Freed From a Belarus Prison, a Nobel Peace Laureate Experiences ‘Oxygen Intoxication’ NYT | Top Stories By: Valerie Hopkins 21 December 2025 at 18:01 Ales Bialiatski, who shared the Nobel in 2022, described long hours of backbreaking work and stints in solitary confinement. © Gonzalo Fuentes/ReutersAles Bialiatski, flanked by a Belarusian opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, outside the U.S. embassy, in Vilnius, Lithuania, this month.
With Attacks on Oil Tankers, Ukraine Takes Aim at Russia’s War Financing NYT | Top Stories By: Kim Barker, Ephrat Livni and Valerie Hopkins 21 December 2025 at 01:12 Strikes on four vessels signal that Kyiv is willing to expand the maritime theater of the conflict in an effort to crimp Moscow’s military funding. © Brendan Hoffman for The New York TimesSatellite-controlled speedboat drones designed and operated by Ukraine’s military intelligence service. Called Sea Babies, they are packed with explosives and can travel long distances.