State of the World from NPR

Russia is pounding eastern Ukraine as it tries to consolidate its control of the entire Donbas region. To help get people the out, the Ukrainian rail service has added a special train from the Donbas. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Shinzo Abe, former Japanese prime minister who was killed July 11, championed for more robust defense and security policies. With current world events, those ideas are increasingly important in Japan. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Canceled concerts, lawsuits, existential turmoil. As Russia has cracked down on anti-war speech, the country's music scene reaches a particularly high pitch. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

In a western Ukraine town that's refuge to people from the war in the east, a clown who is a refugee himself tries to keep up children's spirits. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

President Zelenskyy has consolidated all TV platforms in Ukraine into one state broadcast and restricted political rivals. Political opposition fears such civil liberty constraints could continue. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Russian troops have taken Luhansk and are headed for Donetsk, pounding cities along the way. When Donetsk falls, which seems likely, Putin will have "liberated the Donbas." But will he be satisfied? See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

As people in Taiwan watch the war in Ukraine, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with veteran journalist Chris Horton about what they think it could mean for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Russia has won significant ground on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine but a growing number of experts say the growing costs to Moscow's military, economy and stature far outweigh the gains. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Leaders of the G-7 nations met in Germany and focused on the war in Ukraine. They talked about new missile defense systems for Kyiv and a proposal for a price cap for Russian oil. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Russian political scientist Ilya Matveev about the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

European Union leaders will meet Thursday in Brussels where they are expected to approve Ukraine as a candidate to join the EU — a process that is neither quick nor easy. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Ukraine has been collecting the bodies of dead Russians left behind pushed Russian forces back from Kharkiv weeks ago. Two brothers from an outside village are helping unbury the dead. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

An overlooked corner of Ukraine is quietly playing a critical role in the country's efforts to import and export goods. Russia is trying to cut it off. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Hanna Hopko, a pro-democracy activist from Ukraine, traveled to Washington, D.C., to try and convince lawmakers to send Ukraine more aid. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly spoke with her to see if it's working. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Four European leaders are meeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in talks intended as a show of European unity. Also, the U.S. ambassador tells NPR she expects "a long, grinding, tough war." See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. State Department says it is "aware of unconfirmed reports of two U.S. citizens captured in Ukraine." They are believed to among the thousands of foreigners who have gone to fight in Ukraine. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

The leaders of Ukraine are gaming out where the war with Russia goes from here. One of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's top advisers at Kyiv's presidential compound weighed in on what Ukraine wants. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Inflation is the talk of the town in Nairobi, Kenya, just like it is in the United States. From gas to food to soap, here's how one African country is feeling the impact of the war in Ukraine. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. is supplying billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine. Yet getting armament to the battlefield is challenging and Ukraine says it needs even more firepower to fight Russian forces. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Russia is warning foreign journalists that they could lose the right to stay unless the situation of Russian journalists in the U.S. improves. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Across the U.S., volunteers are stepping up to resettle Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion. In Maine, one Ukrainian man has taken in 11 people and plans to welcome more. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

There's intense fighting in the east of Ukraine, new information on a Ukrainian city under Russian occupation, and a possible cholera outbreak in Mariupol. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

The Wagner Group, known as "Putin's shadow army," has come to the world's attention because of the Ukraine war. Marat Gabidullin, who left Wagner after fighting in Syria, has written a book about it. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Ukraine's National Opera was built to celebrate Russian opera at the height of the imperial era. But the venue now represents a history of competing empires, censorship and survival. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Many civilians have fled the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Even as the fighting intensifies, some Ukrainians who remain are still trying to go about their normal lives. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy