Ari Shapiro

Several Ukrainian tanks are on the move in some eastern cities, according to reports Wednesday morning. Some of the armored personnel carriers are flying Russian flags.

Ukraine's army began a "special operation" in the east of the country Tuesday, moving against pro-Russian militants who are occupying government offices across the region.

The acting Ukrainian president says his military is advancing against pro-Russian separatists who took over government buildings in eastern Ukraine. The separatists didn't comply with an ultimatum.

At Passover celebrations around the world tonight, the youngest child will sing a song in Hebrew. "Why," the youngster will ask, "is this night different from all other nights?"

Adults in Ukraine can ask a similar question this year: What makes this Passover different from all others? It's a question ...

Pro-Moscow militants have taken over more government buildings in eastern Ukraine, ignoring a government deadline for them to lay down their weapons. The Ukrainian army may enter to retake the region.

Jews around the world are celebrating the beginning of Passover tonight. The holiday commemorates the exodus from slavery into freedom. For Jews in Ukraine, the holiday has an especially powerful meaning this year, coming on the heels of a secular revolution. NPR’s Ari Shapiro reports for Here ...

Tensions are growing between pro-Russian militants and Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine. The new Ukrainian government has pledged a "very tough" response to those occupying government buildings.

At occupied government buildings in eastern Ukraine, there is plenty of razor wire, sandbags and Molotov cocktails.

One thing is conspicuously absent, though — law enforcement.

When protests in Eastern Ukraine started on Sunday, police were everywhere.

The forces protecting a government building stood shoulder-to-shoulder in riot gear as protesters ...

Ukraine's interim prime minister visited Donetsk Friday in an effort to reduce tensions in the east of the country. Pro-Moscow militants among the area's largely Russian-speaking popu...

In Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk, activists who want to align the country more with Russia seized a regional administration building in the center of town last weekend. NPR correspondent Ari Shapiro went inside the building Friday and reports on what it was like:

Overnight, reports said pro-Russian protesters here ...

The eastern Ukrainian city is caught in a tug of war between Kiev and Moscow. A tongue-in-cheek campaign is presenting a third option: annexation by Britain. After all, a Welshman founded it in 1884

People in the region cling to the decaying world they're familiar with — and think they would have a more secure future with post-Soviet Russia than with Ukraine in the "capitalist" EU.

Pro-Russian demonstrations have led to standoffs in three Ukrainian cities. The confrontation is considered especially dangerous in Luhansk, where protesters took over a building filled with weapons.

Protests in eastern Ukraine are the focal point of the country's crisis with implications that stretch beyond its borders. Yet life in most of Donetsk seems untouched by the turmoil.

Pro-Russia demonstrators have taken over government offices in Donetsk and other major cities in eastern Ukraine. They're demanding a vote on whether the region should leave Ukraine and join Russia.

The International Monetary Fund has agreed to help Ukraine with a loan of more than $14 billion — in exchange for tough austerity measures. And Russia is threatening to raise Ukraine's gas prices.

NPR's Stephen Thompson recommends "I'm Not Part Of Me" by Cloud Nothings, as an excellent track for the beginning of spring.

Dump trucks are carrying away piles of trash from Independence Square in Kiev. But this is not the end of the protests in the Maidan. People who've been camping there for months see it as a transition to the next stage.

President Obama is visiting the European Union and NATO headquarters in Brussels for talks that will likely be dominated by Russia and Afghanistan.

President Obama is in Brussels for meetings with NATO and the European Union. Events on the sideline of Tuesday's nuclear summit at The Hague have eclipsed the nuclear agenda itself.