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Months after arriving in the Czech Republic after Russia's invasion of their homeland, children from Ukraine are trying to make the best of their new lives in Prague. A small recreation center in the Czech capital is helping them cope, simply by letting them play.

I'm RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I'm drilling down on two major issues: the fallout at NATO after a rocket hit Poland last week, and how Ukraine stands with the EU ahead of a long winter.

Whatever else has changed in Kazakhstan in the last year, space for political opposition is still strictly constrained.

A disabled Russian college student claims he was abducted by police, tortured, and forced to confess to burning banners in support of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, though he denies any involvement.

Most of the members of Ukraine's OBON special-purpose battalion fought against Moscow in the first and second Chechen wars. For the Chechen separatist fighters who took part in the liberation of Kherson, Vladimir Putin is the "enemy of the civilized world."

After the Kremlin launched a mobilization campaign on September 21, police began sending male anti-war protesters straight to the military. So women, who were already playing a leading role in the small anti-war movement, stepped up -- despite the risks.

A deadly missile blast in Poland raises fears of escalation – but also shines a spotlight on the barriers to a broader war. Guilty verdicts in the MH17 trial are grim reminders that Russia’s war on Ukraine began long ago. And a gruesome video serves as a disturbing sign of where Russia is today.

N November 21, Kosovar authorities plan to start fining local motorists up to 150 euros for Serbian license plates that in many cases date back to the 1990s when Kosovo was a province within Serbia. Already a source of much rancor, many Serbs are planning a new phase of resistance.

Kian Pirfalak was killed on November 17 in the southwestern city of Izeh amid antiestablishment protests in Iran. State media claimed that the 9-year-old was killed in a "terrorist attack." But his mother says he was shot dead by Iranian security forces.

On the centenary of his birth, we look at the life and legacy of Yuri Knorozov, the Ukrainian-born linguist who is now popularly regarded as the man who single-handedly deciphered the ancient writing of Mesoamerica’s Maya civilization.