Russia Intensifies Its Air War in Ukraine

0:00Today on State of the World, Russia intensifies its air war in Ukraine. You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Friday, July 11th. I'm Greg Dixon. This week, Russia again stepped up its air attacks on Ukraine, sending waves of drones and missiles into the country. The increase in attacks comes as President Trump's expressed frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin over his unwillingness to negotiate an end to the war. Trump said the U.S. would resume sending some weapons to Ukraine, shipments that had been paused.

0:44Earlier in the week, Russian airstrikes targeted western Ukraine, a region far from the front lines that rarely sees attacks. Then Russia pounded Kiev from Wednesday night until the early hours of Thursday morning. Asma Khalid spoke to NPR's Joanna Kikisis in Kiev, and Joanna describes what that attack was like. And a warning, we're going to hear the sound of explosions from the attack. It was loud and terrifying, and it lasted all night, up to 10 hours, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He actually wrote on social media that Russia launched 400 attack drones and 18 missiles.

1:20And you could definitely hear it. We heard the buzzing of Russian-launched attack drones all night, followed by the sound of Ukraine's air defense units.

1:33So they're trying to shoot down those drones and missiles. The explosions did not stop until just before dawn, and we awoke to this big cloud of smoke over the city. So the attack comes as Ukraine is trying to think of the future as they're meeting in Rome to discuss reconstructing the country and maybe cementing its path to the European Union. But what's worrying right now is that Russian forces are just using far more attack drones than they did before. So like we're talking literally hundreds a night. Does that signal a change in Russia's strategy? Well, military experts say both Russia and Ukraine are adjusting their strategies as this a war drags on.

2:13I spoke with Phillips O 'Brien. He's a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He's been following this war very closely. I think we're actually moving more into a long-range bombardment war, and that that's going to be the really decisive thing. And the Russians are going to try and level a lot of Ukrainian cities and break the Ukrainian will to fight. What the Ukrainians will try to do It will be interesting, but I assume it will be more long-range strategic war against Russia. Now, Ukraine's military has been using long-range strikes against Russia by hitting oil depots, weapons stockpiles, and airfields where the Russian jets that bomb their cities are stored.

2:56I see. How have Ukrainians been coping with all these attacks? I mean, that sound you played earlier, Joanna, I mean, how do folks even sleep through the night, frankly? Well, we don't. We don't sleep. People here try to manage, you know, I was talking to a couple of friends earlier who were joking that, well, you know, Ukrainian coffee shops are really popular because people need so much coffee to stay awake after all these sleepless nights. I should note that Ukrainian coffee is the best and these coffee houses are really cool too. But like to Ukrainians, humor is like a coping mechanism. It's what they use to manage stress and anxiety, which is just through the roof here.

3:31You know, you can imagine how incredibly high it is. Joanne, I want to ask you about the politics of this all. These intensifying attacks are coming during a week when President Trump has been more vocal in his public frustration with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin. He even used an expletive. And I will say, having covered politics, this is a role reversal for Trump, given his previous public frustrations with Ukraine in the past. Do Ukraines feel like this is a real shift from the United States? Do they trust this shift? Well, you know, I have to say that every Ukrainian I've spoken to is very wary.

4:07Many people actually here had a lot of hope in President Trump, but they feel like they can't trust his words, that he says one thing one day and then something else another day. And they just they basically want to see what his actions are going to be. I've heard people say, look, we are hoping for the best because we have to hope for the best, but we're preparing for the worst. Like obviously shoring up relationships with Europe. Ukraine is also trying to build its own air defense weapons, including interceptor drones, although that's a long way off. But, you know, with all these attacks in the short term, Ukraine is in danger of running out of air defense missiles.

4:40So this promise that President Trump made when he said, I'm going to supply additional defensive weapons to Ukraine, Ukrainians want to see action out of that because it means survival for them. The country needs air defense missiles to protect itself from Russian attacks, which continue to escalate. NPR's Joanna Kikisis reporting from Kiev. Thanks so much for your reporting. You're welcome.

5:14That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.