As Russian forces have retreated in Ukraine, people in newly liberated towns and villages have been trying to pick up the pieces. But it's a process that can be long and painful.

NPR's Kat Lonsdorf met a woman named Ludmilla, six months ago in the liberated town of Borodianka. Somehow, Ludmilla happened to know Kat's childhood neighbors in Wisconsin. She had stayed with them years ago. That random encounter stayed with Kat, so she checked back in with Ludmilla to see how she is doing.

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