PIEN HUANG, HOST:
The Ukrainian military says that today, it attacked airfields in Russia. That's where fighter jets used to bomb Ukrainian cities are stored. Ukraine says it's an attempt to weaken the Kremlin's war machine, as Russia pushes a summer offensive on the front line and on Ukrainian cities. The Kremlin is refusing to heed President Trump's call to end its war on Ukraine quickly, even as the Pentagon stopped the shipment of air defense munitions on their way to Ukraine. Joining us from Kyiv to discuss these developments is NPR's Joanna Kakissis. Hey, Joanna.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Hey, Pien.
HUANG: So Joanna, let's start with the latest, with Ukrainian attacks on Russia's military infrastructure today. What is Ukraine hoping to accomplish?
KAKISSIS: So Pien, what Ukraine is trying to do here is damage military assets that Russia uses to repeatedly attack Ukraine. So the Ukrainian Air Force said today that it targeted an airfield in western Russia not far from the Ukrainian border where Russian fighter planes are stored. These planes launch missiles on Ukrainian cities almost every night, and these airstrikes kill and injure Ukrainians and destroy homes, businesses, utilities, neighborhoods, everything.
HUANG: Yeah. Is this something that the Ukrainian military has done before, targeted Russian military airfields?
KAKISSIS: Yes, actually, they have for months now, including a pretty bold operation last month in which drones were secretly smuggled into remote airfields in Russia and then used to damage heavy bomber planes there. Ukraine has also targeted Russian depots with weapons and supply routes. But Russia is a much larger country than Ukraine. Russia has a bigger weapon stockpile, and it gets weapon supplies from countries like North Korea. So Russia's war machine is very hard to take down.
HUANG: And Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities have become much more frequent in recent months. The largest one of the war just happened on Thursday, and it targeted Kyiv, where you are, Joanna. So how does Ukraine protect itself against these airstrikes?
KAKISSIS: So Ukraine uses air defense teams that operate antiaircraft systems. There are also these mobile units on trucks that shoot down large attack drones out of the sky using mounted machine guns. Now, on Thursday, Russia used 539 attack drones and 11 missiles in airstrikes which...
HUANG: Wow.
KAKISSIS: ...Lasted all night. And Pien, these are terrifying attacks. And many Ukrainians shelter in subways. And here at NPR's bureau, like everyone else in Kyiv, we can hear the drones and the missiles coming in and the air defense system shooting them down. You can't sleep, and the air, you know, smells pungent like it's burning. The logic here is, if Russia keeps attacking Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles per strike, there's concern that Ukraine is going to run low on air defense munitions.
HUANG: Joanna, Ukraine counts on the U.S. and other allies to supply some of these munitions. How did Ukrainians react to the Pentagon's decision reported this week to pause a shipment on its way to Ukraine?
KAKISSIS: So there was a lot of unease here. Ukrainians see it as a sign that the U.S. is not such a reliable ally anymore. And it's feeding into a belief here that the Trump administration's actions are actually emboldening Russia instead of pushing the Kremlin toward a ceasefire. Here's Hanna Shelest. She is the head of security studies at the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council.
HANNA SHELEST: As for now, I don't see anybody except Russia who is winning. Everything - what I heard from Russia and what I saw on the ground - none of these were giving me any hint that Russia is preparing a ceasefire.
KAKISSIS: And every Ukrainian we speak to wants a ceasefire, but not on Russia's terms, which, to Ukrainians, means capitulation. So Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia started this war, and Russia must be forced to end it.
HUANG: That's NPR's Joanna Kakissis in Kyiv. Joanna, thank you for keeping us up to date.
KAKISSIS: Thanks so much for having me on the show.
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