Ukraine Invasion — Explained - NPR

Accessibility links

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Ukraine invasion — explained The roots of Russia's invasion of Ukraine go back decades and run deep. The current conflict is more than one country taking over another; it is — in the words of one U.S. official — a shift in "the world order."

• Subscribe to News Alerts

Sgt. Mykhailo "Misha" Varvarych, commander of Ukraine's 80th Airborne Assault Brigade, delights in the ocean waters of Daytona Beach, Fla., on Jan. 28, 2023. For Varvarych, an amputee who received treatment and prosthetics in the United States, to live with joy and hope has become a weapon against war. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

toggle caption Carol Guzy for NPR

The Picture Show

Ukraine's combat amputees cling to hope as a weapon of war

February 22, 2026 • Along with a growing number of war-wounded amputees, Mykhailo Varvarych and Iryna Botvynska are navigating an altered destiny after Varvarych lost both his legs during the Russian invasion.

Relatives of Kenyan nationals conscripted by the Russian army in Ukraine pose with photos of their family members during a demonstration demanding urgent government action to repatriate their kin, in Nairobi on Feb.19, 2026. Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images

'Given a gun and sent to die': Kenyans lured to fight for Russia in Ukraine

February 21, 2026 • Kenya's intelligence service warns that over 1,000 citizens may have been recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine, many under false pretenses.

'Given a gun and sent to die': Kenyans lured to fight for Russia in Ukraine

Listen · 4:20 4:20 Transcript Toggle more options

• Download
• Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5720226/nx-s1-9658490" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
• Transcript

Protesters hold placards at a small demonstration held by Ukrainians, Russians and Kenyans against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in front of the Russian Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, on Feb. 26, 2022. AP hide caption

toggle caption AP

1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine, intelligence report says

February 19, 2026 • A new Kenyan intelligence report said the Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine after being misled with false promises of jobs in Russia before being sent to the front lines.

Sponsor Message

A Kyiv fisherman drills a hole through the frozen Dnipro River in Ukraine. Ice fishing is a cherished winter past-time and a peaceful respite from the war. Eleanor Beardsley/NPR hide caption

toggle caption Eleanor Beardsley/NPR

State of the World from NPR

Ice fishing is a peaceful retreat for war-weary Ukrainians

February 17, 2026 • Kyiv residents venture onto the city’s frozen Dnipro River for a favorite past-time of ice fishing. The activity is a much-needed respite in Ukraine as the Russian invasion enters a fifth year.

Ice fishing is a peaceful retreat for war-weary Ukrainians

Listen · 5:31 5:31 Toggle more options

• Download
• Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5717150/nx-s1-mx-5717150-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych holds his crash helmet as he stands outside the sliding center at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday. Alessandra Tarantino/AP hide caption

toggle caption Alessandra Tarantino/AP

2026 Milan Cortina Olympics

Ukrainians rally in support of Olympian Vladyslav Heraskevych, banned for his helmet

February 12, 2026 • Ukrainians are uniting in solidarity with Olympic skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych after he was disqualified for wearing a helmet with images of Ukrainian athletes killed during Russia's invasion.

Police officer Piotr Porkoski stands in front of the portion of the Warsaw-Ukraine train line where Polish authorities say two Ukrainian perpetrators hired by Russia's government used explosives to attempt to blow up the track last November. A train conductor noticed the warped rail and called the police. Rob Schmitz/NPR hide caption

toggle caption Rob Schmitz/NPR

State of the World from NPR

Russia’s Hybrid War on Europe

February 5, 2026 • Ever since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, experts say Russia has stepped up its hybrid war on Western Europe. Attacks on critical infrastructure or using drones to shutdown airports are meant to undermine support for Ukraine. We go to Poland to see one such attack.And in Kyiv, Ukrainians are getting through Russian attacks that have shut down the power grid in the coldest months by holding dance parties on ice.

Russia’s Hybrid War on Europe

Listen · 10:03 10:03 Toggle more options

• Download
• Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5703376/nx-s1-mx-5703376-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

A resident in Kyiv, Ukraine, helps his 2-year-old daughter use a headlight during a power outage at their apartment amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Andrew Kravchenko/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Andrew Kravchenko/AFP via Getty Images

Ukrainians are sharing hacks online on how to survive winter power cuts

January 26, 2026 • After repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid, Ukrainians face long outages during a cold winter at war. On social media, Ukrainians share tips for keeping warm at home.

A residential building is damaged after a Russian air strike during a heavy snow storm in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption

toggle caption Efrem Lukatsky/AP

Ukrainian drones set fire to Russian oil depot after Moscow launches new hypersonic missile

January 10, 2026 • The strike comes a day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, including a powerful new hypersonic missile that hit western Ukraine.

Rescue workers put out a fire at a residential building damaged by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday. Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption

toggle caption Efrem Lukatsky/AP

Russia uses its new Oreshnik missile in a big attack on Ukraine and a warning to West

January 9, 2026 • For only the second time, Russia used a new ballistic missile that it says flies at 10 times the speed of sound and is unstoppable by air defenses.

Members of a youth orchestra outside Kyiv perform a composition they wrote about the sounds of the war in Ukraine at night. Hanna Palamarenko/NPR hide caption

toggle caption Hanna Palamarenko/NPR

State of the World from NPR

Looking Back: Making Music from the Sounds of War

December 29, 2025 • As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year we revisit a story about a Ukrainian youth orchestra.  Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the country has been hit with more than 50,000 drone strikes. The constant threats of war have changed many things about life in Ukraine, including the way the night time sounds. We meet members of a youth orchestra outside Kyiv who are marking the new sounds of their country with a sonic poem.

Looking Back: Making Music from the Sounds of War

Listen · 6:26 6:26 Toggle more options

• Download
• Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5652108/nx-s1-mx-5652108-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sponsor Message

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands at the start of a joint news conference following a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

toggle caption Alex Brandon/AP

The U.S. offers Ukraine a 15-year security guarantee for now, Zelenskyy says

December 29, 2025 • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States is offering his country security guarantees for 15 years as part of a proposed peace plan.

In this grab from a video provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Friday, Dec 12, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy records a video at the road entering of Kupiansk, Ukraine. AP/Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine hide caption

toggle caption AP/Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine

U.S. envoys arrive in Berlin for latest round of Ukraine peace talks with Zelenskyy

December 14, 2025 • U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday as Trump grows increasingly exasperated by delays.

Pavel Talankin, a teacher, videographer and filmmaker from Russia, directed "Mr Nobody Against Putin", an award-winning 90-minute documentary which exposes the intensity of the propaganda at Talankin's school in Karabash, Russia. Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty hide caption

toggle caption Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty

State of the World from NPR

How Have Russian Schools Changed Since the War in Ukraine Began?

December 10, 2025 • Life for Russians has changed in myriad ways since the start of the full scale war in Ukraine in 2022. It has affected everything from what they can say to what they can buy. But perhaps the most far reaching change is in what Russians learn. Our correspondent in Moscow tells us about a new undercover documentary that shows the changes to Russian schools.

How Have Russian Schools Changed Since the War in Ukraine Began?

Listen · 7:43 7:43 Toggle more options

• Download
• Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5640026/nx-s1-mx-5843454" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

This handout photograph, taken on Nov. 12 by the press service of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, shows an aerial view of destroyed buildings in the front-line town of Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Iryna Rybakova/93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Iryna Rybakova/93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine's last eastern strongholds hang on as Russia fights to take Donbas

December 9, 2025 • Russia is pushing to take over all of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, where one resident tells NPR that she feels her "life depends on how our guys at the front hold on."

State of the World from NPR

Ukraine’s Government is Rocked by a Corruption Scandal

December 8, 2025 • Even as Ukraine is engaged in high stakes peace talks with the U.S. and Russia, the country is dealing with a massive corruption scandal which has reached very high levels of the government. Though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not been implicated, it has been a challenge for him. We go to Kyiv to get reaction from Ukrainians. 

Ukraine’s Government is Rocked by a Corruption Scandal

Listen · 5:47 5:47 Toggle more options

• Download
• Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5637576/nx-s1-mx-5840379" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

From left: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz chat on the 10 Downing Street doorstep after a meeting in London on Monday. Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images

Zelenskyy heads to London for more Ukraine peace talks. Here's what to know

December 8, 2025 • The talks signal fresh support from European allies. But they follow stalled U.S. negotiations in Miami and comments from President Trump's son suggesting Washington is ready to pull back.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, third right, Russian Presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, fourth right, and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries Kirill Dmitriev, right, attend talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, second left, and Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, third, at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 2. Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP hide caption

toggle caption Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Putin says there are points he can't agree to in the U.S. proposal to end Ukraine war

December 4, 2025 • Russian President Vladimir Putin made the remarks to an Indian broadcaster before landing in India for a state visit, but refused to elaborate on what Russia could accept or reject.

Sponsor Message

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, right back to a camera, and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, left back to a camera, at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025 Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik via AP hide caption

toggle caption Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik via AP

State of the World from NPR

What are the Results of U.S. talks in Russia to end the war in Ukraine?

December 3, 2025 • U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff visited Moscow this week to present the revised Ukraine peace proposal. We’ll hear how they were received. And Marco Rubio won’t attend a NATO meeting of foreign ministers about Ukraine, the first time in more than 20 years the U.S. Secretary of State won’t be at such a meeting. We’ll get reaction from Europe. And we’ll hear from a former U.S. ambassador to NATO on what the alliance’s role in a Ukraine peace deal should be. 

State of the World from NPR-12.03.2025

Listen · 11:58 11:58 Toggle more options

• Download
• Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5631514/nx-s1-mx-5833353" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, and Jared Kushner attend a meeting with Ukrainian officials Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Hallandale Beach, Fla. Terry Renna/AP hide caption

toggle caption Terry Renna/AP

Rubio says US-Ukraine talks on Russia war were productive but much work remains in search of a deal

November 30, 2025 • U.S. and Ukrainian officials completed roughly four hours of talks aimed at finding an endgame to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Andriy Yermak, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio talk to the press as their consultations continue at the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. Martial Trezzini/AP/Keystone hide caption

toggle caption Martial Trezzini/AP/Keystone

Zelenskyy's chief of staff resigns as Ukraine corruption investigations widen

November 28, 2025 • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, whose residence was searched earlier in the day by anti-corruption investigators.

Firefighters put out the fire after a drone hit a multi-storey residential building during Russia's night drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption

toggle caption Efrem Lukatsky/AP

Russian attacks kill at least 7 in Ukraine as talks on a U.S. peace plan continue

November 25, 2025 • Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine's capital overnight, and Ukraine attacked southern Russia, during a renewed U.S. push to end the war.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, holds a press conference following closed-door talks on a US plan to end the war in Ukraine at the US Mission in Geneva, on November 23, 2025. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Geneva on November 23, 2025 morning for discussions on a US plan to end the Ukraine war, after Washington signaled room for negotiation on the controversial proposal. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

State of the World from NPR

How are Negotiations for a Ceasefire Between Russia and Ukraine Going?

November 24, 2025 • Top U.S. and Ukrainian officials said they are making progress toward ending the Russia-Ukraine war. But European allies feel they've been left out of the plan, which they say placates Russia. We get reaction from Ukrainians on the state of negotiations and from a German diplomat on what the plan is missing

How are Negotiations for a Ceasefire Between Russia and Ukraine Going?

Listen · 10:53 10:53 Toggle more options

• Download
• Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5619760/nx-s1-mx-5821519" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Outside a destroyed apartment building in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, local residents have left flowers, candles and stuffed toys to commemorate the dozens, including several children, killed in an overnight Russian missile attack. Eleanor Beardsley/NPR hide caption

toggle caption Eleanor Beardsley/NPR

Amid smoldering wreckage, anger at Ukraine peace proposal many consider lopsided

November 23, 2025 • As residents of the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil face bombardment by night, and wreckage by day, they share their anger at an American peace proposal that many say favors Russia above Ukraine

Ukrainians express concerns about a peace plan drafted by the U.S. and Russia

Listen · 3:54 3:54 Transcript Toggle more options

• Download
• Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-98981/nx-s1-9545528" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
• Transcript

Rescuers work at a market destroyed by a Russian airstrike on Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Friday. Kateryna Klochko/AP hide caption

toggle caption Kateryna Klochko/AP

Putin says U.S. plan for Ukraine could form the basis for a final peace settlement

November 21, 2025 • The plan includes many of Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that his country is at "truly one of the most difficult moments in our history."

Sponsor Message More from Ukraine invasion — explained Load more stories Browse archive or search npr.org Sponsor Message

Sponsor Message

Become an NPR sponsor