Ukraine counteroffensive

Dmytro Orlov, the exiled mayor of Enerhodar, in his office at a community center in Zaporizhzhia.

With an inconclusive counteroffensive, Ukraine looks toward an anxious winter

5:00am December 11, 2023

by Joanna Kakissis

Ukraine's government acknowledges the gains in its most recent counteroffensive have been small. And it worries Western allies are distracted by the war between Israel and Hamas.

Local residents inspect a crater left after a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, July 29.

Latest in Ukraine: Ukraine's counteroffensive makes some gains

11:34am July 31, 2023

by NPR Staff

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

A Russian serviceman guards the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in in southeastern Ukraine in May 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia has placed devices that look like explosives on top of reactors at the plant. He says Russia may carry out sabotage and blame Ukraine. Russia, in turn, says Ukraine is planning to attack the plant.

World News

Ukraine's Zelenskyy warns of possible Russian sabotage at nuclear plant

12:04pm July 05, 2023

by Greg Myre

Zelenskyy made the alarming claim in his nightly video address, adding that he believes the Russians may soon damage the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and blame Ukraine.

In this image made from video provided by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on Sunday, a Ukrainian soldier poses for the camera with his finger to his lips. The video shows troops gesturing for silence suggesting that no formal announcement of a possible counteroffensive against Russia will be made. Text appears in the video saying: "Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the start."

World News

Latest in Ukraine: Kyiv won't say when its counteroffensive has begun (June 5)

2:26pm June 05, 2023

by Alex Leff

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

The commander of a Territorial Defense Unit fighting in Kherson region, who goes by the name Playboy, poses for a portrait last month.

World News

With winter approaching, Ukraine prepares to fight on frozen ground

10:52am November 16, 2022

The coming winter may provide Ukraine with more opportunities to retake land from Russia, Western military analysts say. It will also bring a change in battlefield tactics.

Queue Listen Now

Soldiers prepare to fire BM-21 Grad rocket launcher toward Russian positions in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on Monday. Russia intends to annex Donetsk but Ukrainian forces retook Lyman, a strategic city in the region, on Saturday.

Ukraine war updates: Ukraine retakes part of a region Russia claims to annex (Oct. 3)

2:42pm October 03, 2022

by NPR Staff

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

A soldier who was formerly an IT entrepreneur and asked to be identified only by his call sign "Arun" manning a checkpoint in Borshchova, in northeastern Ukraine, on Friday. Ukrainian troops took back the area from Russian forces earlier this month.

World News

Ukraine's offensive in Kharkiv was hard and bitter, say soldiers who did the fighting

7:46am September 29, 2022

by Jason Beaubien

While Ukraine's counteroffensive this month was hailed as stunning by military observers, Ukrainian troops tell NPR that Russian forces put up stiff resistance in parts of the Kharkiv region.

Queue Listen Now

Luda Toryanyk, 58, walks across the railroad tracks in Kozacha Lopan, Ukraine, on Sunday. The village was retaken by Ukrainian troops on Sept. 11 after being occupied by Russian forces for more than six months. Toryanyk carries home bags of food that Ukrainian volunteers were distributing in the center of the village.

World News

In a retaken border village, Ukrainians point to signs of Russian abuse of civilians

10:26am September 22, 2022

by Jason Beaubien

Villagers describe allegations of abuse and officials say they found a torture chamber in Kozacha Lopan, in the Kharkiv region, which Russian forces invaded and took over at the start of the war.

Queue Listen Now

The building housing Mykolaiv's regional government, bombed early in the war, lies in ruins on Aug. 11. Governor Vitaliy Kim says he knew he was the target "because it was my window." Thirty-seven of his colleagues died in the bombing.

World News

Ukraine hunts for pro-Moscow collaborators suspected of helping Russia strike targets

4:40pm September 21, 2022

by Joanna Kakissis

The southern Mykolaiv region has seen targeted strikes, leading Ukrainian officials to round up hundreds of people suspected of leaking information to the Russians.

Queue Listen Now

Ukrainian soldiers stand over bags containing the remains of exhumed bodies at a mass grave site in Izium, Ukraine.

World News

Russia-Ukraine war updates: Putin met Xi, mass graves found in Izium (Sept. 19)

4:27pm September 19, 2022

by NPR Staff

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