A volunteer medical battalion in Ukraine provides first aid assistance and evacuates civilians and wounded soldiers from the front lines. “There are so many injured people, injured physically and mentally. There is simply no chance for us to stop,” says 27-year-old Yana Zinkevych, the founder of Hospitallers, a battalion of volunteer medics in Ukraine. Yana taught herself tactical first aid when she ditched medical school and joined a unit of volunteer fighters in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. It was then, while fighting against Russian forces in 2014, that she realised her mission was to help injured comrades.
“Is there anyone out there?” is what Hatice remembers calling out as she lay amid the rubble shortly after the first of two earthquakes hit her region of Kahramanmaras, in southern Turkey. “Don’t waste your breath, my daughter,” is what she recalls her husband saying to their daughter — he was in an equal state of confinement next to her. “No one hears us, my love. They’re not coming, my love. We’re stuck!” he would cry.
We gain rare access inside the Jenin Battalion as they fight back against Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank. “I have no other choice but to carry my gun and to resist until I die because as things are now, I’m dead while breathing.” Abu Aseel, not his real name, believes resorting to weapons is the only way of protecting himself and his family, who live in Jenin, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank. Like many young men from the impoverished refugee camp, Abu Aseel has taken up arms and joined the Jenin Battalion, a relatively new armed group formed to keep Israeli forces out of the city.
Activists from Ultima Generazione tell us why they target valuable artworks to highlight the effects of climate change. “None of us want to be here, but the government is investing in our death!” calls out Leonardo, an Italian climate activist, as he and his teammates block a highly transited street in Milan during rush hour. They are all members of Ultima Generazione —or the Last Generation— an Italian campaign linked to an international network pushing for climate action, popularly known for targeting roads and valued pieces of art. “We have two to three years to turn things around” adds Martina, a 23-year-old activist who has been detained on several occasions for traffic obstruction and damaging public infrastructure. The consequences of her decisions have led her to lose certain privileges and even sever her relationship with her family. “We used to be very close, and now, we hardly talk to each other (…) This is primarily because I am a part of this movement and they don’t agree