MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Sirens and the crackle of Ukraine's air defenses filled the skies of Kyiv last night as Russia launched another wave of attacks.
(SOUNDBITE OF AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS FIRING)
A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
This morning, President Trump told Russian leader Vladimir Putin to, quote, "stop." In a social media post, Trump said the Russian strikes were not necessary and very bad timing. But Trump is also pressuring Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to accept a U.S.-backed peace deal or risk, in Trump's words, losing the country to Russia.
MARTIN: We wanted to get a view on how these developments are seen in Russia, so we're joined by NPR's Charles Maynes from Moscow. Charles, Good morning.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Morning.
MARTIN: So once again, we've seen President Trump really lay into Ukraine and Zelenskyy, in particular, saying he is blocking a peace deal. So tell us more about this and how is it being seen in Moscow?
MAYNES: Well, I think it's important to point out the White House has yet to publicly offer specifics on this peace plan, but it's clear it heavily favors Russia on paper. JD Vance said this deal would lock in the current frontlines or something close to it. But the latest dust-up with Ukraine involves Zelenskyy's refusal to acknowledge the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014, as now formally part of Russia. This is apparently a component of this U.S. peace deal and a nonstarter for Ukraine. You know, as to Russia's reaction, the Kremlin only said it welcomed American negotiation efforts, which, by the way, pick up again this week when White House envoy Steve Witkoff heads to Moscow.
MARTIN: You know, one of the criticisms of Trump's approach to negotiations is that it does appear so one-sided. Trump seems to be asking a lot of Ukraine and so little of Russia. Why is that?
MAYNES: Well, Trump seems to say he wants peace now, and he clearly sees leverage over Kyiv as the quickest way to get there. I recently met with Sergei Poletaev. He's the founder of a political and security platform Vatfor in Russia. And he argues Trump isn't offering Moscow concessions, rather acknowledging the facts on the ground. Let's listen.
SERGEI POLETAEV: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: So here, Poletaev says this is what Russia secured through battle, what it gained by force. Not anything Trump, quote, "gave us." And Poletaev, I think, reflects a common view here in Russia that there's not a whole lot Trump can do to change the current battlefield dynamics unless Trump is willing to get more involved in Ukraine. And based on everything he's done and said, that looks very, very unlikely.
MARTIN: And the secretary of state, Marco Rubio - the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the U.S. would walk away from peace talks if they don't see progress. Would Russia want that?
MAYNES: Not entirely because in Moscow's eyes, Trump can deliver some things quicker through diplomacy than Moscow can achieve militarily, which is why I think you see Putin offering proposals like this recent Easter Day ceasefire or possibles direct talks with Ukraine to stop attacks on civilians. You know, is that real progress? Probably most would say no. But Russia's continuing its attacks, and also it's shown almost no flexibility in the actual negotiations towards ending the war.
MARTIN: Plus, it does seem that Trump has ceded to most of Russia's demands, including a ban on NATO membership for Ukraine. So why isn't Moscow jumping at that offer?
MAYNES: Because they want more, you know, including a change of leadership in Kyiv, perhaps with U.S. backing. So Moscow is happy to amplify White House frustrations with Zelenskyy. You know, Putin's other approach here has been to expand negotiations. You know, he's inflexible on Ukraine, but extremely flexible when it comes to other deals with the U.S., whether that's investment opportunities, prisoner exchanges, even helping with negotiations with Iran. So Putin is making himself very useful to Trump and making it very hard to walk away. You know, think of it as Putin's own version of the art of the deal.
MARTIN: Oh, how about that? That is NPR's Charles Maynes. Charles, thank you.
MAYNES: Thank you, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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