In wartime, it\u2019s not unusual for a country to suspend some freedoms and oblige young people to fight. That\u2019s what\u2019s happened in Ukraine. But in a democracy, those conscripts still have rights and protections.<\/p>\n
Today my colleague Maria Varenikova writes about Olha Reshetylova, the woman assigned by the Ukrainian government to protect soldiers \u2014 not from Russia, but from their own commanders, who can at times subject them to harsh treatment.<\/p>\n
Reshetylova, 40, has two sons, 5 and 14. They could end up fighting if this war, which has been going on for over four years, drags on long enough. Her husband is fighting already. For her, this mission is personal.<\/p>\n
The woman calling out the Ukrainian military<\/p>\n
By Maria Varenikova<\/p>\n
Who is Olha Reshetylova? She\u2019s the Ukrainian military\u2019s first ombudsman<\/a>, the leading advocate for soldiers\u2019 rights in a military of almost one million. She\u2019s looking to change a culture in which superior officers have retaliated against soldiers who complain by threatening to send them on deadly missions.<\/p>\n One good quote: \u201cEven under shelling, even in the army, even during war \u2014 first and foremost is dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n How did she get the job? She created it, at the request of President Volodymyr Zelensky.<\/p>\n Any criticism of the army is sensitive in Ukraine, where the institution is highly respected for sustaining a war for national survival against Russia since 2014. But Reshetylova, who spent the first years after the 2022 invasion documenting Russian war crimes, knew from her previous experience as a soldiers\u2019 rights activist that Ukraine\u2019s soldiers also needed protection from their own commanders.<\/p>\n Since the job was created last October, her office has received thousands of complaints from soldiers who say they aren\u2019t able to get medical treatment, who have issues getting paid or who have been threatened by their own commanders.<\/p>\n What is her relationship with the military higher-ups like? Touchy. Reshetylova told me a story, from before she\u2019d been appointed ombudsman, about a commander who ordered his soldiers to point their rifles at her to prevent her from entering a base. She was also the target of an online smear campaign that cast her as a Russian agent.<\/p>\n Since her official appointment, her relationships with the brass has gotten better. I recently watched her on a visit with a brigade in western Ukraine, and saw her have productive conversations with commanders. She talked with one about new recruits who were too unwell to fight \u2014 more burden than benefit, as the colonel put it \u2014 but who also couldn\u2019t legally be left behind. She said she\u2019d raise the issue with officials in Kyiv.<\/p>\n They also talked about new soldiers who run away. According to government data, about 200,000 Ukrainian soldiers have at some point been away without leave, many fleeing within days of arriving at basic training.<\/p>\n Commanders have pushed for more punishments, like freezing their bank accounts; Reshetylova has added a course to basic training on how to transition to military life.<\/p>\n Why does she think this is important? Protecting soldiers\u2019 rights will make the military stronger, Reshetylova thinks. Helping soldiers understand that, even in the military, they still have rights could help reduce both draft dodging and AWOL cases, she says.<\/p>\n Since her official appointment, commanders are sometimes still skeptical, she said. But, legally, they \u201cmust accept me.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: Zelensky was in London yesterday for talks with the leaders of Britain, Germany and France, who are weighing ways to step up their role in peace talks<\/a> with Russia.<\/p>\n MORE TOP NEWSIran fires missiles at Israel<\/p>\n Iran fired ballistic missiles at northern Israel<\/a> yesterday, the Israeli military said. It was the first such attack since a cease-fire paused the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran two months ago.<\/p>\n Iranian officials had threatened to retaliate after Israel bombarded the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, part of an Israeli campaign against the Iranian ally Hezbollah. We have live updates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Life in Iran: Feelings of disillusionment and despair have taken hold among ordinary Iranians, my colleague Farnaz Fassihi writes<\/a>. The reported death toll from the war stands at 1,700 civilians; there has been vast destruction and the economy is imploding, making daily life a struggle.<\/p>\n OTHER NEWSWHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING<\/p>\n Bernadette Chirac<\/a>, the frequently outspoken wife of former French president Jacques Chirac, died at 93.<\/p>\n Nearly 40,000 fans came out to see Ye<\/a>, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, in the Netherlands; other European countries have canceled his concerts.<\/p>\n Cuman\u00e1, a city in eastern Venezuela, where the economy is in shambles, is a different world from Caracas<\/a>, the capital. My colleague Simon Romero drove across eastern Venezuela to see living conditions outside the capital firsthand. Watch his video<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2018Childhood is bigger than life!\u2019<\/p>\n Steven Spielberg, whose new movie, \u201cDisclosure Day,\u201d comes out this week, is the focus of an in-depth profile<\/a> in The New York Times Magazine. Spielberg, who turns 80 in December, dives into his childhood and reveals a still hardy appetite for filmmaking. \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d is his 35th feature film.<\/p>\n MORNING READ<\/p>\n India\u2019s Hindu nationalist right has a new hero: the 17th-century warrior king Shivaji, who fought against the Muslim Mughal dynasty. Hundreds of statues of the king \u2014 usually on horseback, brandishing a sword \u2014 have been popping up across the country.<\/p>\n The Indian Navy has adopted a new ensign that takes inspiration from Shivaji\u2019s seal, and there\u2019s a variety of Shivaji merchandise for sale, including T-shirts and wristwatches. Hindu nationalists say Shivaji\u2019s story is one of the defense of Hinduism against invaders. Critics say this is a twisting of his legacy to suit the goals of those who want to remake India into an exclusively Hindu nation. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n AROUND THE WORLDA giant vacuum at the bottom of the sea<\/p>\n There could be more nickel, cobalt and manganese in one zone of the Pacific Ocean than in all known land deposits combined. But could mining companies reach those deposits, more than three kilometers down in one of the least studied places on Earth?<\/p>\n An unusual ship, the Hidden Gem, has tested one idea. It\u2019s a giant collector the size of a bus that suctions up the minerals from the seafloor. The effort comes with environmental concerns and mind-blowing engineering challenges. You can see how it works here<\/a>.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDATIONS<\/p>\n Reconnect: It\u2019s the first week of our monthlong \u201cTouch Grass\u201d challenge, which encourages you to put down your devices and engage with real life. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Covet: Diane Keaton\u2019s estate auction showcases her distinct style. What would you buy<\/a>?<\/p>\n Watch: The French Algerian coming-of-age drama \u201cThe Little Sister\u201d follows a teenager grappling with her sexuality and her faith. It\u2019s a critic\u2019s pick<\/a>.<\/p>\n In West and Central Africa, many soups and stews are built on vegetables, fruits or seeds that add an incredible viscosity described as \u201cdraw<\/a>.\u201d Try the texture with this recipe for the Nigerian soup \u00ecl\u00e1<\/a>, in which okra is the star. The vegetable is chopped into confetti-like bits and simmered over low heat with spinach and shrimp.<\/p>\n WHERE IS THIS?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In wartime, it\u2019s not unusual for a country to suspend some freedoms and oblige young people to fight.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1448,14670,60,9,11,10,9046,84796],"class_list":["post-258600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-defense-and-military-forces","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-ukraine","tag-world-cup-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}