Kat Lonsdorf

Politics

Rep. Katherine Clark becomes the most senior woman in the House of Representatives

Kat Lonsdorf

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Rep. Katherine Clark on her election as House Minority Whip.

Emergency workers clear debris from the crater of a missile strike at a bus stop in a residential area of Dnipro, Ukraine. Missiles struck multiple cities across the country Monday morning.

Deadly missile strikes hit Kyiv as explosions reported in other cities across Ukraine

Julian Hayda

The attacks came only hours after Russia blamed Ukraine for a weekend explosion that partially damaged a strategic bridge that connects Russian-occupied Crimea to mainland Russia.

Yurii Skubin, 65, shows pieces of spent ammunition collected in a vacant lot in Tavriiske, a village just a few miles from Russian-occupied areas in Zaporizhzhia. The annexation, largely dismissed by the international community as a sham, will likely have real implications for Ukrainians on the front lines who are staring down Russian forces.

On the edge of Russia's illegal annexation, Ukrainians grapple with uncertainty

Kat Lonsdorf

Villagers on the Ukrainian side say it's already hard to stay in touch with friends and family across the front lines. They fear it will get worse.

Konstantin Ivashchenko, former CEO of the Azovmash plant and appointed pro-Russian mayor of Mariupol, visits a polling station as people vote in a referendum in Mariupol on Tuesday.

Occupied regions of Ukraine vote to join Russia in staged referendums

Jason Beaubien

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.

People from Russian-occupied places like Melitopol and Kherson arrive in a convoy of cars to the parking lot of a home goods store set up as a makeshift welcome center in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

Russia begins annexation vote, illegal under international law, in occupied Ukraine

Kat Lonsdorf

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?"

Arts

At age 22, Samara Joy is a classic jazz singer from a new generation

Ari Shapiro

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with 22-year-old jazz singer Samara Joy, who recently took to the stage of legendary club Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. Her album, Linger Awhile, is out now.

Wooden crosses mark burials at a mass grave site in newly liberated Izium, Ukraine. Some of the graves have a name and date written in thick black marker, others have simply a number scrawled across — unidentified.

Outside a liberated Ukrainian town, inspectors search for evidence of war crimes

Kat Lonsdorf

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.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar on Sunday. It is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactors won't restart until Russians leave, its operator says

Kat Lonsdorf

Europe's largest nuclear plant will remain shut down until Russian forces leave, the head of Ukraine's atomic energy agency tells NPR. Under Russian occupation, he says, "staff cannot operate freely."

Arts

Encore: Composer John Williams and cellist Yo-Yo Ma assemble 'A Gathering of Friends'

Mary Louise Kelly

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with renowned composer and conductor John Williams and cellist Yo-Yo Ma about their collaborative album, A Gathering of Friends. It celebrates Williams' 90th birthday.

The Kherson region of Ukraine has been under control of the Russian forces since the early days of the invasion.

A young man attempts to escape Russian-occupied Ukraine — then he goes silent

Kat Lonsdorf

Vitaliy is a 22-year-old Ukrainian college student living in occupied Kherson. He had been sending NPR voice memos for months describing life in the city. Then he decided to leave.