LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Russia is threatening to harden its position in negotiations to end its war on Ukraine.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Kremlin accused Ukraine of an attempt to drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's residences. Ukraine says Russia is fabricating the incident so it can continue waging war.
FADEL: Joining us now is NPR's Ukraine correspondent Joanna Kakissis, who is in Kyiv. Good morning, Joanna.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So let's start with this alleged attack on one of Putin's homes. What happened?
KAKISSIS: So, Leila, Russia's longtime foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, brought it up yesterday in an interview with Interfax, Russia's state-owned news agency. And he claimed without evidence that Ukraine had launched 91 drones at a Putin residence in Novgorod in the northwest and that Russia's air defense had shut down these drones. Now, we should say Lavrov is not trusted by Western leaders. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately denied Lavrov's charge and said Russia was inventing this incident to undermine peace talks and expand attacks on Ukraine. Here's Zelenskyy speaking to reporters.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: He's saying, "I'm sure the Russians are preparing to launch strikes here, probably on the capital and probably on our government buildings. Everyone must be on alert now."
FADEL: Now, Zelenskyy was in Florida this weekend for talks with President Trump. How has Trump responded to this charge?
KAKISSIS: Well, President Trump said Putin told him about the alleged attack on Monday and that Trump was, quote, "very angry about it." Although, he also acknowledged that no one had independently confirmed it. Now, speaking to reporters, Trump also seemed to suggest that he stopped sales of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to prevent such strikes. Now, back in 2023, let me bring up, Russia did accuse Ukraine of trying to attack the Kremlin with two drone strikes. And Ukraine also denied this. Russia, though, has hit Ukrainian government buildings.
FADEL: Didn't Trump say that Putin told him he wants peace?
KAKISSIS: Yes, Trump did say this during his press conference in Mar-a-Lago with Zelenskyy. Trump also said Putin wants to help Ukraine. But Zelenskyy said later, Putin is not sincere about peace.
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ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: Zelenskyy is saying Putin tells the president of the United States that he wants to end the war, but then he tells the media that he is ready to continue the war, striking Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles. And I should add, Putin has ordered his generals to capture the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. And Russia is also still demanding that Ukraine cede the 25% of the eastern Donbas region that the Ukrainians still control.
FADEL: OK, if peace talks move forward, what are the next steps?
KAKISSIS: Well, you know, the Ukrainians are organizing meetings with U.S. and European representatives to work further on this peace plan. And if Russia rejects it, the Ukrainians want to keep their allies engaged, especially the Trump administration. Zelenskyy says he and Trump want to end this war through diplomacy.
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ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: So Zelenskyy is saying, "and if this war does drag on, the Americans will continue to help Ukraine, along with the Europeans because," he said, "we are defending ourselves. We are not the aggressors."
FADEL: That's NPR's Joanna Kakissis in Kyiv. Thank you, Joanna.
KAKISSIS: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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