MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
We heard lots of positive talk and optimistic predictions when President Trump hosted Ukraine's president, Volodymy Zelenskyy, and European leaders yesterday at the White House. But will this translate into serious peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia? Well, this morning, Trump gave this assessment on "Fox & Friends."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FOX & FRIENDS")
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I hope President Putin is going to be good, and if he's not, it's going to be a rough situation. And I hope that Zelenskyy - President Zelenskyy will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility, also.
KELLY: To get the view on diplomacy and the state of the war, from Ukraine, we are joined now by NPR's Greg Myre. He is in the capitol Kyiv. Hey, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: So it's been quite the past four days, starting with Trump hosting Vladimir Putin in Alaska and then yesterday with President Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House. How are people there in Ukraine, where you are, responding to this flurry of diplomacy?
MYRE: Yeah, I was at a government event yesterday. It included just about every senior Ukrainian figure aside from Zelenskyy. We're talking about the prime minister, the defense minister, the foreign minister. And really, to my surprise, they spoke about their plans for the next few months. It was really just business as usual. No discussion about Zelenskyy's impending visit to the White House.
And among ordinary Ukrainians, they're definitely supportive of diplomatic efforts. They're exhausted by the war. But they think Putin wants to keep fighting and don't think he's serious about negotiations. So overall, I'd say, Ukrainians at all levels are watching with great interest, but they don't seem to be raising their hopes.
KELLY: Well, and speaking of being exhausted by the war, the war is very much rumbling on. Have you seen any shift? How would you describe Russia's military strategy right now?
MYRE: Yeah, two main components. First, the nightly airstrikes. Russia fired 270 drones and 10 missiles last night. Russians targeted electricity and transportation sites in the east and center of the country. The mayor of Kremenchuk - a city that was hard hit - posted a photo of these thick, black clouds over his city at sunrise. And he said even as Zelenskyy was meeting with Trump, Putin was launching another major attack.
KELLY: Well, and it's not just that city, right? Where else is Russia's military hitting?
MYRE: Right, there's no let up in the ground war in the east of the country and, in particular, a couple territories known collectively as the Donbas region. They will be critical in any negotiations, and Trump is starting to talk about this region. Here he is, again, from that Fox interview this morning.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FOX & FRIENDS")
TRUMP: A big chunk...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah.
TRUMP: ...Of territory is taken. And that territory has been taken. Now...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Right.
TRUMP: ...They're talking about Donbas, but Donbas, right now, as you know, is 79% owned and controlled by Russia.
MYRE: So Russia took a big part of the Donbas in the initial invasion in 2014 and more at the start of the 2022 invasion. As Trump noted, Russia has most of it, though not all of it. And Russia wants this entire region and would apparently demand that Ukraine give it all up in negotiations. Ukraine, not surprisingly, doesn't want to relinquish any territory, and it certainly doesn't plan to walk away from land it has fiercely defended and still holds despite more than three years of these nonstop Russian attacks.
KELLY: And can I just pause you for a second, Greg, to explain why Russia is so focused on this region in particular? Partly it's straight geography.
MYRE: That's right. It's just across the border from Russia. There are lots of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. They tend to have more ties to Russia, and in some cases, more sympathy with Russia. You know, many people in the Donbas have fled to other parts of Ukraine, but some civilians have stayed in place and are willing to live under Russian control. And it was an important industrial and mining area, though the regional economy has largely been shattered by the war.
KELLY: Where is the heaviest fighting at this moment?
MYRE: You know, it's probably around a city in the Donbas called Pokrovsk. And the battle there says a lot about the wider war. When I was in Ukraine last August, a major battle was underway for the city. The Russians advanced to within 10 miles of Pokrovsk, and it appeared they could take it at any time, but they didn't.
KELLY: Just about 30 seconds left. But you said that was last year. Where does the fighting stand now?
MYRE: Yeah, so there's still a very large Russian force. It's a few miles from the city. They have it surrounded on three sides. It could fall at any time. So we've seen this repeatedly in the war. Russia sends a large force, absorbs thousands or tens of thousands of casualties and makes only incremental gains. They may take this city, but the cost has been astronomical, and the city lies in ruins.
KELLY: NPR's Greg Myre reporting there from Kyiv. Thanks, Greg.
MYRE: Sure thing, Mary Louise. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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