Hey there, it's the NPR Politics podcast. The time now is 2.14 pm on Monday, April 4th.

I'm Tamar Keith. I cover the White House.

I'm Mara Laias and National Political Correspondent.

Today, the latest from Ukraine with NPR's Alyssa Nadverney, who is joining us from

Keeve. Hey Alyssa!

Hello.

Thank you for coming on the pod. We should just warn up front here that we are going to

talk about some developments. Many listeners are likely to find troubling and hard to listen

to, so just a warning before we get into it.

NPR is reporting that a senior defense official in the US estimates about two-thirds of the

Russian forces that were arrayed outside of Keeve have now pulled back. It's not clear

what Russia's plan is for them or the remaining troops around the Ukrainian capital. But

Ukrainian troops are retaking small villages outside of Keeve and are returning to scenes

of devastation. Flattened apartment buildings, mass graves, dead bodies lying in the street.

Alyssa, what can you tell us about the state of the conflict right now?

Yeah, well, so the big news is really that Russian forces have withdrawn from Keeve,

which is the capital city. That's really the big news, but there is still ongoing fighting

in the east and in the south Odessa, which is that vital port city on the Black Sea. They

have seen missile strikes in the last few days. Significant hit to a fuel depot, which

is basically storage for fuel, which just really hinders military movements, but also infrastructure.

So big, the big news of course is the retreat from Keeve, the capital, but fighting is ongoing

all over the country really. Alyssa, what can you tell us about the gruesome discoveries

...