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Candles are lit in front of Ukrainian flags in Kyiv on Friday. Each is dedicated to a serviceman killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Candles are lit in front of Ukrainian flags in Kyiv on Friday. Each is dedicated to a serviceman killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Kherson was the the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian troops. With deep historical ties to Russia, it was not expected to be a center of resistance.

But an army of citizen spies defied Moscow's expectations, and helped Ukrainian forces liberate the city last November.

A year after Russia launched its invasion, NPR's Joanna Kakissis has the story of Kherson's partisans: teachers and accountants and landscape designers, who became eyes and ears for the Ukrainian military.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Chad Campbell, with engineering by Stacey Abbott. It was edited by Nishant Dahiya, Mark Katkov and William Troop. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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