It was seen as a way for Russia to prop up its currency and retaliate for Western sanctions, but it could cause global energy prices to spike. One analyst sees it as a warning to the rest of Europe.
Reed had been held in Russia since 2019. He was exchanged for pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring to import cocaine into the U.S.
Trans-Dniester doesn't usually get much attention. But European leaders are watching it closely because it hosts about 1,500 Russian troops and shares a 250-mile border with Ukraine.
Russian forces called in airstrikes on a besieged steel factory in the southern city of Mariupol, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would meet in Kyiv with two top American officials.
Ukrainian officials have estimated that about 2,000 of their troops are inside the plant along with the civilians sheltering in the facility's underground tunnels.
Last month, Ukrainian forces pushed the Russians out of the village of Mala Rohan. NPR goes inside the warehouse Russia had used as temporary barracks.
New satellite images show what appear to be mass graves near Mariupol, and local officials accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians there.
New satellite images show what appear to be mass graves near Mariupol, and local officials accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians there.