By UN and U.S. estimates, as many as 20,000 soldiers have been killed in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Many more civilians have likely perished. Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s end game remains unclear; but one Ukrainian-born journalist finds hope amid the rubble, for his native country and its enemies.

Historian Thomas Zimmer explains why he’s not terribly worried about the far-right in Germany, even though the xenophobic Alternative for Germany party now leads the opposition in parliament. And Constanze Stelzenmüller, an expert on foreign relations, credits Angela Merkel for holding democratic ideals together in Europe with a firm hand.