Kat Lonsdorf

In a move that experts say is a key shift for Russia, the Kremlin has named General Valery Gerasimov as the new overall commander of the war in Ukraine.

What Putin's shake-up of top commanders could mean for the war in Ukraine

Mary Louise Kelly

Jealousy. Power struggles. Political infighting. This week's shake-up of Putin's top commanders in charge of Russia's invasion in Ukraine have it all, according to some security experts.

Emergency workers clear debris from the crater of a missile strike at a bus stop in a residential area of Dnipro, Ukraine. Missiles struck multiple cities across the country Monday morning.

Deadly missile strikes hit Kyiv as explosions reported in other cities across Ukraine

Julian Hayda

The attacks came only hours after Russia blamed Ukraine for a weekend explosion that partially damaged a strategic bridge that connects Russian-occupied Crimea to mainland Russia.

Ukrainian troops keep up their counteroffensives in the country's south and east

Leila Fadel

As Russia completed its controversial annexation of four occupied regions of Ukraine, the Ukrainian army is taking back some of that territory village by village.

Yurii Skubin, 65, shows pieces of spent ammunition collected in a vacant lot in Tavriiske, a village just a few miles from Russian-occupied areas in Zaporizhzhia. The annexation, largely dismissed by the international community as a sham, will likely have real implications for Ukrainians on the front lines who are staring down Russian forces.

On the edge of Russia's illegal annexation, Ukrainians grapple with uncertainty

Kat Lonsdorf

Villagers on the Ukrainian side say it's already hard to stay in touch with friends and family across the front lines. They fear it will get worse.

Russia claims its occupied territories in Ukraine voted to become part of Russia

Leila Fadel

Final results from so-called referendums in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine indicate overwhelming support for joining the Russian Federation. The voting is widely condemned as a sham.

Konstantin Ivashchenko, former CEO of the Azovmash plant and appointed pro-Russian mayor of Mariupol, visits a polling station as people vote in a referendum in Mariupol on Tuesday.

Occupied regions of Ukraine vote to join Russia in staged referendums

Jason Beaubien

The so-called referendums — which Ukraine, the U.S. and others have denounced as shams — are widely viewed as an initial Kremlin move toward formal Russian annexation of the territories.

People from Russian-occupied places like Melitopol and Kherson arrive in a convoy of cars to the parking lot of a home goods store set up as a makeshift welcome center in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

Russia begins annexation vote, illegal under international law, in occupied Ukraine

Kat Lonsdorf

Ukrainians are fleeing from Russian-held areas to avoid the sham referendums, which could pave the way for annexation. "It was all staged," said one Ukrainian. "How can you vote when they have guns?"

Wooden crosses mark burials at a mass grave site in newly liberated Izium, Ukraine. Some of the graves have a name and date written in thick black marker, others have simply a number scrawled across — unidentified.

Outside a liberated Ukrainian town, inspectors search for evidence of war crimes

Kat Lonsdorf

On the outskirts of the recently liberated town of Izium, investigators have found what Ukrainian officials are calling a mass grave. It is now being inspected for possible evidence of war crimes.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar on Sunday. It is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactors won't restart until Russians leave, its operator says

Kat Lonsdorf

Europe's largest nuclear plant will remain shut down until Russian forces leave, the head of Ukraine's atomic energy agency tells NPR. Under Russian occupation, he says, "staff cannot operate freely."

The Kherson region of Ukraine has been under control of the Russian forces since the early days of the invasion.

A young man attempts to escape Russian-occupied Ukraine — then he goes silent

Kat Lonsdorf

Vitaliy is a 22-year-old Ukrainian college student living in occupied Kherson. He had been sending NPR voice memos for months describing life in the city. Then he decided to leave.