Russian soldiers call the practice a sacrifice to Baba Yaga, a fearsome witch from Slavic folklore who feasts on her victims.

DONETSK REGION (Reuters) -For months, Ukraine has picked off Russian soldiers by the thousand around the frontline city of Pokrovsk, using small drones armed with bombs to tie down a numerically superior force.

A former Ukrainian prisoner of war, Stanislav Tarnavskyi, has embraced life with urgency since his release in April.

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and co-founder of Swift Beat, has emerged as an unlikely friend of Ukraine. While tech giants like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Maxar have emerged as unreliable partners,

Protests were held near the hotel housing the Russian fencers and outside the Sports Palace, the venue for the competition.

Pope Leo discussed the war in Ukraine on Saturday with Metropolitan Anthony, a senior cleric in the Russian Orthodox Church, in a possible effort to ease ties between the churches strained by Russia's invasion.