The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak

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Counteroffensive nears; Ukrainian mother fights for human rights advocate son, now a POW
Maksym Butkevych’s life work was fighting for the dignity of others. Now he’s being held on false allegations by Russian-backed forces. Also: we read…
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Tim Mak
15
Ukraine’s female partisans train for action behind enemy lines; Counteroffensive turns one month!
Olena Biletska is a staunch advocate for women’s education. But when the invasion happened, she flipped a switch and began training her students for…
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Tim Mak
24
Bakhmut hangs by thread; US soldier who fought there reflects on losses
A former U.S. military servicemember now fighting for Ukrainian forces recalls the sacrifices, the optimism, and the stress of his multiple deployments…
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Tim Mak
18
Vyshyvanka: Ukrainian Outfit Becomes Symbol of Wartime Resistance
You couldn't go anywhere in Kyiv this week without seeing these shirts, which have new meaning in a conflict where the existence of Ukrainian nationhood…
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Tim Mak
17
Explosions over the Elephant at the Kyiv Zoo
Kyiv endures one of the most brutal waves of missile and drone attacks since the full-scale invasion broke out; and we meet Ross, my Ukrainian reporting…
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Tim Mak
37
A mother's protest in Kyiv; death of a war correspondent
Svetlana Izmailova marches to demand that her son's death gets the recognition it deserves. And we discuss the killing of AFP journalist Arman Soldin…
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Tim Mak
10
From his hospital bed, a drone pilot's worries about the counteroffensive
This Ukrainian fighter is concerned that his countrymen — and the rest of the world — are slipping into the habit of viewing the war as the new normal.
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Tim Mak
11
Sebastian Junger, Chris Hedges, Kim Dozier: Advice from the OGs of War Correspondence
Longtime combat reporters drop some knowledge and wisdom as I head back into Ukraine.
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Tim Mak
6
West, By God, Virginia!
Traveling through my favorite state to get body armor before another rotation to Ukraine.
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Tim Mak
19
April 2023
The First Substack Dedicated Exclusively to War Correspondence
Introducing 'The Counteroffensive,' a reporter's open notebook from Ukraine
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Tim Mak
65
© 2023 Tim Mak
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