Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers media questions before his meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption
October 24, 2026 • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that normal Starlink operating speeds were restored after more than a week of disruptions.
Ukrainian troops ride bikes under an anti-drone net in the frontline town of Druzhkivka, Ukraine, on Sept. 12. Both the Russian and Ukrainian forces have put up nets to guard against drones. The troops often move on foot or on bikes because tanks, armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles are easily spotted and often attacked. Iryna Rybakova/Ukrainian 93rd Mechanized Brigade/Ukrainian military via AP hide caption
October 23, 2026 • The Russia-Ukraine war is sometimes compared to the static, deadlocked, trench warfare of World War I.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP hide caption
October 18, 2026 • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he believes the U.S. government is behind his military's loss of normal access to the key satellite communications service used by the Ukrainian military.
A policeman helps an elderly woman to walk out from a residential building damaged by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Saturday. Kateryna Klochko/AP hide caption
October 17, 2026 • Zelenskyy described the move as unfortunate, adding it would encourage Russia to continue its assault. Trump told Congress that the pause was in the national interest but gave no further details.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with NPR in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. Svet Jacqueline for NPR hide caption
October 16, 2026 • Ukraine finds itself in a difficult situation. It has endured increased airstrikes from Russia, especially in the capital Kyiv.
October 13, 2026 • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat down for an interview with NPR at a time of renewed tensions with the White House.
FILE - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 23, 2026. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
October 8, 2026 • The South Korean announcement on Thursday came days after its President Lee Jae Myung threatened unspecified punitive steps if Ukraine refuses to apologize over the revelation.
Police officers look at the damage following a Russian drone strike on the Northern Bridge in Kyiv on October 4, 2026 Mykola Tymchenko/AFP via Getty hide caption
October 5, 2026 • Russia's jet-powered drones are targeting bridges in the Ukrainian capital, an escalation after more than a month of day-and-night strikes that have left Kyiv feeling almost like a frontline city.
Ukrainian military medics treat a wounded Ukrainian soldier in the field hospital near the front line in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia on Sept. 12. The vast majority of casualties take place in the so-called kill zone, a band about 10 to 20 miles wide on both sides of the front line, which stretches more than 700 miles from north to south. Andriy Andriyenko/Ukrainian 65th Mechanized brigade/Ukrainian military via AP hide caption
October 5, 2026 • The front line in the Russia-Ukraine war stretches more than 700 miles and has barely moved in four years. Yet straddling this line is the kill zone, dominated by constantly evolving drone technology.
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, a Ukrainian soldier prepares an FPV drone to fire towards Russian positions in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Andriy Andriyenko/Ukrainian 65 Mechanized brigade/ AP hide caption
September 20, 2026 • Moscow's mayor described the wave of drones as the "largest ever" attack on the Russian capital and said there had been damage to a Moscow oil refinery and a residential building.
A woman votes in Russia's parliamentary election at a polling station in Saint Petersburg on September 18, 2026. Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty hide caption
September 18, 2026 • Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk says that Russia is planning “accidental” strikes on countries supporting Ukraine. This comes after a number of incidents, blamed on Russia, in countries that are part of the NATO alliance.
Ukrainian soldiers comfort each other after returning from captivity after a Prisoners of War (POWs) exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in Chernihiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. Francisco Seco/AP hide caption
September 17, 2026 • Russia is believed to be holding thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians as prisoners of war. In addition, Russia is tormenting the families of these prisoners by contacting them on social media and demanding favors. We hear from some of these family members.
Ukrainian prisoners of war return home on Aug. 19 after being held by Russia. There are shown here in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region. When Russia takes Ukrainians captive, it often contacts the relatives of the prisoners and asks them to help Russia, according to Ukrainians. Francisco Seco/AP hide caption
September 16, 2026 • Russia is believed to be holding thousands of Ukrainian POWs. Russia is also tormenting the families of these prisoners by contacting their relatives on social media and demanding they help Russia.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Jared Kushner talk in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP hide caption
September 6, 2026 • U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held meetings in Kyiv with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy on Sunday, a day after lengthy conversations with Russian President Putin in Moscow.
Firefighters put out a fire at warehouse stores after a Russian air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption
September 2, 2026 • Life has changed recently in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Residents there had gotten used to periodic Russian airstrikes happening maybe once or twice a week. But now the attacks are more constant using drones, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, even hypersonic missiles - not only during the night, but now during the day. We hear from the mayor of Kyiv.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire in a warehouse following a Russian drone attack near Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday. Ukrainian Emergency Service/AP hide caption
August 29, 2026 • The deadly strike comes amid 72 hours of near constant drone strikes across Ukraine, severely disrupting daily life.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomes and shakes hands with Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham upon his arrival at Horodetskyi House ahead of their bilateral meeting in Kyiv on Monday. Henry Nicholls/POOL AFP/ AP hide caption
August 25, 2026 • Burnham, who was in Kyiv for Ukraine's Independence Day, said defense firm MBDA will release details on U.K.-made parts for the SCALP missile to Ukraine to help the country assemble the weapons.
Firefighters try to put out a fire at a city book market following a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine early Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. Francisco Seco/AP hide caption
August 16, 2026 • Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia Sunday, killing at least six people in one of Kyiv's largest aerial attacks of the war.
Diners sit at an outdoor restaurant in Sevastopol, Crimea, on July 22. Ukrainian drone strikes are causing power outages, fuel shortages and cuts in cellphone service in the peninsula. Russia seized Crimea when it first invaded Ukraine in 2014, but now its hold on the territory is being challenged. Igor Ivanko/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
August 13, 2026 • Russia maintained an iron grip on Crimea since seizing it from Ukraine in 2014. Many Russian civilians go there to enjoy the beaches. But now Ukraine is hitting Crimea hard, upending daily life.
Ukrainian military members carry the coffin of Oleksiy Yukov, head of the Ukrainian Platsdarm search unit, during his funeral at the St. Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv on Saturday. Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
August 8, 2026 • Oleksiy Yukov spent two decades recovering the bodies of soldiers — including many Russians. He was killed during a recovery mission after stepping on a landmine.
Residents sit as rescuers work in a multi-storey residential building damaged in a Russian air attack on Kyiv on August 1, 2026 Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty hide caption
August 4, 2026 • Ukraine’s defense forces have beaten back many types of Russian attacks during more than four years of war. But recently there has been a glaring weakness in their defenses: from Russian ballistic missiles. Those kinds of attacks are repelled by U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles. Ukraine is desperately short of them and even the U.S. supplies of Patriot missiles are dwindling. We go to Kyiv to hear what the shortage means for Ukraine.
Ukrainian Air Force F-16 fighter jets fly over a Patriot air and missile defense system in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, on Aug. 4, 2024. Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption
August 4, 2026 • The U.S. and its partners depend on Patriot interceptors to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. But Russia and Iran are firing their weapons at rates far higher than Patriots can be produced.
Sergiy Olehovych Kyslytsya is first deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. He had previously served as permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations. Paula Bronstein for NPR hide caption
July 28, 2026 • In an interview with NPR, one of Ukraine's top negotiators Sergiy Kyslytsya explains why Kyiv believes it now has the leverage to force Russia into serious negotiations.
Protests erupted in Kyiv on Friday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Mykhailo Fedorov as Ukraine's defense minister. He was credited with bringing technology improvements to Ukraine's military. Paula Bronstein for NPR hide caption
July 22, 2026 • After a week of nationwide protests over the direction of Ukraine's military strategy in the ongoing war with Russia, the Ukrainian military has a new commander, Mykhailo Drapatyi. Here's what to know.
