Mohsen Abdolreza was once an ordinary child.

He loved playing the drums, took part in kickboxing championships, helped his parents at their family restaurant, and was in love with a girl named Samira.

For most people, these are beautiful, nostalgic experiences — memories that, in adulthood, bring a soft smile to the face and warmth to the heart.

But for Mohsen, they are tied to hatred.

He had to leave kickboxing competitions and take up coaching, after he lost his eye in protests in the late 1990s.

Under Iran’s strict theocracy, he could be beaten up for playing instruments.

And even though his feelings for Samira were mutual, he could never take her out. Premarital relationships – even a couple appearing in public, or holding hands, was a crime punishable by law.

Later Samira moved and he never saw her again.

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What Iran’s Theocracy Doesn’t Want You To See

Thousands of Iranians are dead from a crackdown on protests. The Khamenei regime responded to mass protests with repression. Mohsen and Mohammad are working to keep the uprising alive abroad.

^{Anastasiia Kryvoruchenko (The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak)}

NEWS OF THE DAY:

DROUGHT FROM KAKHOVKA DAM FALLOUT IS REDUCING HARVEST: Amidst a drought caused by the #Russian attack and destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, #Ukrainian farmers in Ukraine’s south are warned by scientists to avoid planting sunflower and corn.

agronews.ua/en/news/scientists…

Scientists advise farmers in southern Ukraine to abandon sunflower and corn

Kherson, Mykolaiv, part of Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions are experiencing a difficult drought for the second year in a row. Academician of the National Acade

^{news (AgroNews)}

#RUSSIA WILL PRODUCE 1,000 SHAHED-TYPE DRONES PER DAY: As peace talks continue Russia continues to ramp up armament, increasing drone production to 1,000 units per day, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi stated in an interview with #Ukrainian media.

lb.ua/society/2026/01/18/71744…

Головнокомандувач ЗСУ Сирський: «Ми не бачимо жодних ознак, що противник готується до мирних перемовин»

«Ворог планує суттєво наростити виробництво, щоб застосовувати до 1000 дронів на день». «Понад 20 млн – мобілізаційний потенціал росіян, 4,5 млн – підготовлений ресурс вже зараз».

^{Соня Кошкіна (LB.ua)}

#RUSSIA IS AUSTRIA’S BIGGEST SPY THREAT: While some estimate that 20% of diplomats are working with special services, there are 13,000 diplomats working in Austria’s capital #Vienna, according to Austria’s intelligence director Sylvia Mayer.

ukrinform.ua/rubric-world/4081…

Найбільша шпигунська загроза для Австрії походить від Росії - директорка спецслужби

Основна шпигунська загроза для Австрії походить від Російської Федерації. — Укрінформ.

^Ukrinform

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A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the war in Ukraine, and elsewhere on the frontlines for democracy.

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