Life in Ukraine, after 4 years of war

Here & Now Anytime

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4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

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Summary

As Russia and Ukraine enter their fifth year of war, we check in with NPR's Joanna Kakissis for a snapshot of the key developments throughout these past four years and what the future of the war looks like.

Then, Toma Istomina, deputy chief editor of The Kyiv Independent, joins us to discuss where the war in Ukraine goes from here as the country marks four years since Russia's full-scale invasion.

And we hear from Dmytro Vezelov, who joined us four years ago when the Russian invasion began. Since then, he's gone from a desk job to coordinating drones to fight Russian invaders.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,
0:05.4	investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish.
0:11.1	More information is available at Hewlett.org.
0:15.8	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:20.5	I mean, they are fighting an existential battle for the survival of their country, but they also
0:25.6	see themselves as fighting a larger battle for Europe, which they see Ukraine as a part of.
0:31.8	The view from Kiev four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
0:46.2	Music four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It's Tuesday, February 24th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBOR.
0:51.7	I'm Chris Bentley.
0:56.6	Today on the show, we hear from two Ukrainians about life during wartime and what drives
1:02.4	them to keep fighting.
1:03.7	In many ways, we don't really have a choice because unlike U.S. negotiators or maybe
1:09.1	other people abroad, we know very well what the ultimate goal of Russia is in Ukraine.
1:14.6	It's subjugating the entirety of Ukraine, and we just can't afford to pay that price.
1:21.6	We'll speak with a man who left his desk job to join the army about how his life has changed.
1:26.6	I try to not look at my friend list on Facebook because about 10% of my friend list on Facebook
1:34.0	are people who died on this war.
1:36.8	But first, European leaders are in Kiev today to show support for Ukraine, as the country
1:42.2	marks four years since Russia's full-scale invasion.
1:45.7	Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky says Russia has not broken Ukrainians. But estimated casualties
1:52.2	on the two sides, wounded, dead and missing people, are as high as two million.
1:58.5	Thousands of Ukrainian children are missing. Frontline towns are exhausted,
	...

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