Kherson

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, surrounded by his guards, walks on central square during his visit to Kherson on Monday.

World News

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy makes surprise visit to liberated city of Kherson

8:09am November 14, 2022

by Greg Myre

The Ukrainian president appears openly in front of the main government building in the southern city, and speaks to cheering residents who endured eight months of Russian occupation.

Col. Roman Kostenko liberated his home village in Kherson last week. Russian troops occupied his childhood home for months. They took his body armor and medals and left a grenade and a vulgar message on an outside wall.

World News

Ukrainian soldiers who helped liberate Kherson describe relief, joy and apprehension

7:00am November 14, 2022

by Frank Langfitt

Many soldiers from the southern port city of Kherson spent months trying to liberate their homes. The Russian retreat last week was a major blow to Moscow's war effort.

An elderly woman walks in the southern Ukrainian village of Arkhanhelske, outside Kherson, on Nov. 3. The Russians occupied the village until recently. Now Ukrainian forces are moving into villages where the Russians left. The Russians also say they're withdrawing from Kherson, marking another major setback for the Russian military.

Russia is retreating, so why is the U.S. nudging Ukraine to compromise?

5:52pm November 10, 2022

Russia says it's withdrawing from the southern city of Kherson, but Ukraine says it's not seeing a pullout. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is asking Ukraine to show a willingness to negotiate.

Queue Listen Now

The Ukrainian artillery battery of the 59th Mechanized Brigade fires a howitzer at points controlled by Russian troops in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine on Saturday.

World News

Russia says it's withdrawing from the key city of Kherson, but Ukraine is skeptical

6:56pm November 09, 2022

Russia announced a withdrawal from Kherson, Ukraine, but the Ukrainian government said there's "no signs" Russian forces left without a fight.

Queue Listen Now

Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-backed Kherson administration, in his office in Kherson on July 20. A portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the wall behind him.

World News

A Russian-appointed official died in a car crash in Ukraine's Kherson

2:56pm November 09, 2022

by Frank Langfitt

Born in Ukraine, Kirill Stremousov had switched to Russia's side and mimicked its claims about Nazi rule, becoming spokesman and deputy governor of the Moscow-installed administration in Kherson.

A Ukrainian artilleryman fires a howitzer at a position on the front line near Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, on Oct. 31.

Ukraine updates: Iran admits sending Russia drones as electricity knocked out (Nov. 7)

1:21pm November 07, 2022

by NPR Staff

Catch up on key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A resident looks out the window holding a candle for light inside her house during a power outage, in Borodyanka, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Thursday. Airstrikes cut power and water supplies to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians on Tuesday, part of what the country's president called an expanding Russian campaign to drive the nation into the cold and dark.

Ukraine war updates: Russia hits power grid, Iran accused of stepping in (Oct. 24)

10:05am October 24, 2022

by NPR Staff

As Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine hits the eight-month mark, here's a look at key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of the war.

Russian forces raised a Soviet-era flag in Kherson after capturing the southern Ukrainian city early in the current war. Ukraine carried out new attacks in the Kherson region on Monday, raising the possibility that it is launching a counteroffensive. This

Ukrainian attacks suggest offensive may be underway in the south

10:42pm August 29, 2022

by Greg Myre

Ukraine has been talking for weeks about a counteroffensive against Russian forces in the southern city of Kherson. Without saying so explicitly, Ukrainian attacks suggested an operation is underway.

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

World News

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

5:00am August 09, 2022

by 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.

Queue Listen Now

Ukrainian soldiers led NPR's team into the forest in the "gray zone" where they dug one of the defensive trenches used to stall Russia's advance.

World News

In the 'gray zone' outside Kherson, Ukraine's soldiers pay a terrible price

7:01am August 06, 2022

by Brian Mann

Ukrainian officials have vowed to retake the strategic city of Kherson. But the battlefield "gray zone," spanning more than 100 miles, is confusing — and danger can come in many forms.

Queue Listen Now