The commander raising a Crimean battalion to take it back from the Russians
Crimea, with its strategic location, is a central focus in this war. In this issue from Kyiv and Istanbul, we examine the profound connections that Ukrainians, Crimeans and Turks have to this place.
Editor’s note: Personal, multi-country reporting that examines complex historical, cultural and military Ukrainian storylines takes a lot of time… and a lot of resources! We hope that if you have the means, you’ll upgrade to a paid subscription to help us keep going!
![Lenur Islyamov at his desk, in an office just outside Kyiv (Photo by Aaron Chamski)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_728,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa902a4d3-6e79-4980-84ba-2c4e990ed60a_1600x1066.jpeg)
Commander Lenur Islyamov, dressed in military attire, sits at his desk, eager to begin.
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