Jason Beaubien

Russia says it is claiming parts of Ukraine, but facts on the ground say otherwise. Ukrainian troops continue a counteroffensive in the country's south and east that is upending the Kremlin's plans.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the key railway hub is under his country's control. Russian forces had been using the rail lines to resupply their troops farther south in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally annexed four regions of Ukraine. Ukraine responded by submitting an application to quickly ascend into NATO. The moves are an escalation in the conflict.

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.

Ukraine's counteroffensive saw many Russian forces flee advancing troops in the northeast of the country. But soldiers on the ground say it was more difficult than some headlines have portrayed it.

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.

Nearly seven months of war in Ukraine, Kyiv's counteroffensive succeeded and Russia ordered more troops to mobilize. Ukrainian lawmakers have been visiting Washington to petition for more arms.

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.

One Ukrainian woman planted flowers after Russia took over her town — to show she wasn't going anywhere. Now the Russian forces are gone and she and the town are trying to pick up the pieces.

Ukrainians are finding danger and destruction in their towns recently retaken from Russia's troops.

Ukrainian officials allege that in the wake of the Russian retreat from the northeast of the country, they've found numerous mass graves, including one near the city Izium containing over 400 bodies.

With a strengthening dollar and rising commodity prices, developing nations are having a hard time paying their debts.

The Russian invasion has taken a toll on Ukrainian metalworks — the country's second-largest industry — and there's still no deal to ship iron and steel products to customers.

The Ukraine army's relatively unsophisticated drones have become very important as intelligence gathering tools. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on July 30, 2022.)

Even relatively inexpensive drones can provide valuable intelligence to units on the battlefield. "This is our task," a Ukrainian drone surveillance unit member says. "We sit the whole day and watch."

Business is clawing back in Ukraine, but it won't be anything like normal for a long time.

Businesses in Ukraine face numerous challenges in the midst of the war. Some have shutdown entirely, while others are scrambling to find new ways to operate.

As the war in Ukraine nears its sixth month, people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv are finding a new normal. Construction crews are cleaning up bombed buildings and people are returning to work.

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night — nor even threats of Russian missiles shall keep the garbage haulers of Kharkiv from their appointed rounds. We hit the streets with one crew.

A Russian missile struck a crowded shopping mall last month, killing 21 people and injuring dozens more. It was just one of many instances when Russia hit Ukraine's civilian areas.