Claire Harbage

At World Food Programme distribution sites, "Everybody tells us, 'Last winter was difficult, but we have no idea how we will get through the coming winter,'" says a WFP spokesperson in Kabul.

Ukraine says Russia is using the cold as a weapon against Ukrainians, by targeting the country's ability to heat and power homes. Repair crews are struggling to restore power to damaged areas.

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.

Sixty percent of Ukrainians who fled their homes for other parts of the country have lost their jobs, as Russia's invasion has upended industries and destroyed businesses.

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?"

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.

In Sloviansk, many of those who remain are over 60. Social workers help with food, medicine and cleaning. An 86-year-old calls her social worker "Firefly," saying, "She brings light in a dark time."

Before the war, the first day of school in Ukraine was a joyous celebration. As nearly 4 million students return to school this month, children and educators are desperate for a sense of normalcy.

As a stalemate sets in on Ukraine's eastern front line, a city lives in limbo with constant shelling, limited fuel and spotty utilities. The government ordered evacuations but some residents remain.

Russia invaded Ukraine six months ago. In that time, thousands of people have been killed, cities destroyed, millions of people displaced and the Ukrainian economy has been battered.

One year ago, the Taliban raised their white flag over Afghanistan's capital for the second time. NPR toured the country and spoke to the Taliban and residents about what has happened since.

Ukraine's coal industry was in decline. Now miners find themselves in the middle of a war with Russia — and global demand for coal is rising.

The environmental impacts from Russia's invasion of Ukraine could be felt far longer than the war itself.

A Russian soldier's forgotten body is discovered in a liberated village north of Kyiv, setting off emotions and an inquest — as Russia refuses to acknowledge many of its war dead.

Ukrainians in Kyiv are starting to piece their lives back together as the Russian invasion enters its third month. Even in moments of calm, residents still live with the threat of airstrikes.

U.S. combat veteran Bryan Stern runs a nonprofit called Project Dynamo that extracts people from hostile places. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the organization has rescued more than 400 people.

In Georgia, people living on the frontlines of Russia's 2008 invasion say they worry about what Putin's war in Ukraine will mean for them.

Thousands of Russians have left their country since their government began its invasion of Ukraine. Many have settled in Georgia, a country with a complicated history with its neighbor to the north.

Supplies are running low at Lviv's regional cancer hospital in Ukraine. The patient load has doubled and supplies in Kyiv are inaccessible. But hospital staff choose the duty of care over safety.

On top of the humanitarian crisis, Ukrainians worry about Russian destruction of cultural heritage sites. In Lviv, they're wrapping statues in fireproof material to protect them from Russian bombs.