Inside Ukraine’s Embattled Cities

<p>It has been two weeks since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s high-tech army of nearly 200,000 soldiers have not taken control of any major cities, except the southern port of Kherson. </p><p>The state of the war is eerily stalled and the Russians’ answer has been to encircle cities and, from a distance, bomb what they can’t control. </p><p>Today, we hear dispatches on two cities in Ukraine’s south that are surrounded and under attack. </p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-schwirtz?smid=pc-thedaily">Michael Schwirtz</a>, an investigative reporter for The New York Times; and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/valerie-hopkins?smid=pc-thedaily">Valerie Hopkins</a>, a Moscow correspondent for The Times, currently in Ukraine.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li> Two weeks after the invasion began, tens of thousands of Ukrainians are without food, water or power. The Russians are<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/world/europe/ukraine-humanitarian-crisis-russia.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> increasingly resorting to indiscriminate shelling</a> to help their forces advance.</li><li>The southern city of<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/world/europe/ukraine-mariupol-siege.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> Mariupol is under a relentless barrage</a> — there is no heat or electricity and little communication with the outside world. </li></ul><p>Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>