A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Russia and Ukraine launched strikes targeting each other's infrastructure last night.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
This comes hours after President Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, announced a limited ceasefire in Ukraine where Putin agreed to stop targeting Ukraine's energy facilities for 30 days. That's far short of the end to fighting on land, air and sea that the U.S. and Ukraine agreed to last week.
MARTÍNEZ: With us to explain where all of this stands is NPR's Eleanor Beardsley - joins us from Kyiv. So, Eleanor, a deal between Presidents Trump and Putin. What does this mean for the war in Ukraine? Will that change anything?
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Well, A, so far, nothing has changed because this is what the skies of Kyiv sounded like last night. I held my phone out our window.
(SOUNDBITE OF AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM FIRING)
BEARDSLEY: So you can hear the air defense shooting down drones. You know, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he's been seeking a ceasefire to end attacks on people and civilian infrastructure, not just energy infrastructure. And he said on social media that these nighttime attacks by Russia are destroying the normal life of Ukrainians. He said the fact that these attacks continued right after Trump and Putin's call showed that maximum pressure must be put on Russia for the sake of peace.
MARTÍNEZ: What has Zelenskyy said about the possible ceasefire deal and Trump's conversation with Vladimir Putin?
BEARDSLEY: Well, he does not trust Putin, and there seems to be a constant fear in Ukraine now of being thrown under the bus by the Trump administration, you know, being forced to make concessions to capitulate. Zelenskyy had a long online press conference with journalists last night, and clearly, the length of the 2-1/2-hour call between Presidents Trump and Putin was unnerving for him. And he was underwhelmed by the very limited agreement that came out of it. But he tried to show optimism because he has no choice, really. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
BEARDSLEY: You know, he's saying, if this is the first step and there are no other steps so far, then let's hear the details on how to proceed, and we will. And he just said he really hopes that President Trump will be able to put as much pressure on Putin as possible.
MARTÍNEZ: But how far apart do you think Ukraine and Russia are, you know, on the terms of a possible deal?
BEARDSLEY: Well, very far apart, actually. Analysts say there will have to be major concessions on both sides. And so far, the Russian demands are maximalist. For example, Putin wants land that his army doesn't even fully control in provinces that he's already annexed and is calling Russian. That's a red line for Ukraine. And Putin has said he will only accept a deal if Ukraine stops getting military assistance from its allies. Ukraine and the EU have rejected that.
MARTÍNEZ: So you mentioned the EU. That's the other party in this whole thing. The rest of Europe, what are they saying?
BEARDSLEY: Well, yesterday, French President Emmanuel Macron met with the chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, and they said they will absolutely keep the military aid flowing to Ukraine. And Macron said any ceasefire must be verifiable, and Ukrainians must be at the table. You know, Macron has said many times that Europe cannot let Russia win this war. Here he is speaking yesterday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: He said, we will continue supporting Ukraine in this war of aggression because we know from our experience what it means to be occupied. And, of course, he's talking about the Nazi occupation of France in World War II.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. You know, U.S. officials have been trying to reassure EU allies that they will be involved in any peace agreement. But the thing is, Eleanor, I mean, they haven't been. So, I mean, how do people feel about that?
BEARDSLEY: Well, this is deeply shaking the continent. There's a view that Putin is stalling so he can continue the war and that he's playing with Trump, who Europeans believe is naive, has no experience with Putin, and wants a peace deal so badly he'll do anything. The former French ambassador to the U.S. went on French TV last night, Gerard Araud, and he sort of summed up the sentiment.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GERARD ARAUD: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: He said Putin is just, you know, signing on to the peace deal, not to annoy Trump, but he's testing the waters to see far - how far he can go. He says it's Putin's dream for Russia to be treated as a superpower, dealing one-on-one with the American president over the heads of the Europeans.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Eleanor Beardsley in Kyiv. Thanks a lot.
BEARDSLEY: Thank you, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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