NPR visits a hospital in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, in a town where many residents have fled but some young couples are holding on and hoping to raise their children one day in peace.
Built largely with Western donations, the spa-like retreat provides soldiers with counseling, aromatherapy and more. But most soldiers are there for no more than a week.
Russia and Ukraine are believed to have suffered equally horrific losses in the war. But when it comes to troop strength, the math is on Russia's side. Its population is four times Ukraine's.
A photographer and writer follow Ukrainian families whose lives have been upended by conflict since 2014. Their stories show an enduring will to live, even as war rages on around them.
Leaders of four separatist and partially Russian-occupied regions said they would hold referendums on whether to formally join Russia, starting as soon as Friday.
As a stalemate sets in on Ukraine's eastern front line, a city lives in limbo with constant shelling, limited fuel and spotty utilities. The government ordered evacuations but some residents remain.
