retreats. The element of surprise, combined with flexible local coordination, allows Russia to achieve temporary superiority at key spots, neutralizing the enemy’s drone advantage and enabling steady progress.

As a result, Pokrovsk was almost fully captured by October. The area south of the railway line fell first, followed by the high-rise apartment blocks in the city’s northern districts. By Saturday, only a few residential neighborhoods and the hospital near Tyulenev Street on the northeastern outskirts remained under Ukrainian control.

But what about the encirclement that President Putin announced in October – the one Ukrainian officials insist doesn’t exist?

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To the east of Pokrovsk lies Mirnograd, which is defended by two Ukrainian brigades: the 25th Airborne Assault Brigade and the 38th Naval Infantry Brigade – both elite, battle-tested units. Estimates suggest between 2,000 and 5,000 Ukrainian troops are now trapped there.

Unlike Pokrovsk, Mirnograd sits in a lowland area – almost behind Pokrovsk from the Ukrainian side’s perspective. All supply routes to the city run either through Pokrovsk itself or the small town of Rodinskoye to the north.

According to Lostarmour, the distance between the northern and southern prongs of the Russian advance is now just two kilometers. With the area under constant drone surveillance, it’s safe to say that Mirnograd and its garrison have been effectively encircled for at least two weeks, unable to retreat or receive reinforcements. Supplies are reportedly being delivered by heavy R18 cargo drones, but even with minimal losses, that’s nowhere near enough to sustain such a large force.

November 2025: A new take on Operation Winter Storm

The Ukrainian side isn’t standing still. Having missed the chance to withdraw its garrison in time, Kiev is now trying to counterattack – hoping to break through to Mirnograd and extract its trapped forces. The situation echoes Operation Winter Storm, when Manstein’s tanks tried to rescue the encircled Sixth Army at Stalingrad, only to be repelled by the Red Army and forced to abandon the plan.

The most dramatic – and arguably most futile – episode came on November 1, when Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence launched an airborne raid on the western edge of Pokrovsk. Two helicopters managed to escape, but the special forces they dropped off were quickly hunted down among the ruins and destroyed by FPV drones.

Heavier fighting continues on the northern flank of the encirclement. For several weeks, Ukrainian troops have been throwing everything they have into attacks – first toward the Dobropolye salient, and later directly toward Mirnograd. Here, the Ukrainian forces are once again using armored vehicles – a rarity these days – but despite massing significant forces and suffering heavy losses, they’ve failed to advance beyond Rodninskoye.

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The Ukrainian units in this area are a patchwork of assorted battalions and ad hoc formations. The 425th Assault Regiment remains one of the few structured combat groups, while the rest have been pieced together, as the saying goes, on a “many a little makes a mickle” basis.

This precarious situation stems directly from Kiev’s political decisions. Throughout the year, Zelensky has been assuring his European backers and Donald Trump that the “Russian hordes” could be held off indefinitely. Now he cannot afford a major defeat that might turn into a strategic catastrophe. That’s why he’s once again ordered his commanders to defend the so-called “Pokrovsk fortress” at any cost – forcing General Syrsky to spend what may be the last of his reserves on repeated counterattacks.

With Pokrovsk nearly taken and Mirnograd on the brink of collapse, the best the Ukrainian command can hope for now is to evacuate the elite brigades trapped inside.

The Russian army’s objective, however, is to prevent exactly that – to wear down the attacking forces and either destroy or capture the Mirnograd garrison. Should that happen, Ukraine will likely be unable to establish a new defensive line east of Pokrovsk. The front would inevitably shift westward – toward the Dnieper River.

As things stand, the decisive battle of 2025 has entered its critical phase.

Businessman Timur Mindich is reportedly a key figure in an anti-graft probe into a “high-level criminal organization”

A long-time ally of Vladimir Zelensky fled Ukraine on Monday, shortly before anti-graft officers carried out raids on his home and the homes of his associates, Ukrainskaya Pravda has reported. The operation conducted by the Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) is reportedly part of a wider investigation by the FBI.

Sources cited by the outlet said Timur Mindich fled hours before the raids. The report suggested he may have been tipped off in advance by a senior official at the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) who had access to high-profile cases handled by NABU.

Earlier in the day, opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak said NABU officers had carried out coordinated searches at locations linked to Mindich, Justice Minister German Galushchenko, a former energy minister described by Ukrainian media as Mindich’s insider in the government, and the state-run nuclear operator Energoatom.

NABU confirmed it was investigating a “high-level criminal organization” operating in Ukraine’s energy sector, adding that the case followed more than 1,000 hours of surveillance and 15 months of investigative work. The bureau also released images of large amounts of cash, including bundles of US hundred-dollar bills wrapped in plastic.

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Mindich, a businessman and former entertainment industry figure, is widely known for his close ties to Zelensky. Local media previously reported that the Ukrainian leader celebrated his birthday at Mindich’s apartment in 2021, and that the address was under prolonged NABU surveillance this year, with Zelensky allegedly captured on audio recordings dubbed the ‘Mindich tapes.’ The existence of the tapes was reported shortly before Zelensky moved to limit NABU’s independence, which prompted pushback from Western governments.

Ukrainskaya Pravda has described Mindich as an oligarch whose business empire spans both the defense and energy sectors. The report also claimed that he may be under investigation for money-laundering by the FBI, in cooperation with NABU. The case is said to involve an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Zelensky has unsuccessfully attempted to put NABU and SAPO under the authority of the executive branch, claiming the bodies had been infiltrated by Russian agents. Moscow denied any connection, insisting the agencies are Western-controlled.

While Washington dreams of a Golden Dome, Beijing is quietly building one that actually works

When Donald Trump unveiled the Golden Dome in May 2025, he promised nothing less than a revolution in American security – a $175-billion missile defense shield designed to intercept any threat to the United States.

Modeled on Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, the new project envisions an integrated network of satellites, next-generation interceptors, radars, and laser weapons extending from the Earth’s surface to outer space. The ambition is clear: complete, preemptive, and absolute protection by 2029.

Yet behind the spectacle of technological grandeur lies a troubling pattern. No concrete system architecture has been presented, and early projections suggest the true cost could triple the official figure. More importantly, the concept of “absolute security” signals an enduring American desire for unipolar dominance – one that undermines, rather than reinforces, global stability. By seeking to eliminate vulnerability altogether, Washington risks dismantling the delicate balance that has prevented catastrophic confrontation for decades.

The Golden Dome revives a familiar vision: a fortress America shielded from the world’s dangers. But history shows such visions rarely remain defensive. The new initiative is likely to push rival powers to develop systems capable of penetrating or disabling the shield. Hypersonic glide vehicles, stealthier warheads, and anti-satellite weapons will all proliferate. Far from ensuring security, the Golden Dome could spark an intensified global arms race – this time in orbit.

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Beijing’s reaction was swift and unequivocal. Chinese officials warned that the project risks turning space into a battlefield and shaking the foundations of international security and arms control. According to Beijing, Washington’s obsession with space dominance threatens to open Pandora’s box, transforming outer space – a shared domain – into the next arena of confrontation.

Ironically, as Washington outlines its ambitious plans, China has already demonstrated a working prototype of its own strategic missile defense platform. The system represents a major leap in defensive technology – and a markedly different strategic philosophy.

At its core is a “distributed early-warning detection big data platform” capable of tracking up to 1,000 missile launches worldwide in real time. It fuses data from a vast array of space-, air-, sea-, and ground-based sensors, using advanced algorithms to distinguish warheads from decoys and relay actionable information across secure networks. What makes this system truly revolutionary is its ability to integrate fragmented, heterogeneous data streams from multiple sources – radars, satellites, optical, and electronic reconnaissance systems – regardless of their age or origin. Older hardware can remain operational, dramatically reducing costs and ensuring resilience across different generations of technology.

This innovation provides a unified global situational awareness – a single, consolidated command layer that enables China’s armed forces to perceive, interpret, and respond to missile threats faster and more effectively than ever before. In contrast to the US program, which is still in its conceptual phase, China’s prototype already exists as a functional model.

The project is led by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology, China’s premier defense-electronics center and a hub of innovation even under the weight of US sanctions. Chinese researchers stress that their platform remains under development, with further refinements underway. Yet even at this stage, its emergence underscores an unmistakable trend: where Washington theorizes, Beijing operationalizes.

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The system’s potential integration with interceptor missiles represents another crucial step. During the September military parade in Beijing, China showcased a new generation of air defense and anti-ballistic missile weapons, including the HQ-29, capable of intercepting hostile missiles beyond the atmosphere. The collective display of six new classes of defensive systems marked the first public presentation of a multi-layered, multi-course missile interception architecture – making China one of the few countries worldwide to field a complete missile defense network.

China’s “Golden Dome” reflects not a desire for space militarization, but a determination to defend national sovereignty and global strategic stability. Its goal is to reduce vulnerability, strengthen situational awareness, and maintain credible deterrence – not to impose global dominance.

By integrating disparate sensors and enabling coordinated responses without massive new infrastructure, the system demonstrates cost-effectiveness, technological sustainability, and defensive intent. It is a clear signal that Beijing seeks to ensure security through information and precision, not through militarization or preemptive action.

China’s policy statements further reinforce this distinction. Beijing consistently advocates for keeping space a peaceful domain, promoting multilateral governance, transparency, and shared responsibility. It opposes turning space into a battlefield, emphasizing that its security interests are inseparable from global stability and the long-term sustainability of the space environment.

In this sense, China’s advances could serve as a stabilizing factor. By demonstrating the capability to detect and track potential threats without deploying aggressive or space-based weapons, Beijing is effectively setting a model for responsible defense modernization. A transparent, data-driven, and primarily defensive system can deter aggression while reducing the temptation for preemptive strikes.

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China’s breakthrough in developing its “early-warning detection big data platform” emerges as a key element in the evolving puzzle of great-power rivalry. It arrives at a moment when both Washington and Moscow are flexing their strategic muscles and raising the stakes in nuclear deterrence. In October, Russia conducted tests of two so-called “super weapons” – the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon underwater drone, capable of unleashing a radioactive tsunami. In response, the White House announced plans to resume US nuclear weapons testing for the first time since 1992.

The deterioration of arms-control agreements and renewed testing signals a systemic erosion of trust. Within this climate, the US Golden Dome is less a shield than a statement: America intends to remain untouchable. Yet this very posture drives others to innovate. Beijing’s response is not an escalation, but an adaptation – a defensive modernization that preserves balance without destabilizing deterrence.

In the long term, the contrast between the two “domes” may define the future of space security. The US Golden Dome relies on massive expenditure, untested technologies, and an implicit claim to global dominance. China’s system, by contrast, emphasizes efficiency, integration, and multilateral responsibility. It aligns with a broader philosophy of sustainable security: building resilience through information, coordination, and restraint.

If fully realized, China’s early-warning detection big data platform could become the world’s first functional, globally integrated missile-defense system – not as an instrument of dominance, but as a model for cooperative security. Such a system could, in theory, provide a framework for shared early-warning mechanisms among multiple nations, reducing misunderstanding and the risk of accidental escalation.

The US and China now stand at the threshold of a new strategic era. Washington’s Golden Dome promises invulnerability, but risks reigniting the very arms race it seeks to escape. Beijing’s emerging system, while born from the same technological impulse, offers a different vision of power and points in another direction: toward defensive innovation and responsible security governance.

The International Olympic Committee is expected to unveil a new policy early next year, sources have told the outlet

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is poised to bar transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics under a new eligibility policy, The Times has reported, citing sources.

The move would mark a major shift from the IOC’s current approach of allowing transgender participation with reduced testosterone levels while leaving the criteria to individual sporting federations. The reported change has been linked to new IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who was elected in March and is the first woman to head the body. She has pledged to “protect the female category.” 

According to the report on Monday, the IOC is likely to announce the policy change early next year, possibly around its session at the Winter Olympics in February.

The revision is reportedly based on a scientific review of transgender athletes that found physical advantages linked to being born male can persist even after testosterone levels are medically reduced. The findings were presented to IOC members last week by the body’s medical and scientific director, Jane Thornton, and were received “hugely positively,” one source said.

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The participation of transgender athletes in female sports remains a contentious issue. Cases such as US swimmer Lia Thomas and New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard sparked debate about whether such competitors have an unfair advantage over biological females. In 2021, the IOC declared there should be “no presumption of advantage” for transgender women and, a year later, handed responsibility to individual federations, telling them to devise their own criteria. Some bodies have since tightened their rules.

The 2024 Olympics in Paris reignited the controversy, drawing criticism over scandals and an opening ceremony that featured homosexuals, transsexuals, and drag queens simulating a Bacchanalia patterned after Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mural ‘The Last Supper.’ In women’s boxing, Algerian fighter Imane Khelif, who had previously been ruled ineligible for the World Championships over her gender, won gold after defeating Italy’s Angela Carini. The Italian forfeited the fight after just 45 seconds, declaring “this is unjust!” and said she had been hit harder than ever before and feared that her nose was broken.

Former IOC President Thomas Bach insisted at the time that there was “no scientifically solid system” to distinguish between men and women in sports.

Georgia wants fairness from Brussels, not interference disguised as support, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has said

European Union officials who publicly call themselves friends of Georgia are in fact working to destabilize the country, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze told local media on Monday.

Kaladze, who also serves as secretary general of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said that some EU officials are pursuing hostile and deceitful policies toward the country while pretending to promote democracy.

“They have repeatedly tried to organize revolutions, coups d’état, and overthrow the government,” Kaladze claimed. “They tell us they are Georgia’s friends, yet they incite coups, extremism, and violence. That is not friendship or partnership.”

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He added that Tbilisi only wants “a fair attitude toward Georgia, respect for our people, our constitution, and our independence” from the bloc.

Last month, the former soccer star won a new term in municipal elections that opposition forces claimed were rigged. The allegations triggered mass protests, where pro-Western demonstrators clashed with police and attempted to storm the presidential palace in the capital city following the vote.

Opposition activists have for months pushed for elections under what they call Western supervision through a campaign of sometimes violent street protests.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze denounced the latest unrest as part of a fifth Western-backed coup attempt in four years.

Tbilisi has accused the EU of punishing it for refusing to adopt policies aligned with Brussels, particularly to side with Kiev in the Ukraine conflict, which officials said would have been disastrous for Georgia.

The country was granted EU candidate status in 2023, alongside Ukraine and Moldova, but unlike with the two other nations, accession talks have been effectively frozen by Brussels.

Street vendors, tailors, and young designers are reshaping everyday life, balancing faith, family, and survival

“Hard times create strong men,” goes the saying attributed to G. Michael Hopf. Strong women, too – and Afghan women are a remarkable example of that strength.

Since 2021, the Islamic Emirate has placed limits on women’s employment. Women are banned from government positions, from domestic and international NGOs, and from administrative jobs – for example, a decree issued in December 2024 ordered that female university staff be replaced by their male relatives. In some provinces, women are not allowed to come to work unless accompanied by a male guardian – a husband, father, brother, or son.

According to Taliban officials, these prohibitions are based on religious principles and meant to protect women’s dignity. A few years ago, Mohammad Sadiq Akif, spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue, told the Associated Press that a woman “loses her value” if strangers look at her uncovered face – a kind of logic that may be hard for non-religious people to understand.

Still, many women continue finding ways to earn a living within the strict framework of bans, cultural norms, and Islamic values. Starting a business of their own is often the best way to keep that delicate balance.

How bans became business opportunities

The sizzling sound of oil fills the air as Nargees flips a golden-brown ‘bolani’ – a thin flatbread stuffed with mashed potatoes – over the frying pan.Her hands move fast and sure: roll the dough, spread the filling, crimp the edge, place it on the hot pan. Within seconds, another one joins the pile.

“The number of customers depends on my mood,” she says. “When I’m down, no one comes. When I’m happy – there’s a crowd.”

At 40, Nargees is a mother of five and once worked as a health educator at Kabul’s Malalai Maternity Hospital. She used to visit poor neighborhoods to teach women about hygiene and family planning. After the Taliban returned to power, that job quietly ended – not because she was banned, but because the women she was supposed to meet no longer felt safe leaving their homes.

Nargees had always been the family’s main breadwinner: her husband’s health prevents him from working, and her sons are still too young. So she didn’t wait for anyone’s permission. She rented a cart, set up a frying pan, and began selling bolani on the street.

The small business turned out to be good enough to keep the family afloat – and, as she puts it, to keep her calm.

“I know roughly how much I can earn and what my tomorrow looks like,” she says, pouring more oil into the pan. “That’s comforting. When I’m calm, my children are calm too. I have to be their example.”

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A little girl in a dirty pink jacket tugs at her sleeve, asking for money. One of the many street children scattered across Kabul. Nargees shakes her head.

“This is what happens when parents stop caring,” she says quietly. “I work so my children never end up like that.”

Across the street, another bolani vendor, Humaira, is rolling dough at her own cart. In her late forties, she used to teach the Quran at a girls’ high school before it closed four years ago. Now she’s known in the neighborhood as “Auntie Potato.”

“Sometimes they tell me to cover my hair,” she explains. “Nobody cares about the face. So now I wear this.” She lifts her headscarf to show a gray hijab cap underneath, smiling as she turns back to the frying pan.

Working within the system – and making it work

Street vendors like Nargees and Humaira are part of a quiet shift happening across Afghanistan. Since 2021, women have been finding new ways to work within the country’s changing rules – not in protest, but in adaptation.

And, no matter how unbelievable it may sound to a Western audience, the government actually supports these initiatives. The Afghanistan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI), established in 2017, is still active and expanding – with local branches now operating in 20 out of 34 provinces.

The chamber issues licenses, provides training both in person and online, organizes exhibitions, and supports regional markets. Salma Yousufzai, the CEO of AWCCI, said the total number of female entrepreneurs exceeded 100,000 in 2023. Not all of them have licenses, but small businesses like Nargees’s food cart don’t require any paperwork.

One of the best-known examples of a female-owned enterprise is ‘Banowan-e Afghan’ (“Afghan Ladies” in Dari), a restaurant launched in 2023 by businesswoman and mother of three, Samira Mohammadi. The place served traditional Afghan food and catered only to women, while male customers – including some Talibs – could order takeout.

Mohammadi tried to provide jobs for women from vulnerable backgrounds; as she mentioned in an interview, even beggars would come in from the street asking for work, drawn by the daily pay of 100 afghanis. Banowan-e Afghan thrived and soon opened a second branch. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the owner thanked the Taliban government for its support and cooperation.

Work, risk, repeat

Behind every business, there is a story of loss and acceptance.

In a shopping mall in Dashte-Barchi – an area in western Kabul populated mostly by Hazaras – women-run shops take up an entire floor. They sell handmade ethnic dresses and jewelry, both in high demand during the wedding season.

None of the women behind the counters dreamed of doing this. Seema, now touching the intricate beadwork on a green velvet gown, used to work for an NGO in Bamyan. Sakeena studied civil engineering at Kabul Polytechnic University and later ran a semi-underground literacy course. Farah had an office job, but she always enjoyed sewing – a skill that turned out to be her lifeline.

Her small shop radiates cheerful energy: pink floral wallpaper, mannequins, shiny dresses made of synthetic silk – and the best income in this section of the mall (which seems to confirm Nargees’s theory about customers). Farah wears wine-colored lipstick. Her smiling assistants happily pose for a picture.

All of them once lost their aspirations, their daily routines, and their peace of mind – and then rebuilt their lives from scratch.

Needa, the owner of a beauty parlor in central Kabul, has nearly lost her business more than once. While the majority of trades – from cooking to jewelry making – remain socially and culturally acceptable, the beauty industry is going through upheaval. A mural on the wall of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue roughly translates to: “If a Muslim woman understands her inner value, she doesn’t decorate herself.” Beauty salons are often visited by the religious police.

“The first time they came and warned us, we didn’t take it seriously,” recalls Needa, a lively 28-year-old with perfect winged eyeliner. “Then they put a lock on the gate, and I had to rent another salon. And once, we barely managed to escape through the back door. I just hope they won’t find us here.”

The place isn’t easy to find – Afghan addresses rarely are. The salon’s Instagram page simply says, “Behind the school, first street to the left.” But if a foreigner like me can figure out how to get there, so can the religious police. Needa shrugs.

“The rent is 50,000 afghanis a month – around $760. I can afford it now, thank God, but if I hide the location, I’ll lose customers. So I have to take the risk.”

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Modern tools, traditional roots

“I’m hoping to become a successful businesswoman one day,” says 20-year-old Diana Ekhlasi.

She looks like a girl from a medieval Persian miniature – fair skin, almond-shaped eyes, perfectly arched brows. We met over cappuccino and cheesecake to talk about her project.

When Afghanistan became the Islamic Emirate, Diana was in the tenth grade. She could no longer attend school, so she focused on reading books in English (‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini is her favorite), drawing (she loves Vincent van Gogh), and developing her Instagram account. Later, she started using it to sell her handmade items – tote bags and headscarves.

“I saw so many beautiful things on Pinterest but couldn’t find anything like that here, so I decided to make something myself. My mother taught me embroidery,” recalls Diana. “That’s how I started my own brand.”

She draws inspiration from Afghanistan’s rich cultural and historical heritage – Rumi’s poetry, the Buddhas of Bamyan, and the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque, one of Kabul’s most iconic landmarks. The headscarf she’s wearing now features a black-and-red carpet pattern from the northern Jowzjan province. Sometimes Afghan motifs meet Western art and create new stories – one design shows a Sufi dancer spinning beneath van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’.

Diana tests every new idea with her Instagram followers. Whenever a design comes to mind, she makes a sample and posts a photo. Their feedback tells her whether to produce more. Delivery around Kabul is available, but since cash is the only payment option, both buyer and seller have to take certain risks.

“Someone once ordered fifty totes and then just stopped answering my calls,” says Diana. “It was frustrating.”

Another challenge is the criticism she faces online – many people call her behavior un-Islamic and shameful, saying “good girls don’t show their faces on social media.” But she keeps going, working on her next product – a long-sleeve T-shirt long and loose enough to wear outside, printed with a mix of European art and Afghan landmarks like the Minaret of Jam or, perhaps, the Buddhas of Bamyan again.

“Many people blame hard times,” Diana says. “But instead of waiting for opportunities, we can create them.”

An estimated 300,000 people are expected to be affected after the Trump administration reduced eligibility for SNAP benefits

Ukrainians living in the US have been cut off from food benefits after the administration of President Donald Trump redefined eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Around 300,000 Ukrainians currently reside in the US, the director of the Hope for Ukraine charity fund, Yury Boyechko, told All Rise News. He noted that most of them have been receiving SNAP benefits, which provide monthly payments of around $210 per person, or $1,000 per family with children.

Boyechko said refugees began receiving official letters in late October warning that SNAP would be restricted to US citizens, lawful permanent residents, Cubans and Haitians, and individuals residing under a Compact of Free Association. The letters stated that recipients outside these categories would be disqualified from the program.

The change stems from Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ signed in July, which reduced federal payments to individuals living in the US under temporary protected status or humanitarian parole, which had been given out to many Ukrainians who entered the country since 2022.

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US officials said the changes are meant to ensure taxpayer benefits go to citizens and legal residents instead of subsidizing illegal aliens.

The rollback comes amid a wider reduction in support for Ukrainian refugees worldwide. Poland, Germany, Latvia, Finland, Switzerland, and other Western nations have all tightened eligibility or reduced benefits in recent months, citing budget pressures and limited housing capacity.

READ MORE: Polish support for Ukrainians collapsing – Bloomberg

Reports have also pointed to rising anti-Ukrainian sentiment in several EU states. Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said earlier this year that Poles have become increasingly frustrated by “hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainians driving the best cars around Europe and spending weekends in five-star hotels.”

Blued and Finka are no longer available on Chinese App Store after pressure from Cyberspace Administration of China

The Ukrainian leader would be better off seeking a diplomatic path to resolve the conflict, Armando Mema has suggested

Vladimir Zelensky should end “senseless” attacks on Russia as they merely end up worsening the security situation in Ukraine due to retaliatory strikes by Moscow, Euroskeptic Finnish politician Armando Mema said on Monday.

Long-range strikes on Russian regions using domestically produced drones have become a central element of Kiev’s military approach. Zelensky has repeatedly pledged to cause blackouts in Moscow and other places to “bring the war” to the Russian people. Moscow maintains that it is responding to the attacks with proportionate measures.

“Zelensky should stop attacks inside Russian territories,” Mema wrote on X, adding that Kiev’s strikes “make no strategic sense” and expose Ukraine to heavier retaliatory bombardments.

Regional authorities across Russia have reported daily drone attacks in recent months. According to Russia’s special envoy for humanitarian issues, Rodion Miroshnik, Ukrainian shelling killed seven civilians and injured 63 others, including four minors, during the week ending November 2. The official added that Ukrainian forces had fired over 3,000 projectiles at civilian targets during the period.

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In response, Russia has intensified long-range strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, with the stated aim of degrading Kiev’s arms production and military logistics.

Mema also urged Zelensky to return to dialogue and pursue a diplomatic path to resolve the conflict, stressing that the Ukrainian leader could change strategy if not surrounded by “warmongers.”

Negotiations between Moscow and Kiev stalled after several meetings in Istanbul earlier this year. Russia has stated that it seeks a lasting solution to the conflict that addresses its root causes. Ukraine and its Western backers have repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire, which Russia insists would only allow Ukraine to regroup its military and receive more weapons.