MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
In Washington, D.C., and that is where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also is today, seeking President Biden's support for a strategy to end the war on Ukraine's terms.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Zelenskyy says protecting Ukraine will also keep Europe and the West safe. He warned the U.N. General Assembly that Russia was preparing to strike Ukraine's nuclear power plants.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: A day like that must never come.
MARTIN: Former President Trump, however, is accusing Zelenskyy of dragging out the war and vows to cut aid to the country if he's elected. With me now is NPR Ukraine correspondent Joanna Kakissis who's in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Joanna, thank you so much for being here.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: You're welcome.
MARTIN: Let's start with this plan, which Zelenskyy calls his victory plan. Can you tell us about it?
KAKISSIS: Sure. Zelenskyy's team has kept the plan's details under wraps. But broadly, he wants much quicker action by President Biden on issues Zelenskyy say could strengthen Ukraine and keep Russia from dictating any peace terms. These issues include supporting an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO as soon as possible and lifting restrictions on the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles, like ATACMS. Ukraine wants to use these missiles to hit military targets, like arms depots, deep in Russia. Here in Kyiv, we spoke to a Ukrainian soldier, 23-year-old Vyacheslav Yurchak. He believes these strikes will weaken Russia's ability to supply its troops in Ukraine. He's puzzled by this restriction.
VYACHESLAV YURCHAK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: He's saying, "look. They give us these long-range weapons but say we can't use them. It's like giving me a machine gun and saying, the enemy is a hundred meters away but don't shoot him."
MARTIN: So we hear, you know, here in Washington that the White House has been cautious because it's trying to avoid escalating tensions. So tell us more about how Ukrainians view this attitude.
KAKISSIS: Yeah, they're frustrated. We've spoken to Ukrainians who are very grateful to the U.S. for helping their country survive this war, but they say they doubt that the U.S. actually wants Ukraine to win. Russia continues to bomb Ukrainian cities, killing civilians, destroying power plants. Ukrainians see Russia is getting more aggressive, like this threat of attacking nuclear power plants, as Zelenskyy mentioned.
MARTIN: Are the Ukrainians worried enough to consider a deal - an unpleasant deal - like swapping territory occupied by Russia in exchange for some kind of cease-fire?
KAKISSIS: So, yeah - so that's a good question because recent polls are showing an increasing number of Ukrainians willing to consider this, but most are still categorically against it. Let's hear from Vika Stuzhuk. She's a 32-year-old financial consultant.
VIKA STUZHUK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: She got very emotional talking to producer Polina Lytvynova. Stuzhuk's relatives and friends were killed in this war, and she does not want them to have died in vain. We also spoke to Serhii Kuzan. He's a defense analyst in Kyiv, and he said, "look. Russia first invaded Ukraine 10 years ago, and it hasn't stopped attacking us since."
SERHII KUZAN: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: He's saying, "we will keep fighting no matter how much of Ukraine is occupied because there is no other way."
MARTIN: Before we let you go, how are Ukrainians viewing the upcoming U.S. election?
KAKISSIS: So Ukrainians are actually following it very closely, and those we spoke to are worried about Donald Trump winning. They see him as ill-informed about the geopolitics and the context of this war. They believe he is too enamored of Russian President Vladimir Putin. And it didn't help that Trump also refused to meet Zelenskyy this week, because Ukraine's leadership, it has tried very hard to cultivate both political parties. And now Zelenskyy will meet with President Biden and Vice President Harris, and Biden at least is expected to announce a surge in security assistance to Ukraine today.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Joanna Kakissis. Joanna, thank you.
KAKISSIS: You're welcome.
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MARTÍNEZ: World leaders are gathered in New York this week to address global issues. Meanwhile, the city's top leader is facing serious legal problems.
MARTIN: Yes, that's Mayor Eric Adams. He has been indicted. The news broke last night after months of speculation about whether a series of federal investigations surrounding his administration would tie back to him directly. Joining me now to tell us what she knows so far is Brigid Bergin, senior politics reporter at member station WNYC in New York. Good morning, Brigid.
BRIGID BERGIN, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So what do we know about what the mayor is accused of doing?
BERGIN: Well, at this point, the indictment is still under seal. So we haven't seen the specific charges yet. But about a year ago, The New York Times reported that the FBI was investigating whether the mayor conspired with the Turkish government to funnel illegal foreign donations to his campaign committee in exchange for favors from his administration. The Turkish government had built a new high-rise consulate in Manhattan, and there were issues with its fire safety inspection. But again, as I said, we don't know the specific details. We'll know that when the indictment is unsealed, which could happen as early as later this morning.
MARTIN: It does seem as though things have escalated in recent weeks. So for people who haven't been following it, can you just tell us a bit about what has been happening?
BERGIN: Yeah, this really comes after nearly a year of investigations into the mayor's campaign and city government. And this month, things really just stepped into a new gear. Federal investigators seized the phones of the city's police commissioner, two deputy mayors and the city's schools chancellor. And that was then followed by a wave of departures from the administration, including the police commissioner, the mayor's chief counsel. And just this week, the city's schools chancellor said he was retiring at the end of this calendar year.
MARTIN: What - how has the mayor responded to all this?
BERGIN: Yeah, so, you know, for the past year, the mayor has insisted he did nothing wrong. And remember, this is someone who got his start as a New York City police officer who rose to the rank of captain. So he often invokes his ties to law enforcement when he says he's always followed the law. He tells the people around him to follow the law. But last night, he also issued a video statement. He says the charges will be found entirely false and that they're based on lies.
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ERIC ADAMS: I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit. If I'm charged, I know I am innocent.
MARTIN: So tell us about the reaction from the city. I mean, as we - as you've just told us, that this news broke last night, but what have you heard so far? How are people reacting to this?
BERGIN: Well, as I said, this has been building to a crescendo, even before the indictment was announced yesterday. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez issued a statement calling on the mayor to resign, and we've heard lots of those calls to that effect. The one person who could remove Mayor Adams from office right now is New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Her spokesman, Avi Small, issued a statement very late last night. He said she is aware of these - this concerning news (ph) and is monitoring the situation, but it would be premature to comment further until the matter is confirmed by law enforcement. But still, the pressure on Mayor Adams is growing from all sides, including from people who want to take his job next year. There are several people who are running for that office that have also issued statements calling on him to resign.
MARTIN: That is WNYC senior politics reporter Brigid Bergin. Brigid, thank you so much.
BERGIN: Thank you.
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MARTIN: One of the largest hurricanes on record is roaring north through the Gulf of Mexico off the West Coast of Florida this morning.
MARTÍNEZ: Hurricane Helene is forecast to grow to a Category 4 storm when it slams into Florida's Big Bend region this evening.
MARTIN: NPR's Frank Morris is in St. Petersburg, and he's going to bring us up to date. Good morning, Frank.
FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE: Hi, Michel.
MARTIN: So we've been keeping an eye on this, as you certainly have. Helene seems to be gaining in power and size. Would you just talk about the scope of what people are facing?
MORRIS: Yeah, the storm is enormous. Only four hurricanes this century have been this big over the Gulf - as big as Helene is expected to grow today. Forecasters have the entire coast of Florida - the west coast of Florida under a storm surge warning. Sixty-one of the state's 67 counties are under a state of emergency. In Tampa, a little more than halfway up Florida's Gulf Coast, the surge could shove 8 feet of moving water through low-lying areas. And across the bay in St. Petersburg yesterday evening, people like Tracy Rajewski were just taking it in stride and stocking up on essentials.
TRACY RAJEWSKI: Wine (laughter) and ice cream, yeah. Luckily, I'm pretty high up, so we usually don't have any flooding or anything. So, yeah, I'm kind of used to the drill. Got the water. Got the bathtub full. Make sure everything's charged up and download some movies on my phone just in case.
MORRIS: The storm surge is expected to be much worse farther north, where Helene will make landfall. There, forecasters say the storm surge could be, quote, "catastrophic and deadly." It could be 20 feet - what meteorologists are calling unsurvivable.
MARTIN: So what about people in Florida's Big Bend region? What should they be doing?
MORRIS: Right. That's where the storm's going to hit, and the prudent thing to do is leave. In fact, many counties there are under mandatory evacuations. Many others are under voluntary evacuations. Of course, in every hurricane, there are people who ignore those evacuation orders. And afterwards, a lot of times (inaudible) they'll never do that again. So we caught up with Florida Senator Rick Scott in Apalachicola yesterday. He's a former governor with lots of hurricanes under his belt, and he says he's warning people to get out.
RICK SCOTT: Right here in Apalachicola, they're thinking about 10 feet of storm surge. That's almost twice my height. In the Big Bend, they're talking about 18 feet. You don't survive 6 foot of storm surge. The water is what kills you. You know, mostly it's water now that kills you. And so I hope everybody will take this seriously. Listen to the locals. If you think you're going to have to evacuate, get out now.
MARTIN: And then there is the wind. The National Hurricane Center says it expects Helene to be a major Category 4 hurricane when the eye of the storm makes landfall tonight. That actually just sounds really frightening, Frank.
MORRIS: Right. Yeah, when the storm hits, it's going to be packing sustained winds of 130 miles an hour, with higher wind gusts, and it could be even stronger. And Helene is - fast-moving hurricane. It's not going to slack off much as it moves inland. And Tallahassee, about 25 miles up the coast, could see wind gusts of more than a hundred miles an hour. The storm is likely to blow down trees and knock out power over a huge area, fanning out hundreds of miles inland as it sweeps into Georgia and Carolinas and possibly stalls out over Tennessee and Kentucky. Jamie Rhome with the National Hurricane Center said the scale of the wind damage will be enormous.
JAMIE RHOME: We don't normally issue tropical storm warnings this far inland or for this part of the country - blanketing the entire state of Georgia, the entire state of South Carolina in western periphery or the mountains of North Carolina with tropical storm winds. And we're going to talk about the rainfall threat in a second. The wind plus the rainfall is going to be a double whammy.
MORRIS: And Rhome says about half the hurricane deaths - deaths from a hurricane are from inland flooding.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Frank Morris in St. Petersburg, Fla. Frank, thank you.
MORRIS: Thank you, Michel.
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