Ukraine War: News Networks Plan Special Coverage On Anniversary Of Start Of Russia’s Invasion

Broadcast and cable networks are planning specials, a town hall and other coverage Thursday tied to the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Correspondents also will report from sites around the country, with Vladimir Putin’s regime mounting a winter offensive.

Here’s a rundown:

ABC News: Ian Pannell, who was in Kyiv as the war began last year, provides reporting for an ABC News Live special Standing Strong: One Year of War in Ukraine, debuting at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. The special will focus on individuals in the war zone and the challenges they have faced. David Muir continues to anchor World News Tonight from Poland on Wednesday, and chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz and senior White House correspondent Mary Bruce are among those who have been reporting from the region. Raddatz also will report for This Week with George Stephanopoulos as co-anchor of the Sunday show.

CBS News: On 60 Minutes on Sunday, senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams will report from Kherson, the first major city captured by the Russians until the Ukrainian army forced them to retreat. Williams’ report follows Scott Pelley’s 60 Minutes report this past Sunday on Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

CBS News senior foreign correspondent Charlie D’Agata in Kyiv will co-anchor a special on the anniversary for CBS News Streaming at noon ET Thursday, joined by the team at Studio 57 in New York.

CNN: The network will present a town hall, Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine One Year Later, at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, simulcast on CNN International and CNN en Español.. Fareed Zakaria will moderate with guests National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and U.S. Agency for International Development administrator Samantha Power, with a live audience in the U.S. and Ukraine.

Christiane Amanpour is anchoring her CNN International show Amanpour from Warsaw and Kyiv, while Kaitlan Collins has been in Poland to co-host CNN This Morning.

On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward will host CNN Special Report: The Will to Win: Ukraine at War, in which she revisits many of the locations she reported on in the past year including Kharkiv, where she was when the invasion started. The special also will be shown on CNN International and CNN en Español.

On Sunday at 3 p.m. on CNN International, John Vause will host Music That Makes a Difference, which looks at Ukrainian artists who have used their talents to focus the world’s attention on what is happening in the country. It will be shown at 7:30 p.m. ET on CNN en Español.

CNN en Español will feature a special Ukraine edition of Conclusiones at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, anchored by Fernando del Rincon. On Friday, Ana Maria Luengo-Romero will host a special edition of Panorama Mundial at 8 p.m. ET followed by the special Russia’s War on Ukraine: One Year Later, anchored by Rafael Romo with correspondent Gustavo Valdes. 

NBC News/MSNBC: Richard Engel, who has been reporting since the start of the war, will host On Assignment with Richard Engel: Ukraine’s Secret Resistance at 10 p.m. ET on Friday on MSNBC and streaming on Peacock. The special features the stories of residents in occupied Kherson who have joined Ukraine’s underground movement to secretly fight back against the Russian army.

MSNBC also will feature a Morning Joe special in primetime at 8 p.m. on Thursday, with Joe Scarborough interviewing Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Sullivan.

Ali Velshi has been on the ground in Ukraine reporting across MSNBC, including his weekend show Velshi and All in with Chris Hayes.

Keir Simmons will anchor two documentary specials for NBC News Now, Inside Russia: The World and Putin’s War. The projects look at the impact of the war on Russians in Moscow.

NewsNation: The network will air segments throughout the day on Friday of Chris Cuomo’s trip earlier this month to the frontlines of the war in Bakhmut, Ukraine. The day is being led by the three-hour Morning in America with Adrienne Bankert beginning at 7 a.m. ET, followed by two back-to-back hours of NewsNation Live with Marni Hughes starting at 10 a.m., and Rush Hour with Nicole Berlie at 5 p.m. On Balance with Leland Vittert, starting at 7 p.m., will feature special guests focused on the anniversary.