The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak

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Bombed in Syria, then again in Ukraine
Mustafa, a Syrian refugee in Ukraine, has faced war in both the Middle East and Europe. When his new home of Kharkiv came under attack, he was…
 • 
Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova
 and 
Tim Mak
American KIA in Ukraine brought home over Thanksgiving weekend
Two other American bodies were identified, and are in the process of being repatriated soon. We explore the process of identifying and bringing home…
 • 
Tim Mak
 and 
Mariana Lastovyria
3
Ukraine’s unexpected ties to Mayan language
It’s a long way from Kharkiv to the Yucatán Peninsula. But Ukrainian Yuriii Knozorov became the first Mayanist in the world to discover a correct method…
 • 
Anastasiia Kryvoruchenko
 and 
Tim Mak
14
A Ukrainian nuclear program: Could it be done?
A majority of Ukrainians support reviving nuke capabilities. This is a story about both the engineering challenges and the Ukrainian feeling of betrayal…
 • 
Mariana Lastovyria
18
Being blind in a war zone
Visiting a museum simulating blindness, Mariana explores the life of those with disabilities. Since the invasion, state funding for people with visual…
 • 
Mariana Lastovyria
12
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The First Substack Dedicated Exclusively to War Correspondence
 • Tim Mak
63
The epic battle that saved Kyiv from Russian occupation
 • Tim Mak
14
The grave of Ukraine’s first F-16 pilot killed in action
 • Alessandra Hay, Anastasiia Kryvoruchenko, Tim Mak, Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova, and Oleksandr Matviienko
20
NEWSFLASH: Russia wracked by rebellion; Putin denounces “treason” in emergency speech
 • Tim Mak, Christopher Allbritton, William Glover Weiss, and Ross Pelekh
31
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NEWSFLASH: U.S. lifts ban on Ukraine missile strikes in Russia
With just two months left in office, Biden reportedly takes the gloves off. But the belated, lame-duck decision has some Ukrainian frustrated. We walk…
 • 
Tim Mak
, 
Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova
, and 
Oleksandr Matviienko
13
Imagining Ukrainian end-of-war scenarios
With so much uncertainty in the air, we profiled three people, each representing how segments of Ukrainian society would react under three distinct…
 • 
Oleh Tymoshenko
, 
Anastasiia Kryvoruchenko
, and 
Tim Mak
10
Ukraine’s resilience coffee culture
The number of coffee shops are dramatically increasing despite the war. After an explosion at her cafe, Maria shook the glass off, and went back to the…
 • 
Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova
, 
William Glover Weiss
, and 
Tim Mak
14
The street-level view from Kyiv on Trump's election
We went back to old sources and new friends in Ukraine to get a readout on how they're responding to the seismic news that Trump will be returning to…
 • 
Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova
, 
Anastasiia Kryvoruchenko
, and 
Yelyzaveta Yefimenko
12
We will not yield.
As the second Trump era begins, The Counteroffensive will stand against autocracy; we will take care of our people; and we will take action despite fear…
 • 
Tim Mak
25
The Vindman twins hit the campaign trail
A Ukraine-related scandal elevated a Kyiv-born Democratic candidate to national prominence in America; on Tuesday, it may help him all the way to…
 • 
Tim Mak
 and 
Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova
10
If Trump wins
A first for The Counteroffensive: a fictional short-story laying out a Ukrainian future if Trump wins the presidential election this Tuesday.
 • 
Adrian Bonenberger
 and 
Mariana Lastovyria
18
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